Baseball Ground

The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) 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. The club's reserve and youth sides used it until 2003, when it finally closed as a sports stadium after 113 years (108 of them as a football stadium) and was demolished.

History

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 Derby County Football Club. The baseball 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.