US #2619
1992 Olympic Baseball

• Baseball became an official Olympic event at the 1992 Summer Games

Category of Stamp:  Commemorative
Value:  29¢, First Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  April 3, 1992
First Day City:  Atlanta, Georgia
Quantity Issued:  170,865,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method/Format:  Photogravure, 200 subjects (10 down, 20 across), separated into panes of 50
Perforations:  11

Reason the stamp was issued:  Baseball had been a demonstration sport at a number of Olympics.  The 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, marked the first time the sport was an official event.

About the stamp design:  The US Postal Service hosted a contest for the design of this stamp.  The chosen artwork shows a runner sliding into home base as the catcher reaches down to tag him. 

First Day City:  Atlanta, Georgia, was the location for the release of the Olympic Baseball stamp.  It was chosen because the 1996 Summer Games were held there.  It was also the home of the Atlanta Braves, who had won the National League pennant in 1991.

Unusual thing about this stamp:  This stamp was pulled from sale just nine months after it was released.  There was no official reason given.  Some thought it was because the USPS was no longer an official sponsor of the Olympics so could no longer picture the Olympic rings on their stamps.  Others felt the reason had to do with the stamp’s similarity to a photo published in Sports Illustrated a few years before. 

History the stamp represents:  Baseball first debuted as a demonstration sport at the 1912 Summer Olympics.  The sport continued in this status through the 1988 Olympics.  In the 1992 Summer Games, baseball appeared as an official event for the first time.  Because the Olympics are only open to amateurs, America’s Major League players were not eligible to play.  Collegiate athletes were sent to Spain instead.  In 1992, Cuba won the first gold medal in Baseball.