The long history of MLB games in the UK
Michael Clair
@michaelsclairWhen FTX MLB Home Run Derby X launches on July 9 at Crystal Palace Park, it will be a bold step for a brand new way of playing baseball. But though the format may be new, the trip will be far from the first time that Major League teams have made the trip to the UK. Forget the Red Sox-Yankees matchup that took place in 2019 -- to say nothing of MLB's announcement to hold games there in 2023, 2024, and 2026 -- big league teams have been visiting the country for nearly 150 years.
So, while we prepare for the dingers to be launched, let's take a brief look back at baseball's previous trips to the UK.
1874: When the Red Stockings and Athletics came to play
Being the pre-eminent teams in the league at the time, the Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics thought nothing of taking a break in the middle of the season. So the two teams traveled through the country from July 30 through Aug. 26 to put on a display of their baseball might. Arranged by pitcher Albert Spalding -- whom you may know as the founder of the Spalding sporting goods company -- the clubs partnered with the Marylebone Cricket Club and the Surrey Cricket Club. At each stop of the tour -- which included Liverpool, Manchester, London and Dublin -- the two clubs would square off in an exhibition match against each other and then play a game against the local cricket club.
Though the attendance was often low, the newspaper reporters enjoyed it immensely.
"To play base-ball requires judgment, courage, presence of mind and the possession of much the same qualities as at cricket," the London Field wrote. "To see it played by experts will astonish those who only know it by written descriptions, for it is a fast game, full of change and excitement and not in the least degree wearisome. To see the best players field even is a sight that ought to do a cricketer¡¯s heart good; the agility, dash and accuracy of tossing and catching possessed by the Americans being wonderful."
1888: The World Tour
This time, Spalding and Co. wanted to share baseball not just with the United Kingdom, but with the World. So, they got Hall of Famer Cap Anson's Chicago White Stockings -- oddly enough, a precursor not to today's White Sox, but to the Cubs -- to sign on board. Then, they put together an All-Star lineup for a team dubbed the "All-Americas" featuring Hall of Famers John Montgomery Ward and Ned Hanlon. Starting on Oct. 20 and going into the following spring, the teams went on a whirlwind tour. They started in Hawaii (70 years before it became a U.S. state) and followed that with stops in Australia, Italy, France and Egypt where the greatest baseball photo in history was taken:
The tour then wrapped up in the UK with games in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast before wrapping up in Dublin.
Jimmy Ryan, one of Chicago's stars, kept a diary of his trip and wrote this at the very end:
"Today we have completed the circumference of the globe, for six months ago today we bid goodbye to Chicago and entered upon our tour Around the World. We have given exhibitions of our National Game in every continent on the face of the globe and also thirteen foreign countries and travelled upward of a distance of thirty thousand miles. This afternoon as tourists we played our last game and a great crowd greeted us as we appeared upon our native diamond. The game concluded and so also did the greatest trip in the annals of sport, namely a Baseball Tour 'Around the World.' Finis."
1914: The World Tour, part II
Another trip to circumnavigate the globe, this time put together by the New York (now San Francisco) Giants' manager, John McGraw, and Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey. The pair were jealous of the fame that Spalding had achieved in his earlier trips, so this duo wanted to top it.
After the 1913 World Series, where the Philadelphia A's defeated the Giants in five games, the two clubs headed west to start the 46-game tour. They began by barnstorming across America before heading to Tokyo on Dec. 6. From there, they went to China, Australia and Egypt, before rain canceled eight of the nine games to be played in France and Italy. Finally, they arrived in London for the final game of the tour on Feb. 26, 2014.
Rain threatened the proceedings at Stamford Bridge, but fortunately, it held off. The Sox defeated the Giants, 10-9, in front of some 25,000 fans who piled into Stamford Bridge. King George V even threw out the first pitch, with the New York Times noting that he "expressed much surprise over the terrific speed of the ball as it traveled, and showed keen amusement, too, at taunts and cries of the fans, such as 'Take him out,' 'Get a new umpire,' 'He's got a glass arm,' etc."
1918: The July 4 Game
It wasn't supposed to be that big of a deal. With World War I raging, American military members stationed in England wanted to do something to celebrate July 4, America's day of independence. So, they came up with the most American idea possible: The U.S. Army would take on the U.S. Navy in a baseball game.
Soon, it became a much bigger deal, though, when they decided to invite King George V to take in the action.
"My theory is that [King George] was waiting for exactly that sort of opportunity to show his allegiance with the Yanks and make them feel welcome," Jim Leeke, the co-founder of the Anglo-American Baseball Project, said. "And when he said he was going to come, suddenly this little holiday game became internationally important."
The game was held to Stamford Bridge, and the fans poured into the stands, with reports ranging anywhere from 18,000 to 70,000 people in attendance. They got to witness a pretty good game, too: Hall of Famer Herb Pennock pitched Navy to a 2-1 victory over Army and their hurler, former Tigers and Tip-Tops pitcher Ed "Doc" Lafitte.
1938: The Olympic test
With the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo coming up, the U.S. baseball team needed to prepare for the action by taking on some international challengers. So, John Moores -- the wealthy head of a gambling empire and a baseball fanatic who helped start multiple semi-professional leagues in England -- stepped up and offered the Americans a five-game series.
It should have been a bloodbath. While the U.S. team was made of amateurs rather than professional talent, they were coached by former Boston Braves World Series winner Leslie Mann and the squad featured two future big leaguers in Mike 'Lefty' Schemer and Mizell 'George' Platt. Meanwhile, their opposition were young and inexperienced players in England's semi-pro leagues.
Instead, England pulled off the upset victory, winning four of the five games and outscoring the U.S., 20-13. England was then invited to the upcoming World Cup of Baseball in Cuba, but World War II soon broke out and both the Olympics and the Cup were canceled.
1988: Graham Gooch vs. Ernie Banks
The Oval cricket grounds were already converted into a baseball field for the domestic final between the Cobham Yankees taking on the Burtonwood Braves, but there was another treat in store for England's baseball fanatics: 57-year-old Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks was coming to take part in a Home Run Derby. The player known for his wide smile and catchphrase "Let's play two," wouldn't be competing against himself, though -- he'd be taking on international cricket star Graham Gooch.
Gooch took the event seriously, with reports that he was in a "determined mood to do well." While Gooch was able to crack two home runs during warm-ups, he failed to launch a home run once it was on for real. Banks didn't have an issue, blasting three of his own for the victory.
1993: Rainouts
The idea was a great one: In October of '93, teams of Red Sox and Mets Minor Leaguers -- along with the Phillies' organist, the Pirates' mascot and "storerooms beneath the stands" stocked with Cracker Jack and hot dogs -- came out to London. They were going to hold a camp to teach local children the sport and then play baseball and cricket at The Oval. Unfortunately, the rain came, canceling the event's first two days. They'd get an exhibition game in for day three, but the biggest plans were wiped out.
2017: MLB Battlegrounds
A precursor to HRDX, Battlegrounds featured dingers alongside music, an impressive VR experience and more food than any human could eat. This time, the Red Sox and Dodgers squared off for home run-blasting bragging rights. Former big leaguers Carlos Pe?a and Cliff Floyd represented Boston, while Shawn Green donned Dodgers blue for the derby that took place at Pop Brixton and Hyde Park. They weren't the only ones in attendance, as cricket stars like Jos Butler and Alex Hale joined in on the action.
In the end, former Dodgers Minor Leaguer Federico Celli defeated Pe?a, 31-26, for the L.A. victory.
2019: London Series
The biggest MLB contest played in London, the Red Sox and Yankees headed overseas for a two-game regular-season series hosted at West Ham's London Stadium. While it was a great time for fans of high-scoring games, with the teams combining to score 50 runs and bash 65 hits in the two contests, it wasn't so great for Red Sox fans: The Yankees won both games by the score of 17-13 and 12-8.
"If we played 81 games here, it'd be a lot of fun," Aaron Judge said. "We enjoyed it out here. We came in and did what we wanted to do, get a couple of wins and put on a show for the fans."