The History Of Baseball In England

This History Of Baseball In England

Although the origins of the game of baseball are disputed even in the United States (Hello, Abner Doubleday!) there is little doubt that some of its major elements have origins in England. There are obvious references to the games of rounders and cricket and the lesser-known sport of “Pel Fas Gymreig” which has been played in Wales for at least 250 years. Even the term “baseball” had been used as early as 1700 in England.

But what I am mostly concerned about in this article is how the game of baseball as we know it (refined in the United States) made its way back to England.

Surprisingly, in the 1870s, major league baseball teams from the United States, including the Boston Red Stockings and the Philadelphia Athletics toured the United Kingdom with some commercial success. In 1888 after the St. Louis team toured England, the club President remarked that "England is now educated up to American sports," and encouraged other American baseball teams to visit. Plans quickly ensued from John Barnes, of the Western League St. Paul club, to establish a "baseball syndicate" in London,

Birmingham and other large cities, though this ambitious endeavor never got off the ground. The Chicago White Stockings did tour in 1889 though little is known of who or where they actually played.

Enter Sir Francis Ley who traveled to America in the late 1880s and fell in love with the sport. Ley was an English nobleman and industrialist who owned an ironworks and casting company in Derby. As a cricket fan, baseball impressed him with its shorter timeframe for play which contrasted against a cricket match that might last 1-2 days or more.

Ley observed how many American companies of the era used baseball as a social recreation for their mostly male workers. He thought it could be of similar use for his employees and soon constructed “Ley’s Recreation Center” which was the first known permanent baseball field in England.

But he didn’t stop there. Ley hired an American baseball coach to teach his employees the intricacies of the game and even imported a few additional Americans with baseball skills who were also required to work in his factory during the day. Soon thereafter a loose league of sorts was formed with the other teams connected as athletic outshoots to traditional English premier soccer teams. An interesting side note is that the Preston North End team enlisted Leech Maskrey an American on their squad who played major league baseball with Louisville and Cincinnati from 1882-1886.

The first ever season began in 1890 and was partially funded by the American, former baseball player and sporting goods owner, A.G. Spalding, who saw an opportunity to sell baseball equipment outside of North America. Ley’s team dominated the league and wrapped up the title by mid-season.

Even though several games had attendance over 5,000 fans, the league folded the very next year, however, Ley’s team survived and continued to win unofficial yearly championships mostly against more amateur-based teams.

Unfortunately, by the turn of the century, most of the English baseball teams simply disappeared. Even Ley’s team sold its home field which was then turned into a soccer complex. Regardless, there is reference to a London England Baseball League which existed from 1906-1911 (see short video on this Instagram site).

The sport seemingly stalled until the 1930s. It was then that another English visionary named John Moores came onto the scene. Like Ley who preceded him, Moores traveled to the United States and also became enamored with baseball. He even met John Heydler, the National League President and then the Bambino himself, Babe Ruth.

Returning to England, Moores had a different strategy to promote interest in baseball than did Ley. He reasoned that the popularity of baseball would increase if the game became a sport that fans would like to bet on. This viewpoint also benefitted Moores personally as he ran a large gambling consortium in Liverpool.

To jump start a resurgence in baseball, Moores paid existing cricket teams 100 pounds (equates to over $9,000 in today’s currency) to convert to baseball. He also donated equipment to local schools to get children hooked on the sport. In one year alone, Moores spent an estimated 500,000 pounds on the venture.

By 1935, baseball was beginning to make substantial headway and a North of England League was formed. The next year, two more leagues were launched, one in the Yorkshire area and the other in London. Some games drew over 10,000 fans and newspapers even began to seriously cover the sport.

The stage was set for something almost miraculous. In 1938, the U.S. baseball team was warming up for the 1940 Olympics. Seizing the opportunity, Moores scheduled a five-game test series with the All Stars of England. Shockingly, the English team won the series, 4 to 1, even shutting out the Americans in the opener. By the way, this series became known as the Baseball World Cup, a title which stands to this day.

Unfortunately, WW II soon followed, wiping out the scheduled Olympics in where else but Tokyo, then embroiled in controversy over their brutal invasion of China.

Even though American troops were stationed throughout England during the European conflict there was little time for anything but winning the war. With WW II over, the gains made by baseball in England seemed to die on the vine, however it did not totally wither away. Some amateur leagues have survived to this day. For example, the Liverpool Trojans have played continuously since 1946.

The game is also growing in popularity on college campuses including: Cambridge, Coventry, Durham, Edinburgh, Essex, Hull, Imperial, Leeds Beckett, 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.

In recent years, Major League Baseball has attempted to cultivate a following in England. In 2019, the first MLB contests ever played in Europe featured the Boston Red Sox hosting two games against the New York Yankees. Two games planned for 2020 between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be games in 2023, 2024 and 2026. Baseball is also rising in popularity on cable television in England. One can only wonder if a franchise in London is not too far in the future?