1956

1956 in baseball
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
Negro Leagues
<< 1955 1957 >>

Championships, events, culture, births, and deaths that occurred in 1956.

Club competitions

Professional

Asia and Australia

• Nippon Professional Baseball
  • Nippon Series: Nishitetsu Lions (PL) over the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 - 2 - 0 (Details)
    • Central League: Yomiuri Giants (Details)
    • Pacific League: Nishitetsu Lions (Details)
• Claxton Shield: Victoria

Europe

• Baseball-Bundesliga: 1. Mannheimer Baseball Club Knights
• Hoofdklasse Honkbal: Schoten Haarlem
• Serie A1: Chlorodont Nettuno

North America

• Major League Baseball
  • World Series: New York Yankees (AL) over the Brooklyn Dodgers (NL), 4 - 3 (Details)
    • American League: New York Yankees (Details)
    • National League: Brooklyn Dodgers (Details)

• Minor League Baseball
  • Junior World Series: Indianapolis Indians (AA) over the Rochester Red Wings (IL), 4 - 0 (Details)
  • Alabama-Florida League: Donalsonville Seminoles
  • American Association: Indianapolis Indians (Details)
  • Arizona-Mexico League: Cananea Mineros
  • Big State League: Port Arthur Chieftans
  • California League: Fresno Cardinals
  • Carolina League: Fayetteville Highlanders
  • Central Mexican League: Saltillo Saraperos
  • Eastern League: Schenectady Blue Jays
  • Evangeline League: Lafayette Oilers
  • Florida State League: Cocoa Indians
  • Georgia State League: Douglas Reds
  • Georgia-Florida League: Valdosta Tigers
  • International League: Rochester Red Wings (Details)
  • Midwest League: Paris Lakers
  • Nebraska State League: Lexington Red Sox
  • Northern League: Duluth-Superior White Sox
  • Northwest League: Yakima Bears
  • Pacific Coast League: Los Angeles Angels (Details)
  • Pioneer League: Boise Braves
  • PONY League: Wellsville Braves
  • Sooner State League: Seminole Oilers
  • South Atlantic League: Jacksonville Braves
  • Southern Association: Atlanta Crackers
  • Southwestern League: El Paso Texans
  • Texas League: Houston Buffaloes
  • Three-I League: Evansville Braves
  • Western League: Lincoln Chiefs

• Liga Mexicana de Béisbol: Diablos Rojos del México

• Negro Leagues
  • East-West Game: The team representing the East defeated the team representing the West by a score of 11 - 5 at Comiskey Park (Details)

Winter Leagues

• Serie del Caribe: in Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá; Cienfuegos (Cuba) (Details)
  • Cuban Winter League: Cienfuegos
  • Panamanian League: Chesterfield
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico: Caguas-Guayama
  • Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional: Industriales de Valencia
• Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana: Leones del Escogido defeated the Águilas Cibaeñas in the league's finals, 4 - 3
• Mexican Pacific Coast League: Culiacán

Amateur

• College World Series (National Collegiate Athletic Association): The University of Minnesota defeated the University of Arizona in the best-of-three finals, 12 - 1 (Details)
• Community College League of California: Orange Coast College beat Coalinga College in the finals
• National Baseball Congress World Series: Fort Wayne Allen Dairy (Details)
• All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series: Kansai University defeated the Nihon University in the final, 2 - 1 (Details)
• Japan High School Baseball Federation
  • National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament: Chukyo University Senior High School (Aichi) defeat Gifu Shogyo High School (Gifu), 4 - 1 in the championship (Details)
  • National High School Baseball Championship: Heian High School (Kyoto) defeat Gifu Shogyo High School (Gifu), 3 - 2 in the championship (Details)
• Little League
  • Little League World Series: Lions Honda (Roswell, NM) defeat Delaware Township (Merchantville, NJ), 3 - 1 in the championship (Details)

International competitions

• Olympics (Demonstration Sport) in Melbourne, Victoria Australia (Details)
  • A team representing the United States - comprised of service members of the United States Far East Command - defeated an amateur all-star team representing Australia, 11 - 5
• European Championship in Rome, Italy (Details)
  • The Netherlands (Gold); Belgium (Silver); Italy (Bronze)

Culture

Literature

• Baseball Pals, by Matt Christopher
• Bang the Drum Slowly, by Mark Harris
• Strictly From Brooklyn, by William Heuman

Song

• The Ballad of Don Larsen, by Red River Dave
• I Love Mickey, by Teresa Brewer

Film

• The Great American Pastime

Births

Further information: Births in 1956

Deaths

Further information: Deaths in 1956

Further Reading

• Howard W. Henry Jr.: Saving Buffalo Baseball: The 1956 Buffalo Bisons, NFB Publishing, Buffalo, NY, 2022. ISBN 978-1-9536-1022-5