The History of British Baseball

[Haystacks]

Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide for 1890 remarked of the 1874 World Base Ball Tour - 'But the venture of 1874 proved a financial failure and did little or nothing toward establishing our American game in England'

But what if the tour, whilst probably not still being a financial success, brought in larger crowds... What if Spalding had appointed someone else to coordinate affairs in Britain, maybe someone less interested in cricket, someone with skills as a promoter...

In the winter of 1873, after only having played three years of truly professional baseball, Boston Red Stockings Manager Harry Wright selected his star 23 year-old pitcher, Albert Spalding, to sail to England and to garner interest for a baseball tour featuring the Boston Red Stockings and the Philadelphia Athletics. And the rest is history...

Multitudes received the American game at Liverpool Cricket Ground in Edge Hill, such crowds as they were accustom to playing the game professionally, the tour was able to sustain attendances in the thousands throughout. Base ball rule books, guides and bats were sold to interested patrons of the game.

The British press reported favourably about the tour, but they stated the American game was an advanced edition of rounders and base ball would never come close to cricket's popularity... This was a statement likely written by a journalist part of or close to the cricket establishment, base ball had captured the interests of many working men and boys, particularly in the north-west of England, much to the revulsion of the cricket enjoyer.

As bat and ball games go cricket held a particular fondness in the hearts of the upper classes in Britain, relaxed and leisurely in nature. With that it was held in often a particular distain by the working man in the mill, down the mine, or on the docks. However base ball appealed, perhaps as a more natural progression of children's bat and ball games those working men would enjoy as a child in any street, back alley, or vacant plot of land. The fast pace and action of the game, alongside it's ease to organise saw play quickly spread through the cramped and crowded working class communities of the cities of Liverpool and Manchester.

[Haystacks]

Dennis Hughes was in the crowd on July 30th to witness Philadelphia Athletic beat Boston 14-11 in 10 innings. He enjoyed the game enough to return on the Friday with friends and family in tow preaching the qualities of the American game of base ball. The game would not disappoint as on the July 31st game Boston would beat Athletic 23-18.

It is said that within a fortnight of the tour visiting Edge Hill, Dennis Hughes set up Red Stockings Base Ball Club. Although for Boston the 'Red Stockings' nickname was informal and would be for many clubs for decades to come, Hughes heard the nickname being used and it captured his imagination in such a way that he would name his club in honour of Boston.

Liverpool Cricket Club allowed the Red Stockings to practice on their ground throughout the spring of 1875, these practices would bring in modest crowds to watch. This resulted in the Red Stockings club being expelled from the ground and taking practice in land on Lodge Lane.

From Lodge Lane Hughes organised competitive games with other base ball clubs that had been set up across Liverpool. During this time the first base ball club was also set up in Manchester, parishioners of Cavendish Chapel in the Hulme area are said to have set up the first Manchester based team, with railway workers in Newton Heath and the Longsight area following suit, these three teams would travel to alternating grounds every week through the summer and autumn of 1875 and play a round robin tournament every Saturday afternoon.

Erratically organised amateur play would continue through 1876 with some clubs travelling between cities to play sides and Hughes' Red Stockings embarking on a modest tour of the mill towns of Lancashire.

In October Hughes organises a meeting between representatives of 10 different clubs from across Manchester and Liverpool with the prospect of forming an organised league and the Mersey & Irwell Base Ball League is formed, named for the rivers of Manchester and Liverpool.

[Haystacks]

After many meetings and letters back and forth, by March the Mersey and Irwell Base Ball League is about ready for it's inaugural season. Six teams have committed to a 40 game schedule, the season will start during the first week of May. Every team will play one another 8 times with a midweek game to be played on Wednesday and a weekend game on Saturdays.

The league is strictly amateur, the only payment allowed to players by clubs is travel expenses and any loss of pay to be released from work on the Wednesdays to play ball.



Cavendish Base Ball Club

Cavendish are believed to be the first base ball club founded in Manchester, named for Cavendish Chapel in the Hulme area of the city. They used to play games and practice in Hulme but with the increased sprawl of housing the now play games on land just off Chorlton Road. Expectations are high for Cavendish who have maintained the best record in the informal Manchester round robins for the past 2 years.

Their star player is the 39 year old Gilligan Moore, Moore is part of the growing Irish community in Manchester and has spent many hours teaching youngsters and newcomers to the game how to hurl a ball with control and wicked pace.

Edge Hill Red Stockings B.B.C.

The first base ball club to be formed in Britain, originally simply known as Red Stockings base ball club the team have added Edge Hill to their name. They play their games on Lodge Lane.

Star player is Dennis Hughes, the 27 year old as the key founder of the base ball club and took the initiative to form the first organised league.

Longsight L&NWR B.B.C.

Longsight London and North Western Railway Base Ball Club were formed by workers at the carriage and locomotive depot in Longsight, Manchester. They play their game on Birch Hall Lane and had the worst record during the 1876 informal round robin games played in Manchester.

Star player is their young pitcher John Abbey.

Moss Lane Base Ball Club

Moss Lane Base Ball Club was formed by Queen's Brewery workers, they named the club for the road the brewery is on and the field in which they have practiced and played. Little is know as to what we can expect from the Moss Lane club, they were formed late in 1876 and have played a limited number of games against other opposition.

Star player is Flynn O'Flynn, another man from Manchester's Irish community, a strong batter of the ball and smart fielder.

Newton Heath LYR Base Ball Club

Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Base Ball Club was formed by railway workers in the same vain as the Longsight club. Both companies actively promoting the growth of the sport and clubs as they believe an exercised worker serves them best.

Players to watch at the Newton heath club are Connor Barclay a pitcher and Ben Smith third baseman, these two dominated games in Manchester during 1876.

Princes Park Base Ball Club

Although not the oldest, Princes Park are the most successful club in Liverpool. Named for the park in which they practice and play. Princes Park have dominated games in Liverpool for 2 years and are surely one of the teams to beat in the inaugural league season.

Star players are James King a pitcher that can manipulate a ball into behaving like nobody has seen before and Brian Binnington a big hitting second base man.

[Haystacks]

May 1877

The league opened on an overcast Wednesday 9th of May. Cavendish Base Ball Club showed league chairman and founder no respect as they romped to a 12-1 victory in Edge Hill. Despite the impressive first game Cavendish would have to wait until 30th of May for their next win, loses 4 and tying 1 of the 5 games until then.
It is the Moss Lane club that have started the season strongest recording wins against Princes Park, Cavendish, Edge Hill and an impressive 19-3 victory at Newton Heath’s Grimshaw Lane base ball ground. The only side they have yet to face is second place Longsight.

Standings W-L-T

Moss Lane 4-1-2
Longsight L&NWR 5-2-0
Princes Park 3-3-1
Edge Hill Red Stockings 2-4-1
Cavendish 2-4-1
Newton Health LYR 2-4-1

Player Stats

Batting Average
Michael Johnston, Princes Park .387
Daniel Wilson, Edge Hill .379
Robert Cornock, Princes Park .367

Runs Batted In
Robert Cornock, Princes Park 7
Ross Hudds, Moss Lane 7
James Miller, Moss Lane 7

ERA
Daniel O’Donnell, Longsight 0.98
Ben Collins, Princes Park 1.33
Taylor Edwards, Newton Heath 1.59

Strikeouts
James King, Princes Park 12
Ben Collins, Princes Park 10
John Abbey, Longsight 9

[Haystacks]

June 1877
A rain soaked June did nothing to dampen the spirits of the league’s players as they continued to enjoy playing within an organised base ball league. Crowds in the region of 200 gathered to enjoy Moss Lane Base Ball Club play on their field in south Manchester, their good form continued through June, allowing them to keep hold of first place. They did struggle against Princes Park in the three games they faced one another, Princes Park won two and one game ended in a NINE run tie. Edge Hill Red Stockings slumped to the bottom of the league winning only two of their nine games in June.

Standings W-L-T

Moss Lane 9-4-3
Princes Park 9-5-2
Longsight 8-8-0
Newton Heath 7-8-1
Cavendish 7-8-1
Edge Hill 4-11-1

Michael Johnston of Princes Park continues to lead in batting average recording a .457 at the end of June, James Miller of the Moss Lane club follows behind with .392. Miller also leads the RBI table with 17, Binnington and Johnston both of Princes Park follow him with 13.

[Haystacks]

July 1877

July brought the sun and a change in fortunes for Edge Hill Red Stockings after the slow start to their season. They started July with a competitive 6-3 win against Cavendish in which Dennis Hughes became the first player in the British leagues to be recorded stealing home. Edge Hill went on to put on a show for the crowds that frequented the new league’s games with a 16-4 victory at Longsight, 11-7 at Moss Lane, a 13-18 defeat at the hands of Princes Park and an 11-4 victory at Cavendish, their only other defeat in the 8 games of July was against Moss Lane.
Cavendish Base Ball Club had a month to forget losing 7 of their 8 games in July, Moss Lane and Princes Park matched pace with one another winning 5 and losing 3.

Standlings W-L-T

Moss Lane 14-7-3
Princes Park 14-8-2
Newton Heath LYR 11-12-1
Longsight L&NWR 11-13-0
Edge Hill 10-13-1
Cavendish 8-15-1

Michael Johnston continues to dominate the batting averages with .427 as July comes to a close, Daniel Wilson had a month to remember at the bat and hit his way to the top of the RBI table with 20 by the end of July.

Bert Tucker of Moss Lane has been hurling the neatest game as of the end of July with an ERA of 1.39. John Abbey of the Longsight club is stilling 5th on ERA with 2.59 but leads the league in wins with 7 and strikeouts with 30.

[Haystacks]

August 1877

The league remined competitive throughout July, with little separating the form of Princes Park, Moss Lane, Newton Heath and Edge Hill. Crowds at the ball grounds continued to grow as adults and children were drawn in to the high scoring competitive nature of the league.

Standings W-L-T

Princes Park 20-11-2
Moss Lane 19-11-3
Newton Heath LYR 16-16-1
Edge Hill 15-17-1
Longsight L&NWR 15-18-0
Cavendish 10-22-1

With 7 games remaining in the season it’s arguable that Princes Park have the easiest run ahead of them, with 5 games remaining to be played against the struggling Cavendish Base Ball Club.
As the season has continued Dennis Hughes of Edge Hill has found his form. Hughes was under immense pressure at the start of the season, he was leading his club and managing a base ball league alongside his family life and day job as a labourer. It’s safe to say as the season draws towards it’s close he can be proud of his accomplishments as can all the ball players in the league that have made the first year a success. Hughes has a batting average of .432, ahead of Johnston of Princes Park on .404 and Miller of Moss Lane on .368

[Haystacks]

September 1877

As summer and the base ball season drew to a close Princes Park dominated, winning all their games except for a 3-12 loss at Newton Heath to be crowned champions of the Mersey & Irwell League. Cavendish collapsed in the final month hardly putting up competition to opponents, their final game of the season saw them shut out and Princes Park bat home 17 runs.

Standings W-L-T

Princes Park 26 12 2
Moss Lane 23-13-4
Edge Hill 19-19-2
Longsight 18-21-1
Newton Heath 17-20-3
Cavendish 10-28-2

Player Statistics

Batting Average

D. Hughes, Edge Hill .436
M. Johnston, Princes Park .396
J. Miller, Moss Lane .352
Runs Batting In
D. Wilson, Edge Hill 33
D. Eddy, Princes Park 31
R Hudds, Moss Lane 29

ERA

B. Collins, Princes Park 1.7
B. Tucker, Moss Lane 1.92
J. King, Princes Park 2.18

Strikeouts

T. Edwards, Newton Heath 44
J. Abbey, Longsight 43
J. King, Princes Park 40

At the end of season meeting Dennis Hughes was voted Base Ball Player of the Year each club with 1 vote and Hughes claiming all 6 votes. All clubs agreed to return for the 1878 season, with the only notable rule change being that ties would no longer be recorded and games would go to extra innings.

[Haystacks]

As the season approached interest in the league was first recorded in the newspapers the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Evening Express. Followers of the league were predicting a strong year for Princes Park and Edge Hill Red Stockings.

May 1878

Moss Lane got off to the strongest start to the 1878 season, the first extra innings game in the league was recorded on the 25th of May. A crowd over 300 braved rain and strong winds to see Cavendish and Longsight finish their game in grand style. After a 1-1 tie at the end of the 9th both teams scored 1 run in the 11th inning to take the game to 12. Cavendish managed to score 2 runs and shutout Longsight to win the game.

Standings

Moss Lane 5-2
Princes Park 4-3
Edge Hill 4-3
Newton Heath 4-3
Cavendish 2-5
Longsight 2-5

Dennis Hughes continued his unbeatable form at the bat recording an average of .552 at the close of May.

[Haystacks]

June and July 1878

A difficult July for Moss Lane B.B.C. sees them finally drop from first place for the first time since the season began. Edge Hill Red Stockings only lost 2 games in July, the fine form of hurler Andrew Wilson, with an ERA of 1.82 and their leading man Dennis Hughes with a batting average a mile ahead of anyone else with .442 a major factor in their strong push for the league title.

At the other end of the league table Longsight L&NWR have slumped to the bottom, recording only one win in July. Cavendish have already surpassed their recorded wins for the 1877 season this year and played competitive ball throughout July, losing 2 games and seeing through some tight victories, including a 10th inning 6-3 victory at Princes Park, a 3-2 win against Moss Lane and a 6-5 walk off win against Princes Park.

Standings 1st of August

Edge Hill 17-8
Moss Lane 15-10
Princes Park 12-13
Newton Heath 12-13
Cavendish 11-14
Longsight 8-17

Batting Average

D. Hughes, Edge Hill .442
R Hudds, Moss Lane .333
H. Moore, Princes Park .319

Runs Batted In

B. Smith, Newton Heath 18
H. Moore, Princes Park 16
J. Summers Edge Hill 16

ERA

S. Harrison, Edge Hill 0.98 (only 27 innings pitched)
W. Butcher, Moss Lane 1.12
F. Harrison, Cavendish 1.15

Strikeouts

C. Barclay, Newton Heath 29
J Abbey, Longsight and S. Gray, Moss Lane 27

[Haystacks]

August & September 1878

Princes Park had a month to forget winning only 2 of their 9 games and slipping down the league to 5th. The top 2 remains unchanged as Edge Hill and Moss Lane match each other in terms of results.

With six games to be played as of Sunday 1st of September it’s hard to separate the top two clubs, by September 14th Moss Lane and Edge Hill are tied 24-13 and play one another at the Moss Lane ground. This could be the game to decide who is league champions as you wouldn’t bet against Moss Lane winning their remaining two games against Cavendish and likewise with Edge Hill and their remaining games against Newton Heath.

The game which could decide it all did not disappoint, a crowd said to be in the region of 500 gathered around the playing field to witness a game of upmost drama as both teams exploited poor fielding to mark up the runs.

BOXSCORE



Batting Scores





Spirts seemingly broken Moss Lane would lose their two remaining games to allow Edge Hill Red Stockings to claim the crown of champions of the Mersey & Irwell Base Ball League.

Standings




It was a year to forget for 1877 champions Princes Park, their star man at the bat Michael Johnston failed to perform to the standards he’d set in that winning season.

Cavendish enjoyed a fairer year, with much due to Fanahan Harrison, their top hurl had an inspired year showing greater control of the ball allowing only 29 walks compared with 46 in 1877 and finishing the season with an ERA of 1.3, the second best record in the league.


Stats




Dennis Hughes stand out performances at the bat saw him voted Base Ball Player of the Year once again claiming all 6 votes. The Red Stockings short stop recorded a batting average of .464, with 3 doubles, 3 triples and 14 runs batted in.

[Haystacks]

The member clubs of the Mersey & Irwell Base Ball League hold their annual general meeting in November 1878, the Secretary of the league Dennis Hughes presents to the members a number of requests from clubs to join the league. Great consideration is made to the quality of the clubs and their known playing records, however of greater importance to the members is the ability of clubs to fulfil their fixtures.

5 clubs had lodged applications to join, Burnley Athletic Club and Accrington are rejected unanimously, the main basis for this rejection is concerns over travel times and the clubs being able to fulfil their fixtures. Birkenhead Hill Top B.B.C. are rejected by the Manchester based clubs as they objected to having to travel by train to Liverpool then take a ferry to reach Birkenhead.

The accepted clubs...

Belle Vue Base Ball Club



The Belle Vue club was founded by the Jennison family, who own and operate Belle Vue Zoological Gardens. The inspiration for the club originally came from witnessing games played by the nearby Longsight club, they sensed the opportunity to bring greater crowds at weekends to the gardens with the offer of league base ball.

Belle Vue are the first team to have a purpose built grandstand to provide a greater view of the game for half a penny. Although visitors to the gardens can spectate the game for free, the charge for a place in the grandstand makes Belle Vue the first club to charge to watch base ball in Britain.

In practice and exhibition games held at Belle Vue in the late summer and autumn of 1878 after the clubs establishment, spectators suggest Belle Vue could have two of the strongest hurlers on the mound in the league with the 23 year old James Lawson, and 31 year old Daniel Cowie.



Liverpool Dockers B.B.C.



Liverpool Dockers B.B.C. were formed in the summer of 1877 as a works team Mersey Docks and Harbour Base Ball Club. The club was encouraged by the employer as a good form of exercise and embraced by the workers. On application to the league the members chose to shorten their name for brevity. They play their games on the fields of Stanley Park.



The stand out players for the Dockers club are Stewart Nelson, a 25 year old left fielder known for being able to make excellent contact with the bat and Jake Stewart, a 26 year old centre fielder that can hit the ball with admired power.

[Haystacks]

1879 Preseason

The 1879 season will open the first week of May for 42 games. As there were fears for the stability of clubs with the long season it was decided 3 games would be played a week, one midweek tie and a double header on the Saturday, this will see the season wrap up early August.

During the off season Dennis Hughes took his Edge Hill Red Stockings on a number of weekend trips across the north of England. The Edge Hill side would take part in games against works teams and sports clubs in an endeavour to promote the game.

In the 6 weeks running up to the opening season game on the 7th of May the clubs of the league took part in one warm up game per week. Although scored for these games were scarcely recorded or published the Manchester Evening News would report that the outlooks for Cavendish Base Ball Club and Edge Hill were the most promising as base ball gathered greater interest with local news outlets.

May 1879

The appearance of a new club brought out the largest crowds the players of the league had yet seen. It was reported over 500 had gathered to watch Belle Vue at Princes Park. A competitive affair that saw Princes Park score 3 at the bottom of the 8th inning, this was enough for them to see out a 6-9 victory. The dock workers team however struggled to bring out a crowd at Stanley Park and struggled to keep pace with Moss Lane, losing 9-2. They would go on to lose both games of their Saturday double header with Moss Lane, but turn it around the following week recording 3 wins against Belle Vue, which would stretch to a 5 game winning streak.
The 1878 champions Edge Hill, saw a mixed start to the season, they opened well recording 3 solid victories against Newton Heath, including a resounding 15-3 win, followed by a defeat and two wins at the Moss Lane club. However, the two new clubs would put them to shame to close the first month. The first game against Belle Vue was a masterclass in the art of hurling from both sides as it finished 1-1 after the 9th, this continued until Moss Lane were able to break the deadlock in the 14th inning and take home a 3-1 win. Edge Hill would then lose their Saturday double header 3-10 and 1-7 and their 3 games against Liverpool Dockers 1-3, 3-5 and 2-10 to round off May.

Standings 31st of May

Moss Lane 9-3
Liverpool Dockers 8-4
Cavendish 8-4
Belle Vue 6-6
Edge Hill Red Stockings 5-7
Princes Park 5-7
Newton Heath 4-8
Longsight 3-9

Alfred Wilcox of Edge Hill leads the batting average table with .408, however it is the batters of 3rd place Cavendish that have impressed most, their trio of Betts, Lindsay and Fountain follow with .405, .400 and .390 respectively. Two of the league’s newest hurlers Daniel Cowie of Belle Vue and Declan Liddle of Liverpool dockers have set the pace with strikeouts, recording 19 in May.

[Haystacks]

June 1879

As spring turned to summer Liverpool Dockers went on a hot streak, winning 10 of their 12 games allowing them to take 1st place and hold it as the month came to a close. Cavendish also enjoyed June winning 9, their hurler Fanahan Harrison playing a huge part in this success, winning his 4 starts, making 18 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.14.

Standings 1st of July



Despite Edge Hill’s poor season so far, their players still stand tall in the statistics tables. Alfred Wilcox and Dennis Hughes lead batting average with .384 and .370 respectively. They are notably absent however from the RBI table. Alistair Evans of Cavendish leads with 17, followed by Bodin and Hudds of Moss Lane Base Ball Club with 16.

Edge Hill’s hurler Ross Mackie is top of the ERA table with 1.11, followed by Moore of Cavendish with 1.29. The Cavendish hurlers also lead in wins, Moore with 8 and Harrison with 6. New boy Cowie of Belle Vue still leads strikeouts with 32.

[Haystacks]

July and September

Throughout July Liverpool Dockers continued their winning record with 8 wins in 14. The Dockers were showing what a team all pulling together can achieve, their hurlers were not the best in the league, neither their batters, as their average and runs scored being 4th best in the league. What sets the Dockers apart from the rest is their defensive effectiveness in the field, neat fielding that a professional cricketer or American National League player would be proud of.

Cavendish matched the pace set by the Dockers through July and as the month came to it’s close the two sides faced one another. Cavendish took the mid-week game with a 7-2 win, they won the first of the Saturday double header 8-2 and lost the final game 4-6.

With 3 games to go Liverpool Dockers faced Newton Heath and Cavendish, 2 behind, face last year’s champions Edge Hill. Cavendish collapsed against Edge Hill losing all their games, the Dockers, perhaps feeling the pressure took extra innings to beat Newton Heath in the mid-week game and the first game of the Saturday double header. Having secured the league championship, they won their final game against Newton Heath 6-4 with the Manchester crowd showing the new champions much appreciation.

Final Standings



Crane Ditches Longsight

Catcher Jimmy Crane caused a stir amongst the players and teams of the league. Jimmy Crane was a locomotive fireman that worked for the London & North Western Railway, from the Longsight depot and one of the work team’s best players. After 38 games of a frustrating year for the team and a terrible year at the bat for Crane he told the club he was done with the game. His average at the bat at this point was .184 with only 2 runs batted in, significantly worse than his first two seasons with the club (1877 .275/14RBI 1878 .225/6RBI). His team and work mates were disappointed and frustrated by his decision, they considered his actions unsporting and selfish. A patron of the game that also worked at the depot would spectate both ball clubs as both were a short walk from his home, when the news spread the Longsight players were devastated by the betrayal. Likewise the club sent a note to the league secretary to object to this behaviour and demand Crane be banned from the league.

Hughes was unwilling to ban a player from this fledgling league. No rule had been broken, and although few clubs did cover the loss of earnings some players may endure to play the mid-week games the players were amateur and should be allowed agency to choose which club they wanted to be a part of in Hughes eyes. This caused somewhat of a panic for the Manchester clubs in the league, some accused Belle Vue of poaching, of offering secret payments, but none of this could be proven. Mostly the clubs feared players could become disloyal to their teammates and clubs could be torn apart if players could switch allegiance freely with no penalty. They endeavoured to propose a rule change at the AGM to address this.

In the fall-out that Crane would endure at his workplace following his betrayal he would soon leave the railway and start a new job as a gardener at Belle Vue Zoological Gardens.

Statistics



Despite Edge Hill Red Stockings struggling through the season and unable to finish with a positive winning record, Hughes still dominated at bat, with the best average and 67 hits, ten more than his nearest rival Luke Williams of Cavendish.

Likewise hurler Ross Mackie, of Edge Hill, posted the best ERA with 1.07, significantly better than the previous best record for a season 1.23, recorded by William Butcher of Moss Lane in 1878. Connor Barclay of Newton Heath posted the most strikeouts with 50, closely followed by Cowie of Belle Vue with 48.

At the end of season meeting it was announced that Hughes had once again won Base Ball Player of the Year, with his record of .414 average, 67 hits, 2 doubles, 4 triples, 13 RBIs and scoring 28 times himself. It was however not unanimous this year, Flynn O’Flynn of Moss Lane came second with 3 of the 8 votes. O’Flynn had an average of .329, 55 hits, 9 doubles, 9 triples (most in the league), 29 RBIs and scoring 33 runs himself.

[Haystacks]

The Lancashire League

Since the formation of Edge Hill Red Stockings B.B.C. base ball has spread across the mill towns and industrial population centres of Lancashire, first it was a slow burn, driven by workers curiosity, but with the birth of the Mersey & Irwell League base ball began to take root with some fever.

The most successful of these clubs, Burnley Athletic B.B.C., Accrington B.B.C. and Blackburn Olympic B.B.C., had all unsuccessfully petitioned the Mersey & Irwell League to allow them to compete. On ever occasion this had been rejected, finally in the winter at the dawn of 1880 the four teams came together to form their own amateur league competition, the Lancashire Base Ball League. They drew up a modest schedule of 18 games per team to play through June, July and August. A new league was born.

Accrington B.B.C.



The club was formed by members of the cricket club, enthused by a new game, and workers of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Like their colleagues at Newton Heath they were encouraged to fully embrace the pursuit of base ball by the company. The team share a ground with the cricket clubs and football club on Thorneyholme Road.

Blackburn Olympic B.B.C.



The Olympic Base Ball Club was formed by members of the Blackburn based association football club of the same name. They play their ball games at Hole-i'-th-Wall where the football team also play, the ground is somewhat renowned for it's often poor conditions and sloping surface.

Bolton Weavers Base Ball Club



The Bolton based club was formed by textile workers associated with the Bolton Power Loom Weavers' Association, a trade union representing the cotton mill workers of the Bolton area. Since their formation they have played in any reasonable location they could get permission, however with the prospect of organised league play they settle in Heywood Recreation Ground where they've come to a rental agreement on a suitable location for a base ball field.

Burnley Athletic Base Ball Club



The Burnley based club was born from the town athletic club after a couple of members had happened across a game whilst visiting Manchester and returned home imbued with virtues of the game. The team have come to an agreement to share space with the town cricket club at Turf Moor so that they may have a consistent home ground to play their league games.

[Haystacks]

Mersey & Irwell 1879 AGM

Following the closure of the 1879 season the executives of the league's member clubs gathered for their annual general meeting. It is at this meeting that the Burnley and Blackburn clubs rejections spur them into forming their own league. Whilst distance of travel is again presented as the main reason for the rejection, in the privacy of the meeting Hughes made a more vocal protest on accepting Blackburn Olympic and the effects that may have on amateurism. At this point in history Hughes is an outspoken loyalist to amateurism, his fear is that accepting teams to the league that are linked to association football clubs will allow professionalism to seep into the league. Whilst professionalism is still outlawed in association football it is becoming well known that some clubs in Lancashire are paying their players, even bringing the best players from Scotland in with the prospect of decent wages to play the game. These players are referred to as Scotch Professors.

At this same meeting the Longsight club present a request to change the leagues rules to disallow players from switching clubs, the Longsight team, guided by the hurt of their betrayal, demand an all out ban on a player that switches club. After several hours of debate an amended rule change is accepted by the meeting, players remain free to switch clubs, however if they switch clubs during the season, they cannot play for their new team until the next season.

The collapse of Longsight L&NWR B.B.C.

As the 1880 season approaches the organisers of the Longsight club face something of an existential, some players appear to have lost interest in participating in the game feeling dejected by the poor 1879 season, this is coupled with rumours in the depot that one of their strongest players, Edward Strachan has joined Belle Vue. Spring breaks and the club seem unable to even organise practice sessions, this leads to the company pulling funding for the team and it's ultimate collapse.

Edward Strachan, the well respected Longsight shortstop did join Belle Vue, a solid and consistent player, but not stand out. Michael McKeller, notable for setting the league record of 41 stolen bases in the 1877 inaugural season, follows his friend to Belle Vue.

Third baseman Ernest Nichols stuck it out with Longsight until the end, he tried desperately to keep the team alive, but despite his best efforts failed. He is enraged by the players that joined Belle Vue, at first reluctant to seek out a new club, his love for the game does eventually take him to Moss Lane Base Ball Club. Nichols has been consistently improving at the bat, his 1879 average being .303.

Crescent Base Ball Club



With Longsight pulling out of the league with only a couple of months until the season begins little thought is made of finding a replacement. It is Vic Cullen of Crescent B.B.C. that approaches the Mersey & Irwell league. Cullen, a hurler and founder of the club offers to fill the place of Longsight in the league and states with confidence his team can fulfill the Longsight fixtures. Higgins is resistant, he would rather see another club from the Liverpool region but he adjourns an emergency meeting of the league and Crescent win admission to the league with a vote of 5-2.

Crescent is a club based in Salford, founded in the historic Crescent in early 1879. They play their games in Peel Park and are self financed by Vic Cullen who comes from a wealthy mill owning family.

[Lucky_Will]

Great series so far! Your graphics are excellent and I always love seeing old-timely uniforms. Are yo using the uniform maker or drawing these all on your own? The suspenders are fantastic. (What do they call suspenders in England? Braces? Or is that just the southern US?)

I really like the parallel development with soccer going on. US baseball also had a historic fight over amateurism, it’s cool to see how you tied the fears of professionalism to how football developed in England.

Looking forward to seeing how this league develops and where it mirrors the FA…

[Haystacks]

Originally Posted by Lucky_Will

Great series so far! Your graphics are excellent and I always love seeing old-timely uniforms. Are yo using the uniform maker or drawing these all on your own? The suspenders are fantastic. (What do they call suspenders in England? Braces? Or is that just the southern US?)

I really like the parallel development with soccer going on. US baseball also had a historic fight over amateurism, it’s cool to see how you tied the fears of professionalism to how football developed in England.

Looking forward to seeing how this league develops and where it mirrors the FA…

Thanks a lot!
Just using ootp utilities jersey maker.
Traditionally people call them braces, but I'd say suspenders too, braces make me think of teeth!

[Haystacks]

Mersey & Irwell 1880 Season

The Mersey & Irwell season opened in May and the Moss Lane club took the league by storm, setting a record of 10 wins and 2 defeats for the month of May. The so called ‘Champion’s Curse’ that saw Princes Park and Edge Hill have poor seasons following a league championship win strikes Liverpool Dockers. The Dockers claim only 1 victory in their 12 May games. New club Crescent makes a competitive start to their stay in the league with 6 wins and 6 defeats.

June sees the opening of the new Lancashire League, Bolton open with a thrilling 13th inning 8-7 victory against Accrington, and follow up with 2 more wins, meanwhile Burnley take 1 victory against Blackburn, losing the next 2. It’s noted that former Longsight player Ewan Povey has appeared turning out for Blackburn Olympic B.B.C., showing great form and fuelling speculation that he’s being paid for time.

Moss Side lose 5 games in June, whilst the Dockers of Liverpool put on an incredible turnaround winning 11 in 13. Their good form continues through July taking them into second place. Moss Lane struggle to keep pace as Cavendish win 11 of 14 in July and leap frog them into first place.
With the final week of the season to go Cavendish sit in first place with a record of 25-14, Liverpool Dockers follow wins behind and Moss Lane 3.
Cavendish face Crescent in their final 3 games, the Salford club nobody expected much from sit in a respectable 5th. The Liverpool Dockers face their cross-town rivals Princes Park that occupy 4th place, and Moss Lane have 3 to play against Belle Vue, who despite rumours of professionalism and player poaching have struggled this year and sit at the bottom of the league.

Cavendish lose their first 2 games against Crescent, but the Dockers are not able to capitalise on this winning 1 and losing 1 to Princes Park. Moss Lane lose their first game again Belle Vue, crushing any hopes they had for a miracle league victory. Cavendish play a nervy game of base ball in their final game to Crescent but are able to secure a 6-5 win to be crowned Mersey & Irwell Champions.

MIL FINAL STANDINGS



MIL STATS



Mersey & Irwell Base Ball Player of the Year



The Lancashire League 1880

The Lancashire League continues through August to much success and decent crowds. The league finishes tied between Blackburn and Bolton both with 11 wins and 7 loses, a tie breaker is arranged for the following weekend.

Blackburn is firmly an association football town, crowds as large as 5,000 are reported to attending matches, the Olympic base ball club however have been warmly received. Crowds have been respectable throughout the season, but as the drama has unfolded many in the town went from enjoying a novelty summer sport from foreign shores to entirely invested in the success of the team as if the pride of the community rested upon their success. Over 1,000 would gather for the intense tie breaker. The only run came in the bottom of the 2nd inning, as Francis ‘Four Fingers’ Johnson was able to make it home following a hit from Matthew Porter. The Blackburn hurler Mark Stewart soldiered mightily through the game to get his team the win as no further runs were scored, he threw his first shutout, with 3 strike outs, 8 hits and 0 walks.

FINAL STANDINGS



LL STATS