Aldo Notari, 73; Head of International Baseball Federation

Aldo Notari, 73, president of the International Baseball Federation since 1993, died Tuesday at a hospital in his hometown of Parma, Italy, where he was being treated for stomach cancer.

The first European to hold the post, Notari was president of the federation when the International Olympic Committee voted last year to drop baseball and softball from the Olympics after the 2008 Beijing Games. Baseball has been an Olympic sport since 1992.

Notari, who played for the Parma baseball team in Italy’s top national division in the 1950s and ‘60s, was instrumental in the creation of the World Baseball Classic, an international tournament that debuted in March featuring major league players competing for their national teams.