Baseball in the United Kingdom

This article is about the modern American sport of baseball in the UK. For the sport of British baseball, see British baseball. For historical use of the term baseball, see Origins of baseball.

Introduction in the 19th Century

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

In 1890 the international version of the game was introduced to the United Kingdom in Derby by Francis Ley, a Derby man who had 'discovered' the game on a trip to the United States, and Albert Goodwill Spalding, an American sporting goods businessman who saw opportunities to expand his business across the Atlantic. 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 to its investors. One of the first baseball clubs was the Derby County Baseball Club which ran away with the first championship after the National Baseball League of Great Britain and Ireland was established in 1890. However, pressure from other teams in the league over the number of American players on the Derby team forced Derby to resign at the end of the league's first season, though the baseball club itself lasted until 1898. The so-called Baseball Ground continued to be used under that name as the home of football's Derby County F.C. for over a century, from 1895 to 1997.

Resurgence prior to WWII

Baseball's peak popularity in Britain was in the years immediately preceding World War II. Baseball teams shared grounds with football clubs and the game was run at a professional standard with up to 10,000 spectators per game.

One milestone of baseball in the United Kingdom was the 1938 victory of Great Britain over the United States in the 1938 Amateur World Series, considered the first World Cup of Baseball.

At present

Today, there are more than 40 baseball teams, 875 adult and Junior (Under 18) players ranging geographically from Croydon to Liverpool, Portsmouth to Edinburgh. The Junior Great British National Team consists of 15 players which 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. Baseball clubs pay annual affiliation fees to be a member of the BBF and play in the BBF Leagues and Junior Leagues. There is also a full Great Britain Baseball Programme which comprises the Great Britain Baseball Academy, junior national teams and Great Britain 'Seniors' Baseball Team.

There are currently four tiers in the national game. The highest level is the National League followed by AAA, AA and A. All are split into a Northern and Southern Conference except for single A. The National League, AAA and AA have a final four tournament at the end of each season where the top two teams from the Southern Conference and the top two from the Northern Conference play a knock out match with the winning teams then progressing to the Championship Series. The Championship Series of the National League is best of three, the AAA and AA championships are single games.

The season runs from April until August.

Baseball in Scotland is governed by Baseball Scotland. There are currently six teams in Scotland: Edinburgh Diamond Devils, Edinburgh Cannons, Edinburgh Giants, Glasgow Galaxy, Glasgow Comets, and the Granite City Oilers, who are playing their first season in the league. The league has been self-run for six years and is still looking to expand to have teams in Dundee, Perth and the Borders. The Edinburgh Diamond Devils are the largest run club in the UK, with three adult teams and two junior teams.

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.

Champions

Season	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Comments
1890	Preston North End F.C.
1892	Middlesbrough F.C.
1893	Thespian London
1894	Thespian London
1895	Derby County Baseball Club
1896	Wallsend-On-Tyne
1897	Derby County Baseball Club
1898	Derby County Baseball Club
1899	Nottingham Forest F.C.
1906	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
1907	Clapton Orient
1908	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
1909	Clapton Orient
1910	Brentford
1911	Leyton
1934	Hatfield Liverpool
1935	New London
1936	White City London
1937	Hull
1938	Rochdale Greys
1939	Halifax
1948	Liverpool Robins
1949	Hornsey Red Sox
1950	Burtonwood Bees
1951	Burtonwood Bees
1959	Thames Board Mills	12-3	East Hull Aces
1960	Thames Board Mills	6-1	Liverpool Tigers
1961	Liverpool Tigers
1962	Liverpool Tigers	8-3	East Hull Aces
1963	East Hull Aces	8-3	Garringtons
1964	Hull Aces
1965	Hull Aces	4-2	Stretford Saints
1966	Stretford Saints	3-1	Liverpool Aces
1967	Liverpool Yankees	4-2	Beckenham Bluejays
1968	Hull Aces	4-1	Hull Royals
1969	Watford-Sun Rockets	8-7	Liverpool Trojans
1970	Hull Royals	3-1	Hull Aces
1971	Liverpool Tigers	8-3	Hull Aces
1972	Hull Aces		Hull Royals
1973	Burtonwood Yanks	23-3	Hull Aces
1974	Nottingham Lions	5-3	Hull Royals
1975	Liverpool Tigers
1975	Liverpool Tigers	5-3	Nottingham Lions
1976	Liverpool Trojans	5-4	Spirit Of '76
1977	Golders Green Sox	9-5	Hull Aces
1978	Liverpool Trojans	14-12	Crawley Giants
1979	Golders Green Sox	9-7	Hull Aces
1980	Liverpool Trojans	12-1	Hull Aces
1981	London Warriors	23-1	Hull Aces
1982	London Warriors	16-7	Liverpool Trojans
1983	Cobham Yankees	10-3	Hull Mets
1984	Croydon Blue Jays	9-8	Hull Mets
1985	Hull Mets	10-8	London Warriors
1986	Cobham Yankees	12-5	Hull Mets
1987	Cobham Yankees	6-0	Southglade Hornets
1988	Cobham Yankees	16-1	Burtonwood Braves
1989	Enfield Spartans	15-9	Sutton Braves
1990	Enfield Spartans	22-3	Hull Mets
1991	Enfield Spartans	2-0	London Athletics	Games
1992	Leeds City Royals			BBF. Awarded championship by walkover
1992	London Warriors	2-0	Enfield Spartans	NL. Games
1993	Humberside Mets	1-1	Chicksands Indians	BBF. One game each
1993	London Warriors	2-1	Enfield Spartans	NL
1994	Humberside Mets	2-0	Essex Arrows	BBF. Games
1994	Enfield Spartans		Waltham Forest Angels	NL
1995	Menwith Hill Pirates	2-0	London Warriors	Games
1996	Menwith Hill Pirates	2-0	London Warriors	Games
1997	London Warriors	2-0	Kingston-upon-Hull Cobras	Games
1998	Menwith Hill Patriots	2-0	London Warriors	Games
1999	Brighton Buccaneers	16-4	Windsor Bears
2000	London Warriors	11-7	Brighton Buccaneers
2001	Brighton Buccaneers	8-5	Windsor Bears
2002	Brighton Buccaneers	5-1	Windsor Bears
2003	Windsor Bears	9-4	Brighton Buccaneers
2004	Croydon Pirates	12-10	Windsor Bears
2005	Croydon Pirates	2-0	Brighton Buccaneers	Games
2006	Richmond Flames	2-1	Croydon Pirates	Games
2007	London Mets	2-0	Croydon Pirates	Games
2008	London Mets	11-4	Richmond Flames
2009	Bracknell Blazers	16-4	Richmond Flames
2010	Richmond Flames	10-1	Bracknell Blazers
2011	Harlow Nationals	13-3	Lakenheath Diamondbacks
2012	Harlow Nationals	6-3	Herts Falcons
2013	Southern Nationals	12-7	Southampton Mustangs
2014	Essex Arrows	2-0	London Mets	Games
2015	London Mets	2-0	Southampton Mustangs	Games

+ Game three of the 1993 final between Hull & Chicksands was cancelled because of the weather and never played, so both teams shared the Championship. +

See also

• British Baseball Hall of Fame
• Baseball awards#United Kingdom
• Baseball awards#Europe

External links

• BBF (British Baseball Federation)
• Great Britain National Baseball Team
• Project Cobb, the Project for the Chronicling of British Baseball.
• Great Britain Baseball Scorers Association, the home of baseball scoring in the UK.