• Photos of The Baseball Ground
A brief History..
The baseball ground became the permanent home of Derby County in 1895,
when the footballing section of Derbyshire Cricket Club decided it could
perform better if it moved from the Racecourse (Nottingham road).
Francis Ley,a local industrialist at the time had introduced the game
of Baseball to Derby after a trip to America in 1889. In 1897 Derby's
Baseball team with Steve Bloomer at second base, won the National Association's
Challenge Cup for the first time. The popularity of football proved too
much and baseball faded into the background.
The Rams moved to the BBG in 1895. Ley initially laid out a 12-acre sports
ground for his workers at Leys Malleable Castings. When the RAMS moved
to the BBG, Ley spent £7,000 to increase its capacity from 4,000
to 20,000.
The ground became the property of the club on July 3rd 1924 when it was
sold by Sir Francis Ley for £10,000. Derby County were promoted
to the first division in 1926 and a new main stand was built on Shaftesbury
Crescent costing £16,000. In January 1941 the Osmaston stand was
hit during a air raid.
Over the years, the Rams have had many ups and downs. In April 1996 a
promotion decider against Crystal Palace resulted in promotion to the
Premiership league. Pride Park has been the new home of the Rams and was
opened in August 1997 by the Queen.
On May 28th 2007 Stephen Pearson scored a second half goal to take Derby County back into the Premiership after an absence of five years.
The Rams received a great welcome home parade through the City of Derby on May 29th 2007. You can watch this parade by clicking here.
On Sunday 11th May 1997 the whistle was blown on the final ever game to
be played by the Rams at the BBG. A minutes silence was observed out of
respect. Since then, it has been used by the Rams Academy.
Some supporters had the chance to buy their seats as souvenirs and the
remainder were donated to local football clubs. So something of the Baseball
Ground will live on elsewhere.
Famous Players through the years..
Steve Bloomer, Archie Goodall, Jonny Morris, Dave Mackay, Marco Gabbiadini,
Paul Simpson.
Today....
It was a very strange feeling to be standing in the remains of the BBG
on new years eve, You could almost hear the chants of all those decades
of supporters drifting through the cold air. It was sad to see something
which holds so many memories for people reduced to piles of bricks and
twisted metal. A real shame that the area is to be cleared and replaced
with Walbrook Housing Association housing. I'm sure that Pride Park will
capture as many memories for fans and players alike as the BBG but its
going to be difficult to catch up with the Baseball ground.
I would like to thank Harbinder of Derby for the use of his black and
White images on this page, without which I would not be able to compile
this page in the detail I have.
For a local map of the former Baseball ground area click HERE
For a aerial photo with overlayed map click HERE
