Riccardo Fraccari

Riccardo Fraccari

• Born May 30, 1949 in Pisa, Tuscany Italy

Biographical Information

Riccardo Fraccari is a member of the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fraccari began his career as an umpire in Italy in the mid-1970s. He worked several international events, including the 1979 Intercontinental Cup, 1981 European Championship, 1982 Amateur World Series, 1984 Amateur World Series and 1984 Olympics. He was named the best umpire of the 1982 Amateur World Series and won IBA Umpire of the Year honors in 1984. In 2001, he was elected president of the Federazione Italiana Baseball & Softball and he was re-elected in 2008. He was named to the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

On December 6, 2009, Fraccari was elected President of the International Baseball Federation, taking over for Harvey Schiller. A veteran of international baseball circles, he had previously served as first Vice-President of the European Baseball Confederation and as Vice-President of IBAF for the European Region. The IBAF became the World Baseball and Softball Confederation under his tenure, merging with the international softball body, winning re-entry into the Olympics for 2020. In 2016, Fraccari stepped down as head of the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation to focus on his role running the WBSC.