ON AUGUST 13, 1938, at Wavertree Stadium in Liverpool, 10,000 spectators witnessed a 3-0 Great Britain win against the United States. It was the first match-up of the first five-game amateur world baseball series, which Great Britain went on to win with a game to spare.

The fifth game at Headingley in Leeds was played regardless, following meetings in Hull, Rochdale, and Halifax. Britain won that final game 5-3 for good measure.

This series would later be considered the first baseball World Cup — a tournament that was dominated by Cuba, which won 25 of the 38 editions, and ran until 2011 when it was replaced by the now-expanded World Baseball Classic.

Since those games 84 years ago, success, even appearances, on the world stage have been few and far between for British baseball, but last week Great Britain made history by qualifying for the World Baseball Classic for the first time.

19-year-old Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball (MLB) prospect, Harrison “Harry” Ford, plays for the Mariners-affiliated Modesto Nuts in California, but this past month the Atlanta-born catcher, whose parents were born in the UK, has been in Regensburg, Germany, gaining valuable experience as part of that successful Great Britain side.

“I definitely didn't expect any of this,” Ford said after Great Britain secured qualification.

“When I first thought of Great Britain, I definitely didn’t think of baseball.

“Then when I got here and saw the solid group of guys we had I was like, oh, shoot, we can kind of hit!”

Ford himself hit a home run at the bottom of the first inning to get Great Britain on the board, but by that time they were already 4-1 down. Some steady scoring throughout the rest of the game saw them edge back into it, though, despite Spain scoring three more in the third.

By the end of the ninth, the game was level at 9-9, but at the bottom of the first extra inning, a sacrifice fly from Alex Crosby allowed Matt Koperniak to run from third base to home for the winning run.

“It was an amazing experience for myself, these guys, everyone in the building and people watching,” said first baseman Crosby who hails from California but whose mother was born in England. “I wouldn’t switch anything [about it] for the world, I would do this all over again.”

It’s often said that if the United States focused more of its attention on football (soccer) it would become the best in the world at the sport, but back in 1938 the coach of the American team, Leslie Mann, said something similar about England and baseball.

“When England devotes proper time to baseball, well, they’ll be as good at it as they are at football,” Mann told the Liverpool Echo.

Pastimes referred to as “base ball” have been mentioned in England as early as the 1700s with games also being known as rounders. The modern game of baseball began to be codified in the New York area in the mid-1800s, but it has roots in England as well as America.

Baseball has a history of being played in England, just as cricket and soccer have a history of being played in the United States, but in both cases, various other sports became the dominant versions in the respective regions.

Britain has cricket as its hit-the-ball-with-the-bat-and-run sport of choice, while gridiron became the go-to kicking, passing and running game in North America as opposed to soccer or rugby. But each region shares a love of each others’ sports, even if among a relatively small number of fans.

There has been a big increase in the popularity of American football in the UK in recent years, though, and baseball could follow suit as a result of things like Major League Baseball’s (MLB) London Series and those games being shown on TV.

The BBC announced this week a five-year deal with MLB that will see it show the London Series as well as more matches from the United States.

The BBC’s new deal to cover the sport begins today when the broadcaster will show the third game of a Boston Red Sox versus New York Yankees series at the historic Fenway Park at 6pm on its red button and iPlayer platforms.

The game should feature Yankees slugger Aaron Judge who is currently chasing an American League (AL) season home run record. Roger Maris holds the current AL record with 61 in the 1961 season, but Judge recently hit his 60th of 2022, equalling Babe Ruth’s tally from the 1927 season.

Great Britain’s qualification for the 2023 World Baseball Classic could also lead to an increase in the sport’s popularity in the UK. 

The tournament will be played in March next year with various stages in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Britain will likely be the lowest-ranked team there, but this will not deter them.

“Baseball is a game of passion and heart, no matter where you’re from, no matter how far away you are,” added Harry Ford following the win against Spain.

“It’s like you saw today. When you have a team like this, and we love each other and care about each other and care about this game, you can go anywhere with it.”