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

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Baseball League
Second Division
Single Season and Career Records
1888 through 1929

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Baseball League
Second Division
Award Winners
1901 through 1929

Baseballer of the Year

Batsman, Pitcher, Newcomer of the Year

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Baseball League
Third Division
Single Season and Career Records
1920 through 1929

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Baseball League
Third Division
Award Winners
1920 through 1929

Northern Section

Baseballer of the Year

Batsman, Pitcher, Newcomer of the Year

Southern Section

Baseballer of the Year

Batsman, Pitcher, Newcomer of the Year

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Baseball League
Team Register
1889 through 1929

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Preston North End Sign Two Internationals

The Lilywhites have surprised all by looking outside Britain to strengthen their squad. They “pulled out all their stops” yesterday by signing both the best player in Japan, and a British subject who pitched in the American major leagues.

The signing of the Japanese fellow was most surprising. Satoshi Iwamoto is a left fieldsman and travelled with the team from the Meiji University of Tokio to London last year. They gave a brilliant exhibition of baseball in their match against the London Americans at Stamford Bridge in June, and gained a runaway victory by 26 runs to none. Meiji stole seven bases in the exhibition and played a splendid defence in the outfield, taking several fly balls for outs. They had arrived after a long tour of the United States, in which they won 13 matches out of 30. Preston had a man in the ground that afternoon and he became obsessed with bringing the young oriental to England, and they North End were so impressed with the tiny Iwamoto, who tops out at five feet five inches and weighs nine stone four soaking wet, that they signed him on the maximum wage.

The club also did the same with Jim Wright, a pitcher who was born in Hyde, Lancashire but who emigrated with his family to America, where he learnt baseball from an early age and became quite a good pitcher. He pitched for professional clubs in the states of Indiana and Michigan from the age of 18, and pitched parts of two seasons for the American League’s Saint Louis club before winding up with Seattle in the Pacific League last season. Wright had been unhappy with his progress in American baseball and contacted relatives in Hyde who put him on to some gentlemen in the League’s offices in Manchester. Since Wright had been a major league pitcher there was much interest expressed in seeing what he has to offer. Wright sailed to Britain and a trial was arranged for him at a Manchester gymnasium for the benefit of several clubs. He performed spectacularly and many clubs offered him a contract within days, with Preston eventually winning the bid for Wright’s services.

Both of the newly signed internationals are expected to be on the pitch for Preston’s opening series in Newcastle against the United club starting on May 5th.

[Big Six]

How have I not realized what a fantastic story this is until now?

Over the past year and a half or so, I've become a big fan of what the world calls football, particularly English football. I've been reading about the sport nearly constantly, watching the Premier League on TV (my kids are fans now, too, and my wife is coming around), and playing quite a bit of Football Manager when I can, too.

I have some catching up to do, but I'm planning on reading all the way through your thread in the days to come, and I'll be following from now on. Knowing the clubs (many of them, at least) makes it a lot of fun.

As I said, I wish I'd discovered this one sooner.

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Originally Posted by Big Six

How have I not realized what a fantastic story this is until now?

Over the past year and a half or so, I've become a big fan of what the world calls football, particularly English football. I've been reading about the sport nearly constantly, watching the Premier League on TV (my kids are fans now, too, and my wife is coming around), and playing quite a bit of Football Manager when I can, too.

I have some catching up to do, but I'm planning on reading all the way through your thread in the days to come, and I'll be following from now on. Knowing the clubs (many of them, at least) makes it a lot of fun.

As I said, I wish I'd discovered this one sooner.

Wow, huge endorsement! Thanks!

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The Start of a New Season.

After having brought the season forward in recent years, the baseball authorities recognized the possibility of having to play the summer game in winter weather, and while our favourite top and middle tier teams have conducted their spring practices in Portugal, the cold snaps which we may be said to suffer or enjoy, according to our personal feelings, will not deter the members of the 88 clubs of the Baseball League from doing their best to “get off on the good foot” and earn victories in their maiden matches this afternoon.

The fact that competitive baseball starts on the first Monday in May means an unfortunate clashing with Association football and rugby union, but that also has been endured for several years now, and the heavy work of the season necessitates both the early beginning and the extension of the playing days into October.

As with every year, several changes have taken place in the composition of the different tournaments as the result of what happened last season. To wit, West Ham United have gone up with Brighton & Hove Albion to the First Division to replace Aston Villa and Blackpool, each ending long stretches of mediocrity in the top tier given that the former never exceeded a 51 per cent. win rate in any season during the prior decade, and the latter peaked at the 17th place during their most recent stint in the loop.

Liverpool and Burnley, both mainstays of League baseball, have fallen from the Second Division. Liverpool previously tasted the bitter pill, in 1924. They went right back up the following season and showed brief promise for the future before stumbling hard three seasons ago and flirting with relegation ever since, finally “succeeding” this season past. This will be Burnley’s first ever foray in the nether regions of the League, especially difficult after making a splendid run for promotion the season prior, falling just three lengths short. They will make room for Carlisle United and Gillingham, respectively providing Cumbria and Kent their first ever clubs to play above the Third Division. There is a new name in the Northern Section as well—South Shields have moved ten miles inland and will now be called Gateshead.

As for expectations for the various competitions in the top tier of the League, Crewe Alexandra looked particularly strong in Spring games and will provide a great challenge to last season’s championship round participants Chesterfield and Preston North End, the latter of whom made spectacular signings of top professionals from America and Japan. Sunderland, Everton, and Fulham all appear to be strong sides as well. In the middle division, Birmingham, Durham City, Stockport County, and Coventry City were the best squads in Portugal in April. In the Third Division, the inside men give their nods to Charlton Athletic, Merthyr Town, Northampton Town and Tottenham Hotspur in the Southern Section, while in the Northern Section, Middlesbrough are the clear favourite to rise to the Second Division for next season.

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Baseball League 1930: Clubs

<<<<< Most uniforms courtesy of forum member No Pepper >>>>>

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Baseball League 1930: Club Locations


First Division




Second Division




Third Division Northern Section




Third Division Southern Section (minus London clubs)




Third Division Southern Section (London clubs only)

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Morley’s Hits Streak Stopped at Forty One.

William Morley, the magnificent Manchester United left fieldsman, is the acknowledged master of the base hits streak. Entering the 1929 season he had fashioned five long streaks of 24, 25, 30, 31, and, of course, the magnificent 53 games hits streak of five years ago.

Last season he authored a 20 games streak, and three days after that had been stopped, went on a “tear” to end the season with an active streak of 35 matches. He started this season with base hits in his first six matches before finally being held hitless in yesterday’s match, a four runs to two victory against the powerful Crewe Alexandra club. It is not as though Morley was shut down entirely, for he drew two bases on balls and scored two runs to provide the difference for the victory.

Morley now owns two of the three longest hit streaks in League history, the great war hero William Beveridge being the owner of a 44 games streak in 1905. For the record, the Second Division high mark for hits streak is 38 matches by Sydney Griffiths of Birmingham in 1928; and for the Third Division, streaks of 36 games are owned jointly by Fergus O’Neill of Bristol Rovers in 1921, and Will Marshall of Queens Park Rangers in 1922.

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Emery Reaches Season Home Run Milestone

Only one batsman in the annals of the League had ever made at least thirty home runs in a season. He was, of course, the redoubtable Alistair Bolton of the erstwhile juggernaut Liverpool club. He had five consecutive seasons of at least thirty from 1901 to 1905, and fell short by just one in 1900. No one has come close to matching such exploits ever since.

Cyril Emery, the Leicester City first base man, a tall six feet one and a powerful sixteen stone, may yet challenge that record, and took the first step towards doing so by making his own thirtieth home run of the season Tuesday in a loss to Chesterfield at Saltergate that was as exciting as it was momentous.

Emery’s home run in the fourth innings put the Foxes up by eight runs to four, but when so much scoring occurs so early it is not a safe lead, and that proved true again yesterday as the Spireites plated half a dozen in the seventh, and one more for good measure in the eighth.

It was a measure Chesterfield would need. For Leicester threatened to draw even with Chesterfield as Emery came to the bat with runners on second and third base. His thirty first home run would have brought the Foxes level, and he did crush a mighty blow that bounced off the top of the short left field fence, which scored the two runners but limited Emery himself to a 2B. Snowden singled Emery to third base, but MacBride ended the proceeding with a weak ground ball out off the pitcher Greenaway, and it was all over.

Only 4,251 showed up in the massive Saltergate Ground to witness Emery’s achievement, a testament to the fact that both clubs were eliminated from Cup contention long ago.

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Baseball League 1930
First Division Results

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Baseball League 1930
EOI Cup Series

Sunderland defeated Crewe Alexandra
Four Matches to Two

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Baseball League 1930
First Division Champions and EOI Cup Runners Up


Crewe Alexandra Railwaymen

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Baseball League 1930
EOI Cup Winners





Sunderland Black Cats

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Baseball League 1930
First Division Table

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Baseball League 1930
First Division Team Batting and Pitching

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Baseball League 1930
First Division Award Winners


Baseballer of the Year and Pitcher of the Year: Gareth Neal




Batsman of the Year: Adam Findlay




Newcomer of the Year: Jim Wright