Take me aaht to the ball game, guvnor
The story of London’s short-lived baseball league, featuring all our favourite London rivalries. Part one of several...
The date is 9 April 1906. A small group of men have gathered at the high-end Charterhouse Hotel in London.
Among them is Arthur Kennedy, newly appointed chairman of Woolwich Arsenal Football Club. Along with representatives of eight other clubs, he is there to discuss plans for summer sport.
The 1906-07 season is drawing to a close, and Kennedy has recently seen his side come tantalisingly close to its first FA Cup Final appearance. The Gunners (a nickname Kennedy is credited with coining1) lost 2-0 to Newcastle United in the semi-final on 31 March, the first time they have reached this stage of the competition.
There are reasons to be cheerful, then, as an Arsenal director. But there are also reasons to be mildly concerned.
Woolwich Arsenal are no longer the only draw for football fans in the capital. Tottenham Hotspur, while still not members of the Football League, won the FA Cup in 1901. Fulham are charging towards the Southern League championship, while Clapton Orient are drawing strong a crowd in the Football League Second Division. Newly formed Chelsea are looking good for promotion to the First Division less than 12 months after coming into existence.
Arsenal, while still the only London team in the First Division (for now), don’t have as strong transport links as some of the other clubs in the capital and so growing the fanbase is difficult. The Gunners need more money from somewhere, especially if Kennedy is to fund his planned revamp of the club’s Manor Ground.
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So it is that Kennedy enters the private meeting room and takes his seat alongside other footballing brains. Opposite him sits John Cameron, Tottenham’s FA Cup winning player-manager, and there are representatives of Millwall, Crystal Palace, Clapton Orient, Fulham, Leyton, West Ham, and Chelsea being served tea and sandwiches before the discussions take place.
At the head of the table is the man who called the meeting, former player and renowned football writer JA McWeeney. He taps his teaspoon on his cup politely and the conversation dies down.
Smiling broadly beneath a bushy moustache, McWeeney begins.
“Gentlemen, I believe baseball can be as big as football in this country, and you are the men to make it happen.”
There is a pause as this bold opening remark sinks in.
One voice pipes up: “Isn’t it a bit low-brow, this American sport? More about chucking and slogging than something like cricket?”
“I’ve seen your lot play, chucking and slogging would be right up their alley!” chuckles another.
“Now, now, gentlemen,” McWeeney smiles, his soft Scottish accent managing to cut through the murmurs easily. “I know some of you are interested – hopefully, all of you – so how do we get this off the ground?”
“Are we sure it can succeed?” Kennedy asks. “It’s not exactly new here, and it’s not exactly big either. I’m as keen to see it succeed as you are, but what makes you think it’ll work this time?”
McWeeney glances down at the table while composing his answer. Before he can respond, though, another Scotsman intervenes.
“Because we’re football clubs,” states John Cameron. “We’ve got the fanbases, the grounds, and I’m sure at least some of the players will be keen to give it a go. All the infrastructure’s there, we just need to get behind it.”
“Exactly, young John,” McWeeney grins. “The most successful experiment with baseball we’ve had so far was in part down to Aston Villa backing it. They won the professional league in 1890, some of you might remember2. With multiple major football clubs involved, we’re bound to generate more interest – and a bit more money for your coffers, I’m sure.”
There is a murmur of agreement around the table. One hand is raised, McWeeney nods.
“I don’t like the idea of professionals getting involved,” says a gruff English voice. “There were quite a few disagreements, if I remember rightly. We don’t want that again. I’m sure there are plenty of keen Englishmen willing to give this a try, and we don’t want them kept off the team by troops of Americans.”
“Keep it amateur, then,” says Cameron, simply.
Kennedy agrees. After a brief discussion, the committee decides to invite potential players to have the final say.
Before proceedings are brought to a close for the evening, Cameron is named honorary secretary of the newly formed British Baseball Association. Documents will be drawn up and a board elected in due course – Kennedy rather fancies a seat.
Kennedy picks up a copy of The Sporting Life the next day, which carries a brief report of the evening’s proceedings. McWeeney – known by his pen name ‘McW’ – has obviously wasted no time in getting the word out.
So this is happening, Kennedy thinks. We’d better get organised quick.
An article in the same publication on 11 April reports that players have agreed to retain amateur status for this competition, “to prevent the importation of American professional players”.
A week later on 18 April, Kennedy gets his wish and is elected chairman of the nascent association. Morton Cadman, a director at Tottenham, is the vice chairman.
The meeting isn’t all smooth sailing. The attendance is down on the previous gathering, with the representatives of West Ham, Queen’s Park and Crystal Palace all submitting letters withdrawing, citing ground difficulties. Later on, Millwall and Chelsea also withdraw.
This does not deter the organisers, though. Kennedy offers the Manor Ground to host exhibition games and training days, while West Ham’s Memorial Ground also hosts a match (Woolwich Arsenal’s first) despite its usual tenants’ reluctance to play in the inaugural competition.
A team of London players – including Woolwich Arsenal’s Morehouse and Clive – take on a team of Rhodes scholars from Oxford University on 19 May at the Manor Ground, the American students winning comfortably by 19 runs to 7. London’s pitcher, Jarman, is cited by several reports for promising play (remember that name, readers).
Finally, a six-team competition is organised: the British Baseball League. Participating are:
Woolwich Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham
Leyton
Clapton Orient
Nondescripts
This latter team was set up independently of football clubs and aimed to bring the ‘Corinthian spirit’ to baseball – i.e. gentlemanly conduct and good sportsmanship at all times. (Spoiler alert: It won’t work.)
The first games are scheduled for 2 June 1907, with Woolwich Arsenal hosting Fulham at the Manor Ground. Baseball is back, and this time it’s going to succeed.
—END OF PART ONE—
My source for this is Woolwich Arsenal: The Club that Changed Football, by Tony Attwood, Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews.
It’s true: Aston Villa were the winners of the first fully-professional baseball league in England, in 1890. See this article from the Birmingham Mail from 2011.