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28-605: The Interamerican Series was the initiative of Venezuelan businessman Jesús Corao. It came in the wake of Venezuela hosting the 1944 and 1945 Amateur World Series , the Serie Monumental that saw American Negro league all-stars play Venezuelan clubs, and the ensuing professionalization of the sport in the country, in the form of the Venezuelan League . The inaugural series included Venezuelan champions Cerveceria Caracas , Industriales de Monterrey of

56-523: A dilettante . Through most of the 20th century the Olympics allowed only amateur athletes to participate and this amateur code was strictly enforced, Jim Thorpe was stripped of track and field medals for having taken expense money for playing baseball in 1912. Later on, the nations of the Communist Bloc entered teams of Olympians who were all nominally students , soldiers , or working in

84-420: A lower level of ability than professional athletes. On the other hand, an amateur may be in a position to approach a subject with an open mind (as a result of the lack of formal training) and in a financially disinterested manner. An amateur who dabbles in a field out of interest rather than as a profession, or possesses a general but superficial interest in any art or a branch of knowledge, is often referred to as

112-426: A person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught , user-generated , DIY , and hobbyist . Historically, the amateur was considered to be the ideal balance between pure intent, open mind, and the interest or passion for a subject. That ideology spanned many different fields of interest. It may have its roots in

140-565: A profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. Near the end of the 1960s, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) felt their amateur players could no longer be competitive against the Soviet team's full-time athletes and the other constantly improving European teams. They pushed for the ability to use players from professional leagues but met opposition from

168-479: Is one of the reasons science today exists the way it does. A few examples of these gentleman amateurs are Francis Bacon , Isaac Newton , and Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington . Amateurism can be seen in both a negative and positive light. Since amateurs often lack formal training and are self-taught, some amateur work may be considered sub-par. For example, amateur athletes in sports such as basketball , baseball , or football are regarded as possessing

196-742: The Venados de Mazatlán of the Mexican Pacific League , Leones de León of the Nicaraguan League , and Vanytor de Barranquilla of the Colombian League . The Dominican Republic organized a tournament in 1965 that is sometimes referred to as the final edition of the Interamerican Series, inviting Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Major league stars like Roberto Clemente and Felipe Alou participated, but

224-514: The 1988 tournament ). The tournament took place, for the first time, in Venezuela . It was contested by four national teams playing twelve games each from October 12 through November 18 in Caracas . Venezuela won their second AWS title, though in controversial fashion. Controversy surrounded the tournament with umpiring decisions. The Dominican Republic led Venezuela going into the 9th. In

252-644: The Dominican Republic . The series struggled economically, due to the absence of Cuba as well as of the Dominican Republic, which itself was wracked in political turmoil and had been sanctioned by the Organization of American States since 1960. No-hitters (2) Several other tournaments in the 1950s and '60s shared the "Interamerican Series" name, though historical records are spotty. A best-of-five series played in 1951 between

280-846: The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). At the IIHF Congress in 1969, the IIHF decided to allow Canada to use nine non-NHL professional hockey players at the 1970 World Championships in Montreal and Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada. The decision was reversed in January 1970 after IOC President Avery Brundage said that ice hockey's status as an Olympic sport would be in jeopardy if

308-732: The Mexican League , the Havana Cubans of the Florida International League (alternatively, the "All-Cubans"), and the Brooklyn Bushwicks , an independent semi-pro team managed by John Antonelli , with former and future Major League stars like Tony Cuccinello , Whitey Ford , and Hank Borowy . The 1946 tournament was notable for being the place where major league scout Joe Cambria signed Chico Carrasquel , then playing for Caracas. In 1947,

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336-521: The ancient Greek philosophy of amateur athletes competing in the Olympics . The ancient Greek citizens spent most of their time in other pursuits, but competed according to their natural talents and abilities. The "gentleman amateur" was a phenomenon among the gentry of Great Britain from the 17th century until the 20th century. With the start of the Age of Reason , with people thinking more about how

364-614: The 1972 retirement of IOC President Brundage, the Olympic amateurism rules were steadily relaxed, amounting only to technicalities and lip service, until being completely abandoned in the 1990s (in the United States , the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 prohibits national governing bodies from having more stringent standards of amateur status than required by international governing bodies of respective sports. The act caused

392-746: The Bushwicks were replaced by the Buffalo All-Stars , a team of International League players managed by Buffalo Bisons manager Paul Richards . The series was suspended after 1950, as focus shifted to the Caribbean Series . The series was resurrected in 1961 as a result of the Cuban Revolution ; MLB Commissioner Ford C. Frick ruled that American major leaguers were barred from playing in Havana, which effectively scuttled

420-630: The Olympics, because of the unwillingness of the NHL to take a break mid-season and the IOC's amateur-only policy. Before the 1984 Winter Olympics , a dispute formed over what made a player a professional. The IOC had adopted a rule that made any player who had signed an NHL contract but played less than ten games in the league eligible. However, the United States Olympic Committee maintained that any player contracted with an NHL team

448-637: The Sinton Plymouth Oilers, a U.S. semi-pro team from Sinton, Texas , and Mexico's Sultanes de Monterrey , was referred to as the Interamerican Series. This tournament was organized by the International Baseball Congress , led by former MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler . Another club tournament titled Pan American Series in 1958, but also referred to as the Interamerican Series, was held in Managua in 1958, between

476-447: The activities of amateurs. Gregor Mendel was an amateur scientist who never held a position in his field of study. Radio astronomy was founded by Grote Reber , an amateur radio operator . Radio itself was greatly advanced by Guglielmo Marconi , a young Italian man who started out by tinkering with a coherer and a spark coil as an amateur electrician. Pierre de Fermat was a highly influential mathematician whose primary vocation

504-513: The ball to one of the Venezuelan players, which led to an out. The Cuban manager protested the call and was told by the umpires that photographers were allowed to intervene in play. Due to this, Cuba withdrew from the Cup and their remaining game was forfeited; they were credited with a third-place finish nonetheless. Cuba's withdrawal was closely followed by that of Mexico, who also withdrew from

532-575: The breakup of the Amateur Athletic Union as a wholesale sports governing body at the Olympic level). Olympic regulations regarding amateur status of athletes were eventually abandoned in the 1990s with the exception of wrestling, where the amateur fight rules are used due to the fact that professional wrestling is largely staged with predetermined outcomes. Starting from the 2016 Summer Olympics , professionals were allowed to compete in boxing, though amateur fight rules are still used for

560-571: The change was made. In response, Canada withdrew from all international ice hockey competitions and officials stated that they would not return until "open competition" was instituted. Günther Sabetzki became president of the IIHF in 1975 and helped to resolve the dispute with the CAHA. In 1976, the IIHF agreed to allow "open competition" between all players in the World Championships. However, NHL players were still not allowed to play in

588-516: The plans for the 1961 Caribbean Series. Instead, the new Serie Interamericana would replace the slot filled by the now-dissolved Cuban League with the champion of Panamanian League , with the host nation also sending an extra team. The first edition was held in Caracas, but then shifted to San Juan and Panama City. In 1964, the champion of the Nicaraguan League became the fourth team, after Venezuela opted to instead play an interleague series against

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616-521: The rule was only applied to the NHL and that professionally contracted players in European leagues were still considered amateurs. Murray Costello of the CAHA suggested that a Canadian withdrawal was possible. In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games starting in 1988, but let the individual sport federations decide if they wanted to allow professionals. After

644-637: The series ended prematurely. The trophy was not formally awarded, though it is still owned by the Dominican team, Águilas Cibaeñas . 1944 Amateur World Series The 1944 Amateur World Series was the seventh Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (which titled it the Baseball World Cup as of

672-420: The top of the inning, Venezuela rallied to take the lead. In the bottom of the inning, the umpire called the game early due to bad light, reverting the 9th inning and making the Dominican Republic the winner. More controversial umpiring played a role in a Cuba–Venezuela game in the final phase of the event. After a Venezuelan errored the ball during a close play at first, a photographer came over and threw

700-473: The tournament after more controversial umpiring decisions in favour of Venezuela, forfeiting the final round and finishing second. Mexico manager Chile Gómez declared the umpiring in Venezuela "the worst I've seen." First round Second round Final round  * Venezuela won by forfeit. Amateur An amateur (from French  'one who loves' ) is generally considered

728-430: The tournament. Many amateurs make valuable contributions in the field of computer programming through the open source movement. Amateur dramatics is the performance of plays or musical theater , often to high standards, but lacking the budgets of professional West End or Broadway performances. Astronomy , chemistry, history, linguistics, and the natural sciences are among the fields that have benefited from

756-563: The world works around them, (see science in the Age of Enlightenment ), things like the cabinets of curiosities , and the writing of the book The Christian Virtuoso , started to shape the idea of the gentleman amateur. He was vastly interested in a particular topic, and studied, observed, and collected things and information on his topic of choice. The Royal Society in Great Britain was generally composed of these "gentleman amateurs", and

784-530: Was a professional and therefore not eligible to play. The IOC held an emergency meeting that ruled NHL-contracted players were eligible, as long as they had not played in any NHL games. This made five players on Olympic rosters—one Austrian, two Italians and two Canadians—ineligible. Players who had played in other professional leagues—such as the World Hockey Association —were allowed to play. Canadian hockey official Alan Eagleson stated that

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