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

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BASEBALL IN WAR TIME.

PROPOSAL TO CURTAIL CUP COMPETITIONS.

At the meeting of the Council of the Baseball Association on Monday next, Mr. T. E. Bond will move the following resolution:

“That at the present time it is not desirable to proceed with the Cup competitions beyond the qualifying stages, and that the trial matches intended to be played this season be abandoned."

If Mr. Woolfall’s motion is carried, the competitions will cease in about June of this year.

A conference is to be held in London to-day to consider the question of baseball during the war. Delegates will be present from the Scottish Baseball Association, the Welsh Baseball Association, the Irish Baseball Association, and the Baseball Association. The commitments of the leading professional clubs appear to be the chief obstacle to a complete cessation of professional baseball. At the end of the last baseball season the clubs entered into fresh contracts with their players. The liability of the clubs do not end with the payment of wages to players. Ground rentals, interest, and management expenses have to be considered, and it is stated that the average liability of the forty top professional clubs amounts to £5,500.

Baseball officials have said they would welcome the stoppage of baseball as a relief to these burdens. Many of the clubs cannot pay their way and a system of mutual help had to be arranged to enable weaker clubs to continue.

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NEW APPEAL TO BASEBALLERS.

COLONEL GRANTHAM’S COMPLAINT.

FUTURE OF THE GAME.

As the outcome of several special Baseball Association meetings held in London yesterday no definite arrangements have been made for the continuance of baseball this coming season. No action was taken by the Council of the Baseball Association in regard to a suggestion by the Scottish Baseball Association to fix dates for the international matches. For the guidance of their clubs, various resolutions were passed by the Baseball League concerning the employment of professional players.

Under a new rule the Baseball Association is to have power to suspend the game either sectionally or entirely, or extend the periods for playing as from time to time in their discretion shall be deemed necessary or desirable, and agreements between players, official and clubs shall be subject to such decisions.

At the special general meeting of the Baseball League, held at the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen-street, the following letter from Colonel C. F. Grantham, commanding the Baseballers’ Battalion, was read :—

“As the officer commanding the Baseballers’ Battalion it is my duty to bring the following facts to your notice :—You are aware that some little time ago there was some controversy in the papers with regard to the manner in which the professional baseballer had failed in his duty by not coming forward to serve his country in its time of stress. The laxity of the baseball professionals and their following amounted to almost a public scandal. Mr. Joynson-Hicks, M.P., therefore, raised the Baseball Battalion, and public opinion died down under the belief that most, if not all, of the available professional baseballers had joined the battalion. This is not the case, as only 122 professionals joined. I understand that there are 40 League clubs and 52 more in the other top leagues with an average of some 30 players fit to join the colours, namely, 2,760. These figures speak for themselves. I am also aware and have proof that in many cases directors and managers of clubs have not only given no assistance in getting these men to join, but have done their best by their actions to prevent it. I am taking the opportunity of your meeting to ask you, gentlemen, if you and your clubs have done everything in your power to point out to the men what their duty is. Your King and country call upon every man who is capable of bearing arms to come forward, and upon those who are unable to use their best endeavour to see that those who can do so. It is no use mincing words. If men who are fit and capable of doing so will not join they and all those who try by their words and actions to prevent them will have to face the opinion of their fellow-men publicly. I will no longer be a party to shielding the want of patriotism of these men by allowing the public to think they have joined the Baseball Battalion.”

Mr. C. E. Sutcliffe (Burnley) said the management committee dissented strongly from various statements in the letter. When the League issued a manifesto to clubs they said, “This is the call of patriotism,” and trusted that in the hour of England’s need every young man would respond to the call. They now considered, as then, that baseball was a subsidiary interest, and he moved the following resolution, which was adopted :—

“This special general meeting of the clubs of the Baseball League heartily approves the declarations of the management committee with reference to the importance of all professional baseball players who can do so joining the Colours. They fully recognize the serious call of national and patriotic duty, and pledge themselves to continue to do everything in the power to support the management committee and other baseball authorities in encouraging recruiting in all phases of the national service.”

Captain William Buxton, third base man of Clapton Orient and an officer in the Baseballers’ Battalion, supported the changes made in the letter.

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BASEBALL WITHOUT PROFESSIONALS.

DECISION FOR CONTINUANCE OF THE GAME.

At a conference of the English, Scottish, Irish, Central, Western, Northern and Southern Leagues held at Blackpool on Saturday, it was unanimously decided that the best interests of the nation and those engaged in the war and preparing the munitions of war, will be best served by the continuance of baseball.

In view of the possibility of some leagues deciding upon a class of baseball inconsistent with the competitions hitherto provided, it was agreed to treat all payers of clubs connected with any league other than their own, as retained players, and clubs cannot attempt to sign, any such players without the consent of the club for which they were registered on September 30 last.

Each league is to consider the desirability of approaching its national association to discontinue the registration of professional players during the ensuing season, and for such period all professionals will be considered amateur players as in the case of professionals who have joined the Navy and Army and who thereby automatically become amateurs.

After the conference the Management Committee of the Baseball League recommended that in view of the pressing need for recruits and workers capable of engaging in supplying munitions of war, and in the hope that every eligible young man will find in the service of the nation a higher call than the playing of baseball, the League competition for the coming season should not be proceeded with.

It will be decided at the annual meeting, which is to be held on March 15, at the Connaught Rooms, London, whether the usual competition shall be played or what games shall be substituted, if any.

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WHERE MEN ARE WANTED.

The Baseballers’ Battalion (17th Middlesex Regiment) has left the White City to take up training in camp. Until it receives the call for active service it will remain at Holmbury Park, Dorking, the country residence of Mr. Joynson-Hicks, M.P., by whom the battalion was founded. The battalion now numbers 1,400, and has recently received the War Office sanction to raise its strength to 1,600.

About 200 recruits are required for the Middlesex Hussars. Applications should be made at the headquarters of the regiment at the Duke of York’s Headquarters, King’s-road, Chelsea.

Men are still required for the 1st London Divisional Engineers for both field and signal companies in the third line formations. The need for skilled men is great and the pay is proportionately higher than in most other arms of the service. Full particulars can be obtained at headquarters, 10, Victoria Park-square, Bethnal Green, N.E., or to the Branch Recruiting Office, 451, Edgware-road, W.

The 21st London Regiment (1st Surrey Rifles) are holding a recruiting night at headquarters in Flodden-road, Camberwell, on Thursday next. There will be exhibitions of boxing and weight lifting and a musical and variety entertainment. Men wishing to join will be admitted free by ticket from headquarters.

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SUSPENSION OF LEAGUE AND CUP COMPETITIONS.

Several important baseball meetings were held in London yesterday in connexion with the future of the game.

The Council of the Baseball Association met at headquarters in Russell-square and decided that no Championship or International matches, or Challenge Cup and Amateur Cup matches, shall be played this season. Associations, Leagues, and clubs are to be allowed to arrange matches without cup medals or other rewards, to suit local conditions, provided they do not interfere with the work of those engaged in war work. These matches are to be played only on Saturday afternoons, and on early closing and other recognized holidays. No remuneration is to be paid to players. All agreements with players for service after September 30 last are suspended until further order.

Mr J. C. Clegg (Sheffield) was re-elected chairman of the Council, and Mr. Charles Crump (Wolverhampton) vice-chairman.

Earlier in the day the annual meeting of the Baseball League was held in the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen-street, when a resolution was passed, without discussion, that in the interests of the country, the League Competition be suspended until such time as is thought desirable to reinstate it. No inter-League games will be played during the war.

At a meeting later in the day it was announced that two groups of clubs had already been formed for playing competition matches among themselves. Group 1 consists of Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Bradford, Bradford City, Notts County, Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Leeds City, Huddersfield Town, Barnsley, Hull City, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City and Leicester Fosse. Group 2 will include Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Bury, Burnley, Stockport County, Oldham Athletic, Blackpool, Preston North End, with two or three others. It was pointed out that if a group of clubs such as the five League clubs and the six Southern League clubs in London arranged a competition among themselves, they would all be under the control, for the time being, of the Baseball League.

It was stated that Aston Villa, Birmingham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and West Bromwich Albion had decided to play no competition matches.

[Trebro]

Watching closely how you handle this, to use as a model when I get to 1917. An OOC post when you are through the war would be awesome and helpful!

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[RMc]

Just how popular is baseball in the UK in your universe? More popular than soccer? And is the game's popularity in the UK causing it to spread to other countries in Europe?

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Originally Posted by RMc

Just how popular is baseball in the UK in your universe? More popular than soccer? And is the game's popularity in the UK causing it to spread to other countries in Europe?

I don't have any feel for the comparative popularity of the sports. In the UK, soccer is the winter sport and baseball is the summer sport. In the universe, all the clubs run soccer and baseball teams, but I refer to soccer only as background for what's happening in the League.

I am also not contemplating what is happening on the Continent as a result of baseball's popularity in the UK. By which I mean, even if baseball were to become popular on the Continent, I will not be reporting on any other European leagues or on any international baseball cup championships in this dynasty. I actually don't have a great feel for what the effect baseball's UK popularity would have across the sea, but if I had to guess, based on cricket, I'd say it would be fairly confined to the UK with minor exceptions.

But then, it's only 1915 now, and it's hard to predict the future. We'll see what happens as time goes on—that is, assuming Europe does not completely destroy itself by war in the meantime.

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