The Baseball Ground was a stadium in Derby, England, that was first used for baseball, as the home of Derby 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 Centre) 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 establish professional organised baseball in the United Kingdom. His Ley's Recreation Club was formed in 1890 and went on to become known as Derby Baseball Club, prior to being dissolved by Ley and replaced with a new Derby Baseball Club, all in 1890.

The Ground was bordered by Shaftesbury Crescent (west-northwest); Vulcan Street (south-southwest); the Ley foundry (east-southeast); and an extension of Cambridge Street (north-northeast) roughly corresponding to Columbo Street. The original stand was built along Vulcan, with standing-room areas along other edges of the field. The diamond was in roughly the southwest corner of the lot. Over the years, additional stands were built around the pitch and were tagged with names corresponding to their orientation with respect to the streets (Vulcan and Columbo) and nearby neighborhoods (Normanton and Osmaston).

The stadium was home to Derby Baseball Club, the baseball club was running away with the first British professional baseball championship, the National League which was established in 1890. However, pressure from other teams in the league over the number of American players Derby used forced them to resign before the end of the league's first season.

Derby County Football Club was formed in 1884, as an offshoot of the Derbyshire County Cricket Club. The football club played on a pitch that was part of the Derby cricket ground, which at that time was in the middle of a racecourse.

The last league match to be played there was a Premier League fixture against Arsenal (where 18,287 people watched Derby lose 3–1, although their top flight status was secured one season after promotion), though the stadium continued to be used for reserve team games for a few seasons afterwards.

In late 2003, several months after the youth team played its final game there, the Baseball Ground was finally demolished to make way for housing. The former ground has since been redeveloped to around 150 new homes and, in September 2010 a commemorative statue was unveiled on the site. The high metalwork featuring the silhouettes of three footballers dribbling and shooting was commissioned by the builders Spirita and Strata and designed by artist Denis O'Connor. A fan, George Glover, 'made history' by scoring the last goal at the Baseball Ground in a game between fans.

Structure and facilities

After the Taylor Report was published, the stadium was slowly converted to become all-seater from terracing. Consequently, its capacity dropped to 17,451 in the 1995–96 season. This was inadequate for the ambitions of Derby County, who were chasing promotion to the Premier League during the early to mid-1990s, finally achieving it as Division One runners-up in 1996. The stadium featured two 3-tier stands at either end, both with the lowest tier not facing completely straight towards the pitch (due to the previous configuration for baseball) giving a wedge-like appearance at one end. Also, in one corner was a unique stand that was more house-like, mainly for media use.

Transport

In 1990, a halt was built to serve the stadium called Ramsline Halt, although only four trains ever stopped there.

References

; Sources

  • Photographs of the Baseball Ground before and after
  • Football Ground Guide Article