A Medal That Connected Athletes to the Games
A surviving artifact from the 1956 Olympic Games and the era of the United States Services Baseball Team.
This medal is the official 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games participation medal. It was not a winner's medal for first, second, or third place. Instead, participation medals were part of the Olympic tradition of recognizing those connected to the Games and preserving the host city's identity through art, design, and symbolism.
For the story of the United States Services Baseball Team, the medal is especially meaningful. Baseball was a demonstration sport in Melbourne, but the men who represented the United States still took part in one of the great international sporting gatherings of the twentieth century. This medal helps place their baseball tour inside the larger world of the 1956 Olympic Games.
Andor Mészáros: The Artist Behind the Medal
Andor Mészáros was a Hungarian-born Australian sculptor, architect, and medallist. He was born in Budapest on September 1, 1900, and received an unusually wide artistic and technical education. His training included mechanical engineering in Vienna, sculpture in Paris, and architecture in Budapest. This combination of engineering discipline, sculptural modeling, and architectural structure helped shape the precision and balance seen in his medal work.
Mészáros emigrated to Australia in 1939 and became an important figure in Australian sculpture and medallic art. His work included public sculptures, religious commissions, portrait medals, commemorative medals, and civic designs. Over his career, he became known as one of Australia's leading twentieth-century medallists.
His commissions included religious and public sculptures as well as numerous medals. Among his notable medal designs were the Victorian Artists Society medal, the 1956 Olympic Games participation medal, the ANZAAS Medal, the 1967 Pattern Swan Dollar, and the Vietnam Medal. His son, Michael Meszaros, also became an important sculptor and medallist, continuing the family's artistic legacy.
The Obverse: Melbourne as Host City
One side of the medal presents Melbourne through civic and heraldic symbols. The design includes the words “Olympic Games Melbourne 1956”, the Olympic rings, and the central elements of the City of Melbourne coat of arms.
The shield includes a fleece, bull, whale, and three-masted ship. These symbols point back to Melbourne's nineteenth-century identity as a commercial, agricultural, maritime, and trading city. The crown and cross reinforce the civic nature of the design.
Around the lower edge appears Melbourne's Latin motto, “Vires Acquirit Eundo.” It is commonly rendered as “we gather strength as we go,” a fitting phrase for a growing city hosting the Olympic Games for the first time.
The Reverse: Athletes, Flag, and Olympic Motto
The reverse centers on the Olympic flag, surrounded by the Latin motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” In 1956, this was the traditional three-word Olympic motto. The later addition of “Together” belongs to the modern era and was not part of the Melbourne medal design.
Around the flag, Mészáros arranged a ring of idealized athletic figures. These figures should not be read as portraits of specific athletes or historical people. They are symbolic bodies representing movement, competition, discipline, and the gathering of athletes from around the world.
The designer's signature, “Meszaros 1956,” appears near the lower edge of the reverse. That signature identifies the medal as the work of Andor Mészáros and links it directly to the Melbourne Games.
Winner's Medals vs. Participation Medal
Melbourne 1956 used two different types of official Olympic medals. The gold, silver, and bronze winner's medals were competition awards for athletes who placed in official Olympic events. The participation medal was a separate commemorative medal connected to the wider Olympic gathering, including athletes, officials, and accredited participants.
These were awarded only in official medal events. The Melbourne medals used Giuseppe Cassioli's long-running Olympic victory design, often known as Trionfo. The obverse shows Nike, the goddess of victory, with the inscription “XVIth Olympiad Melbourne 1956”.
This medal was designed by Andor Mészáros. Rather than honoring first, second, or third place, it commemorated participation in the Melbourne Olympic Games and reflects the host city's civic identity and Olympic ideals.
| Purpose | Winner's medals: Awarded for official competition results. | Participation medal: Awarded as a commemorative object connected to participation in the Games. |
|---|---|---|
| Medal Types | Gold, silver, and bronze. | Bronze participation medal. |
| Designer | Giuseppe Cassioli, using the traditional Olympic winner's medal design. | Andor Mészáros, Hungarian-born Australian sculptor and medallist. |
| Imagery | Nike, goddess of victory, and a triumphant athlete carried by a crowd. | Melbourne civic heraldry on one side; athletes, Olympic flag, and motto on the other. |
| Connection to Baseball | No winner's medals were awarded for baseball because baseball was a demonstration sport at Melbourne. | The participation medal helps connect the baseball team to the larger Olympic experience. |
Not a Winner's Medal
This object is best understood as a participation medal, not a gold, silver, or bronze prize medal. Olympic winner's medals were awarded to athletes who placed in official medal events. Participation medals, by contrast, were created as commemorative objects connected to the host city and the wider Olympic gathering.
That distinction matters for the United States Services Baseball Team. Baseball at the 1956 Melbourne Games was a demonstration event rather than an official medal competition. The U.S. team defeated Australia in the Olympic baseball demonstration game, but there were no official Olympic gold, silver, or bronze baseball medals awarded for that game.
Why This Medal Matters
The 1956 Melbourne participation medal helps connect the baseball exhibition tour to the larger Olympic setting. It is not simply a souvenir. It is a carefully designed object that carries the identity of the host city, the ideals of the Olympic movement, and the artistic vision of Andor Mészáros.
The medal also broadens the story beyond the playing field. It reminds us that the 1956 baseball team was part of an international Olympic event hosted by Melbourne, shaped by Australian civic pride, and recorded through artwork by one of Australia's important medal artists.
Research Sources
This page was compiled from Olympic history sources, biographical material on Andor Mészáros, information on Melbourne's civic heraldry, and photographs of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic participation medal.