1974 Amateur World Series

The 1974 Amateur World Series was held mainly in St. Petersburg, Florida from November 13 through November 24, 1974. It was the second baseball Amateur World Series staged by the short-lived World Amateur Baseball Federation (FEMBA), which had split off from the International Baseball Federation (FIBA) the previous year. It was the first and only Baseball World Cup tournament to be held in the United States.

Most of the tournament, including the final series between Nicaragua and the champion United States teams, was played at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, though some games were held in nearby Tampa, as well as Lakeland, Sarasota, and Bradenton.

The tournament was kept on the books after FEMBA once again joined with the FIBA, retroactively recognized as the Baseball World Cup XXIII. The next edition of the Amateur World Series would be played in

The 1974 Amateur World Series was the second to be organized by FEMBA after the organization split from FIBA, and the first to be staged in the United States. As such, FIBA member states such as Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, and Panama were not invited (they participated in a FIBA tournament held in Havana the previous year). The Honduras national team had been invited, but withdrew after Hurricane Fifi hit the country.

From the beginning, the tournament suffered from attendance and financing issues; the organizing budget had been set for only $10,000. Teams were critical of the conditions for their athletes, including the Dominican team, which had to leave its motel after it was unable to pay the bill, which was footed by the team rather than the organizers. There were also several on-field controversies; police had to be called to the stadiums on two occasions, and the Taiwanese team nearly withdrew after a contentious decision that saw a player get called out after he hit a triple, on the charge that he had used a colored bat. In one instance, Puerto Rico forfeited their game with the United States after the team's manager and catcher were both ejected for arguing a hit-by-pitch call, and refused to leave the field.

The final tie-breaker between Nicaragua and the United States also sparked controversy. Both teams finished with identical 7-0-1 records, with their only meeting having been called because of darkness while tied 6-6. The Nicaraguans claimed that according to international rules, the game should be replayed in its entirety, with the winner being crowned world champion. However, FEMBA president William Fehring ruled the teams would instead play a best-of-three series, with the winner taking the championship. Nicaragua won the first game, which they said counted as the replayed game, but lost the second in a doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 23. Several Nicaraguan players protested the ruling, saying they had won the tournament by virtue of winning the first game; even Nicaraguan executive and FEMBA vice president Carlos García Solórzano said "we should be champions right now," to no avail. The two teams played a third game on Sunday, Nov. 24, with the U.S. winning 9–2.

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