The (English) Baseball League (est. 1888): A History

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Baseball League 1913
First Division Award Winners

Baseballer of the Year: William Beveridge




Batsman of the Year: Ernie Gilbey




Pitcher of the Year: Billy Connolly




Newcomer of the Year: Wilfrid Thomas

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Baseball League 1913
First Division League Leaders

Batting Leaders




Pitching Leaders

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Baseball League 1913
First Division Top Game Performances

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Baseball League 1913
First Division Top 20 Batsmen and Pitchers

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Baseball League 1913
First Division Top Systems

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Baseball League 1913
First Division Financial Report

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Grimsby’s Smith with Tremendous “No Hitter”

On a cool summer afternoon in this Lincolnshire large town, in front of three thousand full throated supporters, the pitcher Freddie Smith provided the thrill of a no-hit performance for the Grimsby Town club as they took a crisp two runs to nil victory from the Sky Blues of Coventry City. The triumph kept Mariners within two lengths of Stoke for the second promotion spot at the top of the table, and four games behind first place Blackburn Rovers.

Only two batsmen were able to reach base against Smith. Short stop Armstrong coaxed a base on balls in the first innings, and Smith own third base man Everson betrayed him with a booted ground ball hit directly at him by Coventry batsman Reid. Otherwise, Smith dominated Sky Blues with eleven strikeouts and a heavy pitch that yielded numerous outs by ground balls to infielders.

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Twenty Four Innings and Two Months Later,
a Weird Win for Coventry City

Baseball is a game of uncertainty, unlike the many forms of football, because there is no clock to regulate the length of play, and so only the collecting of outs will put down the foe. In most games a winning side will record twenty seven outs. On 2nd July and 4th September—sixty four days apart—Coventry City needed to record seventy two outs to get their victory, but not even that was done in what might have been deemed a typical fashion.

After seven innings, the score stood at a five-all draw, and it was the same after nine innings as well. Also, after ten, then after eleven, then twelve, and so on until the game was suspended after the twentieth innings because of the setting of the sun. Because this game was the third and last of this particular series and each team was to start a new series against a fresh opponent the following day, the match could not be resumed until the next time the clubs played, which was yesterday the 4th in Bury, with a supporting crowd that by most accounts had more than trebled from the match’s beginnings two months ago and one hundred twenty miles away.

As the visiting team for the game, Bury led off the 21st innings to cheers unusual for a “visiting” club. No scoring occurred in any of the next three innings until Bury scored two in the top of the twenty fourth, the first runs scored since the seventh inning played in July, but weirdly enough Coventry awoke from their own sixteen innings slumber to plate three of their own and win when Mitchell scored on a fly ball out to centre field hit by Harris. The opprobrium directed towards both clubs emanated immediately from the seats, which was stanched only once both clubs returned having switched uniforms and started the game already scheduled for that day.

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Results

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Promoted Club

South Shields Tynesiders

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Promoted Club

Grimsby Town Mariners

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Final Table

Rotherham County and Aston Villa were required to seek re-election to the Second Division. They were joined in the vote for League membership by four non-league clubs. Voting (number of votes):

33	Aston Villa             Re-elected to the League
21	Rotherham County        Re-elected to the League
11	Leicester Fosse         Not elected to the League
8	Stockport County        Not elected to the League
4	Bradford City           Not elected to the League
1	West Bromwich Albion    Not elected to the League

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Team Batting and Pitching

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Award Winners



Baseballer of the Year and Pitcher of the Year: Freddie Smith




Batsman of the Year: Bobby Arscott




Newcomer of the Year: Willie Johnson

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division League Leaders

Batting Leaders

Pitching Leaders

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Top Game Performances

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Top 20 Batsmen and Pitchers

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Top Systems

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Baseball League 1913
Second Division Financial Report

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Career Victories Leader Retires From League

Edmund Parker has quit the game of baseball after twenty six seasons in the League.

Parker, who spent his entire career with Blackburn Rovers since their entry into the League in 1888, has never been the greatest pitcher in the game at any time during his career, but he was the most durable, and the proof of this is that he leaves baseball having won the most games of any pitcher in the annals of the League. In 24 years in the top flight Parker recorded 356 victories, and in the final two years in the second tier he won thirteen more, for a total of 369 League wins, far and away the most by any pitcher. Jesse Morgan has 286 victories, and he is believed to continue pitching next year as well.

By dint mainly of his longevity, Parker holds many career records. He has pitched the most games, 725; the most innings, 5,502; he has given up the most base hits and the most home runs. He is second in career losses (266); second in strikeouts (2,174); but he ranks only 47th in earned runs average (2.85). Again, he is a very good pitcher, but not necessarily a great pitcher. Nevertheless, Parker has had a notable career for the accomplishments he achieved.

Parker won three championships with Rovers in the 1890’s. He led his division in strikeouts three times, and in earned runs average once.