Baseball Ground
Encyclopedia
The Baseball Ground was a stadium in Derby
, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby County Baseball Club
from 1890 until 1898 and then for football
as the home of Derby County
from 1895 until 1997. It was commonly referred to as the "BBG".
As the name suggests, the stadium was originally used for baseball
. It was originally called Ley's Baseball Ground and was part of a complex of sports grounds (Ley's Recreation Ground) built and owned by businessman Sir Francis Ley
for workers at his foundry, Ley's Malleable Castings Vulcan Ironworks. The stadium was the focal point of the complex and was part of a personal quest by Ley to introduce baseball to the UK.
The stadium was home to Derby County Baseball Club, which was allied to the more famous football club. The club 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 Derby used forced them to resign at the end of the league's first season, though the baseball club itself lasted until 1898.
Derby County Football Club had occasionally used the stadium for their home matches and, with their partner baseball club in decline, made it their permanent home in 1895 and renamed it The Baseball Ground. A party of Gypsies were forced to move and legend has it that before leaving they put a curse on the ground preventing Derby County winning the F.A. Cup. The ground became the property of the club in 1924 when it was purchased from Ley's heirs for £10,000.
At its height, the Baseball Ground could accommodate around 42,000 spectators. The record attendance was 41,826 for a match against Tottenham Hotspur
in 1969, just after Derby County were promoted under the management of Brian Clough
, at the beginning of the most successful era in the club's history. Clough guided Derby County to the league title in 1972 and his successor Dave Mackay
oversaw another title triumph in 1975.
However, attendances fell at the turn of the 1980s as Derby were relegated from the First Division in 1980, and in 1984 they fell into the Third Division, though an upswing in form followed and they were back in the First Division by 1987.
Perimeter fencing was erected between the stands and the pitch during the 1970s
to combat pitch invasions by hooligans
, but this was dismantled in April 1989, within days of the Hillsborough disaster
in which 96 Liverpool
fans were fatally injured, most of them crushed to death against perimeter fencing. This resulted in policing levels in games the Baseball Ground being increased by 50%.
In 1990, a halt was built to serve the stadium called Ramsline Halt although only 4 trains ever stopped there.
Later, the stadium was slowly converted to become all-seater from terracing and the capacity eventually dropped to 18,300 - inadequate for the ambitions of Derby County, who were chasing promotion to the Premier League during the early to mid 1990s, finally achieving it as Division One runners-up in 1996.
The stadium featured two 3-tier stands at either end, both with the lowest tier not facing completely straight towards the pitch (due to the previous configuration for baseball) giving a wedge-like appearance at one end. Also, in one corner was a unique stand that was more house-like, mainly for media use.
Derby County remained at the stadium until 1997, when they relocated to the Pride Park Stadium
. The relocation plan had only been unveiled some 18 months before the new stadium was opened - chairman Lionel Pickering
had originally planned to boost Derby's stadium capacity by rebuilding it with a 26,000-seat capacity. The last league match to be played there was a Premier League fixture against Arsenal
(where 18,287 people watched Derby lose 3-1, although their top flight status was secured one season after promotion), though the stadium continued to be used for reserve team games for a few seasons afterwards. http://www.oldgrounds.co.uk/baseball_ground_derby.htm
The Baseball Ground was once used for an international match: England
beat Ireland
2-1 in a British Home Championship
match on February 11, 1911.
In late 2003, the Baseball Ground was finally demolished to make way for housing. The former ground has since been redeveloped to around 150 new homes and, in September 2010 a commemorative statue was unveiled on the site. The 4 and a half meter high metalwork featuring the silhouettes of three footballers dribbling and shooting was commissioned by the builders Spirita and Strata and designed by artist Denis O'Connor. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Baseball-Ground-sculpture-unveiled/article-2635227-detail/article.html
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby County Baseball Club
Derby County Baseball Club
The Derby County Baseball Club was a baseball club in Great Britain that played baseball until 1898 when football become the dominant sport in that region...
from 1890 until 1898 and then for football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
as the home of Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
from 1895 until 1997. It was commonly referred to as the "BBG".
As the name suggests, the stadium was originally used for baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. It was originally called Ley's Baseball Ground and was part of a complex of sports grounds (Ley's Recreation Ground) built and owned by businessman Sir Francis Ley
Francis Ley
Sir Francis Ley, 1st Baronet created Ley's Malleable Castings Vulcan Ironworks in Derby. He owned Ley's Baseball Ground from 1890 to 1924 which was the home to Derby County F.C. He introduced baseball into the United Kingdom with the Derby County Baseball Club. In 1905, Ley was created a Baronet,...
for workers at his foundry, Ley's Malleable Castings Vulcan Ironworks. The stadium was the focal point of the complex and was part of a personal quest by Ley to introduce baseball to the UK.
The stadium was home to Derby County Baseball Club, which was allied to the more famous football club. The club 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
players Derby used forced them to resign at the end of the league's first season, though the baseball club itself lasted until 1898.
Derby County Football Club had occasionally used the stadium for their home matches and, with their partner baseball club in decline, made it their permanent home in 1895 and renamed it The Baseball Ground. A party of Gypsies were forced to move and legend has it that before leaving they put a curse on the ground preventing Derby County winning the F.A. Cup. The ground became the property of the club in 1924 when it was purchased from Ley's heirs for £10,000.
At its height, the Baseball Ground could accommodate around 42,000 spectators. The record attendance was 41,826 for a match against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in 1969, just after Derby County were promoted under the management of Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
, at the beginning of the most successful era in the club's history. Clough guided Derby County to the league title in 1972 and his successor Dave Mackay
Dave Mackay
David Craig Mackay is a Scottish former football player and manager. Mackay is best remembered for a highly successful playing career with Heart of Midlothian, the Double winning Tottenham Hotspur side of 1961, and winning the league with Derby County as a manager. He also represented Scotland 22...
oversaw another title triumph in 1975.
However, attendances fell at the turn of the 1980s as Derby were relegated from the First Division in 1980, and in 1984 they fell into the Third Division, though an upswing in form followed and they were back in the First Division by 1987.
Perimeter fencing was erected between the stands and the pitch during the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
to combat pitch invasions by hooligans
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
, but this was dismantled in April 1989, within days of the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in which 96 Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
fans were fatally injured, most of them crushed to death against perimeter fencing. This resulted in policing levels in games the Baseball Ground being increased by 50%.
In 1990, a halt was built to serve the stadium called Ramsline Halt although only 4 trains ever stopped there.
Later, the stadium was slowly converted to become all-seater from terracing and the capacity eventually dropped to 18,300 - inadequate for the ambitions of Derby County, who were chasing promotion to the Premier League during the early to mid 1990s, finally achieving it as Division One runners-up in 1996.
The stadium featured two 3-tier stands at either end, both with the lowest tier not facing completely straight towards the pitch (due to the previous configuration for baseball) giving a wedge-like appearance at one end. Also, in one corner was a unique stand that was more house-like, mainly for media use.
Derby County remained at the stadium until 1997, when they relocated to the Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...
. The relocation plan had only been unveiled some 18 months before the new stadium was opened - chairman Lionel Pickering
Lionel Pickering
Lionel Victor Pickering was an English businessman, best known as the owner of Derby County F.C. between 1991 and 2003...
had originally planned to boost Derby's stadium capacity by rebuilding it with a 26,000-seat capacity. The last league match to be played there was a Premier League fixture against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
(where 18,287 people watched Derby lose 3-1, although their top flight status was secured one season after promotion), though the stadium continued to be used for reserve team games for a few seasons afterwards. http://www.oldgrounds.co.uk/baseball_ground_derby.htm
The Baseball Ground was once used for an international match: England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
beat Ireland
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
2-1 in a British Home Championship
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
match on February 11, 1911.
In late 2003, the Baseball Ground was finally demolished to make way for housing. The former ground has since been redeveloped to around 150 new homes and, in September 2010 a commemorative statue was unveiled on the site. The 4 and a half meter high metalwork featuring the silhouettes of three footballers dribbling and shooting was commissioned by the builders Spirita and Strata and designed by artist Denis O'Connor. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Baseball-Ground-sculpture-unveiled/article-2635227-detail/article.html