John Clement

Catcher for the United States Services Baseball Team at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

John E. Jack Clement, catcher on the 1956 United States Services Baseball Team
John E. “Jack” Clement, pictured from the 1956 United States Services Baseball Team photograph.
United States Services Team

John E. “Jack” Clement

1st Lieutenant | Catcher | Buffalo, New York | Canisius College | 1956 Melbourne Olympic Baseball Demonstration

John E. “Jack” Clement was a Buffalo ballplayer and Canisius College athlete who reached an unusual stage in baseball history: the 1956 United States Services Baseball Team that represented America during the Olympic baseball demonstration in Melbourne, Australia.

Contemporary Australian tour material identifies Clement as a catcher, a right-handed hitter and thrower, and a player whose background included high school baseball, American Legion baseball, three years of college baseball at Canisius College, and four years of Municipal League baseball.

Full NameJohn E. “Jack” Clement
HometownBuffalo, New York
1956 Rank1st Lieutenant
Best-Attested PositionCatcher
Bats / ThrowsRight / Right
CollegeCanisius College
TeamUnited States Services Baseball Team
CommandUnited States Far East Command

Baseball Background

Clement’s strongest surviving biographical source is a December 1956 Australian souvenir program for the U.S.A. Olympic Baseball Team’s game against Western Australia in Perth. That program identifies him as John E. Clement, born in Buffalo, New York, and describes a substantial amateur baseball résumé before his military selection.

According to that contemporary program, Clement played four years of high school baseball, American Legion baseball, three years of college baseball at Canisius College, and four years of Municipal League ball. The same source records that he batted and threw right-handed and identifies him as a catcher.

Nickname note: The player profile uses “John E. Clement,” while the team photograph caption identifies him as “Jack Clement.” The safest reading is that Jack was his contemporary nickname.

Canisius College and Buffalo Baseball

Clement’s connection to Canisius College is secure because the 1956 tour program names the school directly. The exact years, statistics, and whether his early college baseball was varsity or pre-varsity remain unresolved in the currently available public record.

Later summaries place Canisius baseball’s modern varsity history beginning in the mid-1950s, with Bob MacKinnon coaching from 1954 through 1959. That makes MacKinnon a possible coaching connection, but not yet a proven one for Clement until Canisius rosters, yearbooks, or student newspaper records are located.

The 1956 Olympic Baseball Team

The American team at Melbourne was not a modern civilian national team. It was a military baseball team drawn from the United States Far East Command, bringing together outstanding servicemen who were also accomplished baseball players.

The United States defeated Australia 11–5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 1, 1956. Baseball was a demonstration event rather than an official medal sport, but the game remains one of the most important moments in Olympic baseball history.

Position note: Contemporary Australian program material identifies Clement as a catcher. Some later roster summaries list him as a relief pitcher. Because the best primary source says catcher, this page treats catcher as his best-attested position while noting the later conflict.

Australian Tour

After the Olympic demonstration game, the United States Services team continued its Australian tour through several states. The Perth souvenir program places Clement on the U.S. roster for the December 19, 1956 game against Western Australia at the WACA Ground, where the Americans won 4–1.

The same program’s results summary shows the broader tour included games in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth, making Clement part of a rare postwar military baseball delegation that represented the United States on an international stage.

What Remains Unknown

Clement is well documented in the surviving 1956 Australian tour paperwork, but much of his wider life remains unresolved. Current open sources do not securely establish his birth date, death date, exact service branch, military unit, post-service career, obituary, spouse, children, or descendants.

The next logical research steps are Canisius University archives, Buffalo-area newspaper archives, National Personnel Records Center military records, and Baseball WA / Collections WA for higher-resolution program scans and related provenance files.

Timeline

Before 1956Played high school baseball, American Legion baseball, three years of college baseball at Canisius College, and four years of Municipal League baseball.
1956Identified in contemporary Australian tour material as John E. Clement of Buffalo, New York.
December 1, 1956Member of the United States Far East Command team that defeated Australia 11–5 in the Melbourne Olympic baseball demonstration game.
December 1956Continued with the United States Services team during the Australian state tour.
December 19, 1956Listed on the United States roster for the Perth game against Western Australia, a 4–1 U.S. victory.
Present Research StatusBirth and death data, military branch, exact unit, post-service career, and family details remain open research questions.

Research Sources

This page was compiled from the John Clement research report, the 1956 U.S.A. Olympic Baseball Team v. Western Australia souvenir program, Olympic roster summaries, and related Far East Command and Canisius research leads.