1972 Amateur World Series
The 1972 Amateur World Series was the 20th Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (FIBA) and took place, for the third time, in Nicaragua. It was won by Nicaragua national baseball team – their 1st championship. There were 16 participating countries.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Nicaragua |
| Venue(s) | Estadio General Anastasio Somoza (in Managua host cities) |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Nicaragua (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Cuba |
| Third place | United States |
| Fourth place | Japan |
The tournament occurred shortly before the devastating 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. This led to a controversy where Nicaragua was suspended from FIBA on charges that it had been too late in paying FIBA the tournament revenues, despite the earthquake. The suspension of Nicaragua in light of these events was a catalyst for Nicaragua, the United States, and several other baseball federations to leave FIBA and form their own international baseball organization, FEMBA.