Baseball (Game #1), Men

Baseball was the only sport which is considered by some to have been a demonstration sport at the 1912 Olympics. Many sources describe the competition as a single game between an American side and a Swedish one, but there was also a second game held that is not often mentioned. The original schedule called for two games, beginning on the evening of July 10, during the track & field athletics competition. The first game was to be between two US teams, East vs. West, with the winner then taking on Västerås Bäsboll Klubb.

The American Olympic Committee, however, forbade the US players from taking part in any exhibition until they had finished competing in their primary events. The game date then shifted to the morning of Monday, 15 July, with Västeras playing a combined US team. The US intersquad game was postponed to 16 July. It was held at the Östermalm Idrottsplats (Athletic Park).

The US-Sweden game started at 10 in the morning on Monday, 15 July. The Americans got to Platt Adams, pitching for Västerås, early, scoring four runs in the first. The Americans scored again in their half of the second to go up by 5-0. The Swedes got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the fourth. The Yanks put the game out of reach with an eight-run fifth inning. The Västerås club managed a final tally in the sixth, aided by the fact that they were allowed six outs in the frame. The US won by a 13-3 score. One of the big guns for the United States was Abel Kiviat, who played short and batted third in the order. Kiviat stole a base and had a pair of hits in four at bats, including a triple. All told, eight American Olympic medalists took part in the game.