Baseball in the United Kingdom

Baseball is a growing, minor sport in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 3,000 (baseball only) participants in 2011[1] rising to over 22,000 (combined) softball and baseball participants by 2016.[2]

Baseball in the United Kingdom
CountryUnited Kingdom
Governing bodyBritish Baseball Federation
National team(s)Men's national team;
Women's national team
First played1862
National competitions
  • British Baseball Federation
    AAA,
    AA and
    A divisions

The sport is governed by the British Baseball Federation, which runs a multi-tier national league. There are also independent regional leagues, and around 20 universities field teams currently in existence. In 1938 the Great Britain national baseball team won the Baseball World Cup, and were runners-up in the 1967 and 2007 European Baseball Championship. As of 2020 Great Britain competed internationally at under 12, under 15, under 18, under 23 and senior levels. The under 23 team placed fifth at the 2019 European Under 23 Baseball Championship.[3]

Despite relatively low numbers of participation in the United Kingdom, there have been a number players to have played in the MLB.[4] Amongst over 90 British and Irish players to have played in the MLB [5] Danny Cox, Lance Painter and Bobby Thomson are notable. Thomson hit the Shot Heard ‘Round the World that took the New York Giants to the World Series in 1951.

A number of high profile MLB players who can trace their ancestry to Britain and who qualified to represent the Great Britain national team despite never residing in the United Kingdom include former British national team coach and Hall of Fame inductee Trevor Hoffman, whose mother was English and whose grandfather was a professional footballer with Southend United.[6]

History

Origins

It is argued that modern ‘American baseball’ can trace its roots to 18th century Britain,[7][8][9] with the earliest known mention and illustration of the game appearing in John Newbery's A Little Pretty Pocket-Book in 1744. The earliest known rules were printed in 1796, in Germany, as "Das Englische Base-ball". For a fuller context of the origins of baseball games in Britain see British baseball.

Although early varieties of baseball may have originated in Britain, modern baseball, as Americans would understand it, started to be played in Britain as early as the 1870s and it was fully developed by 1890, when the National Baseball League of Great Britain and Ireland was established. Professional baseball was especially popular in Britain during the 1930s and it enjoyed a heyday before the Second World War, but the outbreak of war led to a decline. Since the 1870’s exhibition matches between American teams have been staged in Britain,[10] culminating in the MLB London Series in 2019, which sold out 120,000 tickets in less than an hour.[11] As a result a number of MLB teams have small but dedicated fan clubs in the United Kingdom.

American influence in the 19th century

In the 1870s, baseball teams from the United States, including the Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics, toured the United Kingdom, in an effort to popularise the sport,[12] but with limited success. At that time, John Wisden and Co. were the most famous supplier of essential baseball equipment, "as used by the baseball clubs now in England in all their matches", which shows that organised clubs did exist in England in some form as early as the 1870s.[13] Wisden remains a prominent name in international cricket today.

In 1888 the President of St. Louis, on returning to the United States from their European tour, remarked that "England is now educated up to American sports", and encouraged other American baseball club presidents to continue promoting the game in England.[14] Later in 1888, John Barnes, of the Western League St. Paul club, discussed his plans to travel to England to establish a "baseball syndicate" in London, Birmingham and other large cities.[15]

In 1889 the wealthy Albert Goodwill Spalding used his position as a former star player and as a leading sporting goods supplier to arrange yet another tour of the United Kingdom by American baseball stars including the Chicago White Stockings,[16] building on the earlier tours in the past decades. As with previous tours the cricket establishment of England was used to promote baseball, with the Prince of Wales one of the "very large number of spectators" to witness the game at the Oval,[17] and over 8,000 attended a game at Lords.[18] On arriving at Bristol, Spalding paid tribute to the English cricket star W G Grace,[19] "the best known Englishman in the world".

Derby Baseball Club were one of Britain's leading baseball teams in the 1890s

This tour led to a number of new baseball clubs springing up, such as York Baseball Club, formed at Stotts Refreshment Rooms in Parliament Street as early as March 1889.[20] The most notable of these new clubs was formed 1890, in Derby, as Ley’s Recreation Club, by Francis Ley, a local man who had experienced the game on a trip to the United States. Following their first ever game (as Ley’s Recreation Club) Ley began to appeal for "professionals aged 20 to 25" and "cricketers who can field smartly" to attend Ley's Recreation Centre to form a club, in March 1890[21] and Ley’s Recreation Club became Derby Baseball Club. Despite evidence showing clubs such as York were formed slightly earlier than or at the same time as Derby, Ley erroneously claimed “we were really the first club formed in Great Britain” when discussing Derby in 1890.[22]

Ley, who certainly had “introduced baseball amongst his employees”[23] and was instrumental in providing superb facilities at Derby, was not in attendance in October 1889, when noted supporters of a new National League of Baseball of Great Britain met at the Criterion, London, to formally establish the new baseball association, though he was elected as a provisional officer. Representatives of Preston North End, Gloucester County Cricket Club, Essex County Cricket Club, Staffordshire County Cricket Club, Aston Villa and the National Rounders Association all were represented and elected as officers to the association, with Newton Crane elected to the chair.[23]

The new association quickly moved to establish a headquarters at 38 Holborn Viaduct, London, from where it would agree on and promote a set of rules by which the new National League would be played.[24] By July 1890 it was estimated that there were over 90 baseball clubs in England alone, with Derby Baseball Club being widely believed to be the best professional club in England.[25] Yorkshire proved to be a surprising hotbed of baseball by 1890 when it was reported that “there are more baseball clubs in Yorkshire than in any other county in England.”[26] It was not totally unexpected when the Secretary of Essex County Cricket Club, Mr Betts, resigned his position to take up the role of Secretary of the newly formed Baseball Association of Great Britain, in July 1890.[27]

Aston Villa, now known exclusively as a football club, won the only professional baseball championship in 1890. The competition was hindered by poor weather and disappointing crowds and made a loss for its investors.[28] Aston Villa's win was not without controversy, however, with both Aston Villa and Preston North End being found guilty of cheating during the season.[29] For much of the season Derby Baseball Club did lead the championship, however, pressure from other teams in the league over the number of American players on the Derby team and low attendances led to Derby being expelled before the end of the season, though at the time the club insisted they had ‘retired’ as champions,[30] despite evidence to the contrary.

In response to the accusations against Derby of employing too many talented American baseball players, Ley wrote letters to editors of newspapers to state “Derby Baseball Club is the only one of the four League clubs to have not imported professional players from America” and went to lengths to point out the lack of support Spalding provided to Derby compared to the other clubs, which he was a major shareholder in.[22] Ironically, given the finger pointing at Ley for employing too many talented Americans, of the various American baseball players sent across to coach and play baseball in England, in the 1890 season, the most prominent was arguably Preston North End captain Leech Maskrey, who had played Major League Baseball. In August 1890 the Preston club organised a presentation for their captain, who was returning to the United States.[31] Meanwhile, Spalding turned his attention to establishing collegiate baseball in the United Kingdom[32] with very little success.

In March 1890 Edinburgh Northern Baseball Club began to meet for practice[33] and Spalding’s influence was obvious when The Spalding Baseball Club of Aberdeen sprung to life in July 1890, their headquarters being at 59 Princes Street.[34] By August 1890 the financial backing of Spalding resulted in two local rivals emerging in Aberdeen, the Spalding Baseball Club and Aberdeen Baseball Club, who played at The Links. The two competed for the Spalding 50 guinea Challenge Cup[35] and the right to take on the University Baseball Club of Edinburgh, evidence of Spalding’s desire to establish collegiate baseball in the United Kingdom. Wales, possibly due to the continued popularity of British or Welsh Baseball, was slower to adopt the American game. In April 1893 The Cardiff Central were formed, and claimed to organise “the first game of American baseball played in South Wales.” They were based at Grangetown.[36]

The Golden Age and Postwar Decline

Baseball's peak popularity in Britain was in the years immediately preceding World War II. Professional baseball teams often shared grounds with football clubs and the game was run at a professional standard with up to 10,000 spectators per game. In 1933, in response to a challenge from Major League Baseball’s National League President, John Haydler, the wealthy British gambling tycoon, Sir John Moores, established the National Baseball Association and continued to fund the establishment of amateur and professional leagues in England.

With the golden age, British baseball achieved a major milestone in 1938, with the victory of Great Britain over the United States, in the 1938 Amateur World Series, considered the first World Cup of Baseball. The series was created by Sir John Moores, with the 1939 Amateur World Series competition initially being named the John Moore's Cup.

With the backing of Sir John Moores an England baseball team was given financial support to compete in the 1939 series, in Havana, presumably as defending champions Great Britain. In doing so they would have become the first national representative team to compete outside the United Kingdom[37] but the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted the development of British baseball, the team withdrew and the sport entered into decline. Following the war, in July 1951, Wolsley Athletic (Birmingham) became the first British baseball team to play in continental Europe, in an official game, in Belgium.[38]

British and Irish players in Major League Baseball

Over 90 players born in Britain and Ireland, or who qualified to play for the Great Britain national team, have played in the MLB. This includes players born in Ireland before the partition of Ireland and Ireland ceding from the United Kingdom and players from the Bahamas who qualified through ancestral heritage.

At present

Today, there are 74 active baseball teams, and 1,500 adult and Junior (under 18) players ranging geographically from London to Liverpool, St Austell to Edinburgh. The Junior Great Britain national team consists of 15 players and recently competed in the European championships.

There have been numerous league formats since 1890. The British Baseball Federation (BBF) is the governing body for baseball in the UK and the baseball leagues. The season runs from April until August. Affiliated baseball clubs pay annual affiliation fees to be a member of the BBF and play in the BBF Leagues and Junior Leagues. There are three leagues independent of the British Baseball Federation: the Scottish National League, run by Baseball Scotland; the Northern Baseball League containing mainly teams based in Northern England; and the South West Baseball League, representing all but one of the teams in the South West of England. There is also a full Great Britain Baseball Programme which comprises the Great Britain Baseball Academy,[39] junior national teams and Great Britain 'Seniors' Baseball Team. British national teams have competed in the European Baseball Championships[40] and the World Baseball Classic.[41]

The BBF league format is divided into the national divisions, consisting of four tiers from the National League, down to the Single A league. At the end of the season, all divisions compete in post-season tournaments where the top teams from each conference play knockout matches, with the winning teams then progressing to the Championship Series. The Championship Series of the National League is best of three; the AAA, AA and A championships are single games.

The Independent leagues compete against the teams in their own leagues, and in 2017 the first Independent leagues finals weekend was held at Hull, which consisted of semi-finals between the champions of the Independent leagues and a final held the next day. This was followed by an England v Scotland friendly All-Star game.

Baseball in Northern Ireland is affiliated to Baseball Ireland for practical reasons. Northern Ireland's only team, the Belfast Northstars, play in the Irish Adult League.

British University Baseball has also been growing, with 20 universities with clubs at the end of the 2015/16 season: Cambridge, Coventry, Durham, Edinburgh, Essex, Hull, Imperial, Leeds Beckett, Leeds Gryphons Baseball Club, Loughborough, Manchester Metropolitan University (Cheshire), Nottingham University, Nottingham Trent University, Sheffield, Southampton, Stirling, Swansea, UCL and University of East Anglia. The University season runs from September to May, the typical off-season for the sport. Without a British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) league, teams compete in the National University Baseball Championships (NUBC) tournament, which happens twice a year in the spring and the autumn and is run by BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK). The Spring 2016 Champions are Loughborough, and have won the past 3 NUBC tournaments. Despite not having a BUCS league, a Northern University Baseball League was set up for the 2015/16 season, and is planned to expand and be renamed to the National University Baseball League, and have a similar set up to the BBF leagues.

National Baseball Champions

SeasonWinnersScoreRunners-upComments
1890Aston VillaPreston North EndNo playoff
1892Middlesbrough25-16St. Thomas's
1893Thespian London33-6Darlington St. Augustine's
1894Thespian London38-14Stockton-on-Tees
1895Derby Baseball Club20-16Fullers
1896Wallsend-On-Tyne16-10Remingtons
1897Derby Baseball Club30-7Middlesbrough
1899Derby Baseball Club14-3Nottingham Forest
1900Nottingham Forest17-16Derby Baseball Club
1906Tottenham Hotspur
1907Clapton Orient8-7Fulham
1908Tottenham Hotspur6-5Leyton
1909Clapton Orient6-4Leyton
1910Brentford20-5West Ham United
1911Leyton6-5Crystal Palace
1934Hatfield13-12Albion
1935New London7-1Rochdale Greys
1936White City9-5Catford Saints
1937Hull5-1Romford Wasps
1938Rochdale Greys1-0Oldham Greyhounds15 innings
1939Halifax9-5Rochdale Greys
1948Liverpool Robins13-0Thames Board Mills
1949Hornsey Red Sox10-5Liverpool Cubs
1950Burtonwood Bees23-2Hornsey Red Sox
1951Burtonwood Bees9-2Ruislip Rockets
1959Thames Board Mills12-4East Hull Aces
1960Thames Board Mills6-1Liverpool Tigers
1962Liverpool Tigers8-3East Hull Aces
1963East Hull Aces8-3Garringtons
1965Kingston Aces4-2Stretford Saints
1966Stretford Saints3-1Liverpool Aces
1967Liverpool Yankees4-2Beckenham Bluejays
1968Hull Aces4-1Hull Royals
1969Watford-Sun Rockets8-7Liverpool Trojans11 innings
1970Hull Royals3-1Hull Aces
1971Liverpool Tigers8-3Hull Aces
1972Hull Aces6-4Hull Royals
1973Burtonwood Yanks23-3Hull Aces
1974Nottingham Lions5-3Hull Royals
1975Liverpool Tigers5-3Nottingham Lions
1976Liverpool Trojans5-4Spirit Of '76
1977Golders Green Sox9-5Hull Aces
1978Liverpool Trojans14-12Crawley Giants
1979Golders Green Sox9-7Hull Aces
1980Liverpool Trojans12-1Hull Aces
1981London Warriors23-1Hull Aces
1982London Warriors16-7Liverpool Trojans
1983Cobham Yankees10-3Hull Mets
1984Croydon Blue Jays9-8Hull Mets
1985Hull Mets10-8London Warriors
1986Cobham Yankees12-5Hull Mets
1987Cobham Yankees6-0Southglade Hornets
1988Cobham Yankees16-1Burtonwood Braves
1989Enfield Spartans15-9Sutton Braves
1990Enfield Spartans22-3Hull Mets
1991Enfield Spartans9–7, 2–4, 4-1London AthleticsSpartans won 2 games to 1
1992 BBFLeeds City RoyalsHumberside MetsAwarded championship by walkover
1992 NLLondon Warriors23–0, 5-4Enfield SpartansWarriors won 2 games to 0
1993 BBFHumberside Mets and Chicksands IndiansTitle decider not played
1993 NLLondon Warriors2-1Enfield Spartans
1994 BBFHumberside Mets2–3, 10–0, 8-0Essex ArrowsMets won 2 games to 1
1994 NLEnfield Spartans8-5Waltham Forest Angels
1995Menwith Hill Pirates3–2, 7-6London WarriorsPirates won 2 games to 0
1996Menwith Hill Pirates14–9, 11–23, 18-12London WarriorsPirates won 2 games to 1
1997London Warriors11–5, 31-12Kingston-upon-Hull CobrasWarriors won 2 games to 0
1998Menwith Hill Patriots13–5, 17-15London WarriorsPatriots won 2 games to 0
1999Brighton Buccaneers16-4Windsor Bears
2000London Warriors11-7Brighton Buccaneers
2001Brighton Buccaneers8-5Windsor Bears
2002Brighton Buccaneers5-1Windsor Bears
2003Windsor Bears9-4Brighton Buccaneers
2004Croydon Pirates12-10Windsor Bears
2005Croydon Pirates11–4, 10-9Brighton BuccaneersPirates won 2 games to 0
2006Richmond Flames7-11, 8–5, 9-0Croydon PiratesFlames won 2 games to 1
2007London Mets7–2, 11-1Croydon PiratesMets won 2 games to 0
2008London Mets11-4Richmond Flames
2009Bracknell Blazers16-4Richmond Flames
2010Richmond Flames10-1Bracknell Blazers
2011Harlow Nationals13-3Lakenheath Diamondbacks
2012Harlow Nationals6-3Herts Falcons
2013Southern Nationals12-7Southampton Mustangs
2014Essex Arrows5–1, 5-4London MetsArrows won 2 games to 0
2015London Mets6–2, 11-2Southampton MustangsMets won 2 games to 0
2016Southampton Mustangs0–1, 7–3, 9-4London MetsMustangs won 2 games to 1
2017London Mets15–14, 6-0Southampton MustangsMets won 2 games to 0
2018London Mets16–1, 11-1Herts FalconsMets won 2 games to 0
2019London Mets14-4London Capitals
2020London Mets9-1London Capitals

Championships by Region

Region Number of
championships
Towns/Cities
London
35
London (35)
North West
16
Liverpool (9), Warrington (3), Preston (1), Rochdale (1), Stretford (1)
Yorkshire and the Humber
14
Hull (9), Harrogate (3), Halifax (1), Leeds (1)
South East
10
Cobham (4), Brighton (3), Bracknell (1), Southampton (1), Windsor (1)
East of England
7
Harlow (2), Purfleet (2), Bedford (1), Waltham Abbey (1), Watford (1)
East Midlands
5
Derby (3), Nottingham (2)
North East
2
Middlesbrough (1), Newcastle (1)
West Midlands
1
Birmingham (1)
Scotland
-
South West
-
Wales
-

2020 Teams

Note: This list does not contain teams who failed to opt in to the 2020 league system and are officially listed as inactive.

Division Team City/Area Ball Park Coordinates Founded
National Baseball League
NBL
   
   
Essex Arrows ESA
Waltham Abbey, Essex Townmead Leisure Park 51°40′53″N 0°0′33″W 1983
   
   
Lancashire Legends LEG
Slough, Berkshire Farnham Park Baseball & Softball Complex 51°32′24″N 0°36′36″W 2020
   
   
London Capitals LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 2018
   
   
London Mets LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 1988
Triple-A
Triple-A
   
   
East London Latin Boys
Waltham Forest, London Salisbury Hall Playing Field 51°36′19″N 0°1′20″W 2011
   
   
Essex Redbacks ESR
Chelmsford, Essex Melbourne Park 51°44′57″N 0°27′1″W -
   
   
Kent Buccaneers KEN
Hadlow, Kent Hadlow Park 51°13′47″N 0°20′12″E 2018
   
   
London Mammoths LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 1988
   
   
London Marauders LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 1988
Double-A
Central
   
   
Birmingham Bandits BIR
Birmingham, West Midlands Marston Green Recreational Ground 52°28′0″N 1°44′5″W 2003
   
   
Leicester Blue Sox
Leicester, Leicestershire Western Park 52°38′11″N 1°11′5″W 2006
   
   
Long Eaton Storm
Long Eaton, Derbyshire West Park Leisure Centre 52°54′5″N 1°17′33″W 2014
   
   
Sheffield Bruins
Sheffield, South Yorkshire Thorpe Green Park 53°20′12″N 1°21′17″W 2018
East
   
   
Cambridge Monarchs
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Coldhams Recreation Ground 52°12′27″N 0°9′19″W 2011
   
   
Milton Keynes Bucks
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire Woughton on the Green 52°1′44″N 0°42′49″W 1986
   
   
Norwich Iceni
Norwich, Norfolk University of East Anglia 52°36′18″N 1°17′0″W 2017
   
   
Sidewinders Baseball Club
Enfield, London Enfield Playing Field 51°39′13″N 0°3′53″W -
South
   
   
Croydon Pirates
Sutton, London Roundshaw Playing Fields 1981
   
   
Guildford Mavericks GUI
Guildford, Surrey Christs College 51°15′24″N 0°34′42″W 1992
   
   
London Musketeers LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 1988
   
   
Richmond Dragons RIC
Richmond, London Connare Field 51°26′30″N 0°19′19″W 1992
   
   
South Coast Pirates SCP
Hastings, East Sussex Bexhill Park 2018
South West
   
   
BC Vetra
Saltford, Somerset 2020
   
   
Bournemouth Bears
Ferndown, Dorset The Bear's Cave 50°48′14″N 1°54′3″W 2018
   
   
Bristol Badgers BRI
Keynsham, Somerset Somerdale Pavilion 51°25′26″N 2°29′50″W 2008
   
   
SW Rebeldes
Taunton, Somerset Bishop Fox's School 2020
Single-A
Central
   
   
Bracknell Inferno
Bracknell, Berkshire Westmorland Park 51°25′47″N 0°43′32″W 1992
   
   
Brighton Jets
Brighton and Hove, East Sussex Pavilion Field 50°51′49″N 0°10′11″W 2016
   
   
Guildford Millers GUI
Guildford, Surrey Christs College 51°15′24″N 0°34′42″W 1992
   
   
Richmond Dukes RIC
Richmond, London Connare Field 51°26′30″N 0°19′19″W 1992
East
   
   
Essex Archers ESA
Waltham Abbey, Essex Townmead Leisure Park 51°40′53″N 0°0′33″W 1983
   
   
Forest Glade Redbacks ESR
Chelmsford, Essex Melbourne Park 51°44′57″N 0°27′1″W -
   
   
London Minotaurs LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 2020
   
   
London Mustangs LON
Haringey, London Finsbury Park 51°34′29″N 0°5′57″W 2019
South East
   
   
Kent Buccaneers (Rookies) KEN
Hadlow, Kent Hadlow Park 51°13′47″N 0°20′12″E 2018
   
   
Kent Mariners
Aylesford, Kent Cobdown Park 51°17′57″N 0°27′21″W -
   
   
South Coast Seadogs SCP
Hastings, East Sussex Bexhill Park 2020
   
   
Tonbridge Bobcats
Tonbridge, Kent Deaconsfield 51°11′53″N 0°16′4″W -
South West
   
   
Bristol Bats BRI
Keynsham, Somerset Somerdale Pavilion 51°25′26″N 2°29′50″W 2013
   
   
Bristol Buccaneers BRI
Keynsham, Somerset Somerdale Pavilion 51°25′26″N 2°29′50″W 2019
   
   
Taunton Muskets
Taunton, Somerset Muskets Field 51°0′38″N 3°4′14″W 2014
Scottish National League (Non-BBF)
SNL
   
   
Aberdeen Express
Aberdeen, Aberdeen City George W. Chalmers Field 2019
   
   
Edinburgh Cannons
Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Bobby Thomson Field 55°57′51″N 3°12′3″W 2010
   
   
Edinburgh Diamond Devils
Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Bobby Thomson Field 55°57′51″N 3°12′3″W 1985
   
   
Edinburgh Giants
Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Bobby Thomson Field 55°57′51″N 3°12′3″W 2010
   
   
Glasgow Comets
Glasgow, Glasgow City Tolcross Field 55°51′1″N 4°10′46″W 1997
   
   
Glasgow Galaxy
Glasgow, Glasgow City Tolcross Field 55°51′1″N 4°10′46″W 1997
   
   
Granite City Oilers
Aberdeen, Aberdeen City George W. Chalmers Field 2013
   
   
Tayport Breakers
Tayport, Fife Tom Waddell Memorial Baseball Field 2020
West Midlands Baseball League (Non-BBF)
WMBL
   
   
Stourbridge Titans
Stourbridge, West Midlands Gibson Field 52°28′3″N 2°7′15″W -
   
   
Telford Giants
Telford, Shropshire 2020
   
   
Wolverhampton Baseball Club
Wolverhampton, West Midlands 2019
   
   
Worcester Sorcerers
Worcester, Worcestershire Merlin Field 52°11′18″N 2°13′46″W 2019

See also

References

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  21. "Wanted". Derby Daily Telegraph. 26 March 1890. p. 3.
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  41. "Inspire, develop, perform: Unheralded British baseball chasing history". ABC News. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
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