1919 Inter-Allied Games

Tournament details
Country	France
City	Paris
Venue	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	23 June – 6 July
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	United States(1st title)
Runners-up	Canada

Baseball was played at theInter-Allied Games, a multi-sport tournament held in June 1919 and organized by the United States military and theYMCA. It took place in June 1919, nearly a year after thearmistice brought an end to the fighting ofWorld War I. All of the games were played at the newly constructedStade Pershing (named after American generalJohn J. Pershing) inParis.

Two teams represented theUnited States and, in its international baseball debut,Canada; both teams were composed entirely of soldiers from theAmerican andCanadian Expeditionary Force. In a best-of-four series, the United States defeated Canada three games to one.

Baseball was played extensively by Canadian soldiers, who were stationed on the western front as early as 1914, and later, by American soldiers, after the U.S. joined the war in 1917. With the cessation of hostilities in 1918, Unrest among soldiers awaiting repatriation caused officers to encourage baseball, in an effort to boost morale. An Anglo-American Baseball League was formed in early 1919, with games between all-star Canadian and American teams being held atStamford Bridge and elsewhere in England.^[1]

Paris,France	Stade Pershing
Stade Pershing

The United States was represented by the "Le Mans" team, of the86th "Blackhawk" Infantry Division, that had won theAmerican Expeditionary Forces league championship (a three-game series against theThird Division team).^[2][3] One former major leaguer wasAdam DeBus, a sergeant and former infielder that played a single season with thePittsburgh Pirates in1917; DeBus had spent the war years atCamp Grant in Illinois, but was shipped to France after the Armistice. DeBus captained the United States team at the games.^[3] Also part of the U.S. team wasWilliam Marriott, who had played in1917 with theChicago Cubs and would go on to stints with theBoston Braves andBrooklyn Robins.^[4][5] Several other Americans had minor league experience, including Wheeler "Moose" Fuller, who had a long career with variousEastern League clubs.^[6][a]

The Canadian team was also the champion of theCanadian Expeditionary Force league, selected by a series in London and reinforced by the best players from other Canadian teams. Many of these soldiers were from the "Artillery" team, champions of theWitley area.^[8] None of the Canadian players had major league experience, though Larry Carmel would later play with theMontreal Royals andQuebec Bulldogs of theEastern Canada League.^[9] Three of the Canadian players (Ernest Tate, John Edis, and Paul Gilpatrick) were born in the United States, though at least two of them served in the Canadian Army.^[10][11][12]

One of the umpires was"Smiling Al" Orth, a former MLB pitcher who had traveled to Europe to care for his son, wounded in theMeuse–Argonne offensive.^[13]

 Canada

Canada —"Artillery"
Roster
Pitchers Pvt. Ernest Kurd Pvt. Ernest Tate Gnr. Ralph E. Clayton Sgt. Richard B. Odgers Pvt. Maurice Daly Sgt. Fred A. Barker Sgt. Norman H. Chalmers Catchers Cpl. Victor C. Sheppard Pvt. Earle S. Peckham		Infielders Cpt. John F. Edis Pvt. Whitney G. Dewhurst Pvt. Alfred Klaehn Pvt. William N. Wright Pvt. Larry Latimer Pvt. Paul Gilpatrick		Outfielders Pvt. Larry Carmel Pvt. Frank S. Smith Spr. Clarence W. Robinson Cpl. Alexander T. Thompson

^[5]

 United States

United States —"Le Mans"
Roster
Pitchers 2nd Lt. Wheeler B. Fuller Sgt. George Taylor Pvt. Englebert W. Becker Cpl. James Duben Sgt. Ira Creel Sgt. Ernest Chambers Catchers Cpl. William Novak 2nd Lt. N.J. Fish Pvt. Vernon W. Lightfoot		Infielders Sgt. Jesse Gross Sgt.Adam DeBus(cpt.) Sgt.William E. Marriott Cpl. Henning Anderson Cpl. Simon P. Brausen		Outfielders Pvt. Faber J. O'Hara Pvt. Harry Knapp Sgt. Lloyd Dean Cpl. Edward Aaron

^[5]

The first two games of the series were relatively close and characterized by pitching duels between the starters. In the first game, American starter Moose Fuller kept the Canadians to a single hit over eight innings of work. Canada won the second game thanks to starter Ernest Tate, who took ano-hitter into the ninth inning before it was broken up by the U.S.'s Henning Anderson.^[14]

After the June 27 game, the American team traveled to Germany for a three-game exhibition series, while the Canadians waited in Paris without playing. The wait became evident in the final two games of the series, which the U.S. won convincingly. The fourth game, played on July 6, was called after seven innings, so as not to conflict with the closing ceremonies of the games.^[14]

The championship trophy was presented byHu Weide, ambassador of theRepublic of China to France.^[15]

June 23, 1919 atStade Pershing,Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5
United States	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	X	5	6	4
WP: Wheeler Fuller  LP: Ralph Clayton Umpires:Al Orth; Frambes Boxscore

June 27, 1919 atStade Pershing,Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
Canada	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	X	2	5	1
WP: Ernest Tate  LP: George Taylor Umpires:Al Orth; Frambes Boxscore

July 4, 1919 atStade Pershing,Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6
United States	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	X	10	9	2
WP: Wheeler Fuller  LP: Norman Chalmers Umpires:Al Orth; Roth Boxscore

June 23, 1919 atStade Pershing,Paris

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
United States	0	0	3	0	3	2	4	12	8	1
Canada	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	10
WP: George Taylor  LP: Ernest Tate Umpires:Al Orth; Roth Boxscore

Statistic	Player	Total
Batting average	Henning Anderson	.461
Bases on balls	Simon P. Brausen	5
Runs scored	Simon P. Brausen	5
Fielding percentage	Larry Carmel Alexander Thompson Simon P. Brausen Lloyd Dean	1.000

• Baseball in France
• Ty Cobb, a Hall-of-Fame MLB player and World War I veteran who was in attendance at the Inter-Allied Games, but did not participate in the baseball tournament.^[16][17]

• George Wythe; Joseph Mills Hanson, eds. (1919).The Inter-Allied Games - Paris, 22nd June to 6th July, 1919. Internet Archive: Games Committee. pp. 180–82, 476.
• Walt C. Johnson; Elwood S. Brown, eds. (1919). "Baseball".Official Athletic Almanac of the American Expeditionary Forces. American Sports Publishing. pp. 337–43.

• Olympic baseball tournaments
• 1919 in baseball
• Baseball in France
• International baseball competitions in Europe
• International sports competitions hosted by France
• 1919 in French sport

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