Everton and Baseball

Everton and baseball had an unlikely friendship. In modern times, they are not linked with each other whatsoever, but from the 19th century to around the 1950s, their link was quite strong.

In 1890, Everton considered allowing baseball to be played at Anfield. A recommendation was made by from a certain Mr Betts, however the club didn’t go through with it because they believed Anfield was an unsuitable ground for baseball.

On 23rd October 1924, American baseball teams, the Chicago White Sox and the New York Giants, played an exhibition game at Goodison Park. Over 2,500 people watched the White Sox beat the Giants 16-11.

chicago-white-sox-goodison new-york-giants-goodison baseball-goodison

Former Everton chairman John Moores was an avid fan of baseball. In 1933, he created a Liverpool-based baseball league, and the champions would be awarded the eponymous John Moores Trophy. The foundation of the league and the growth of baseball in Liverpool led to Everton players taking part in the sport, such as Dixie Dean, who played for Liverpool Caledonians.

John-Moores-Trophy

In fact, in 1935, Dixie Dean met baseball great Babe Ruth in London. Babe Ruth came to London following a baseball tour in Japan and he was introduced to Dixie Dean after Babe Ruth once hit 60 home runs in a season and he admired the comparison to Dean’s 60 goals in a season. Although, despite being legends in their own field, Babe Ruth was earning a lot more money than Dixie Dean. According to American sport historians Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist, Babe Ruth earned $70,000 a year whereas Dixie Dean earned just $2,000 a year. However, this was largely due to the maximum wage rule in Britain at the time.

In July 1945, Goodison Park was the venue for a baseball competition called the Lancashire Baseball Cup. Everton’s own baseball team took part in the competition, and other participants included Liverpool Trojans, Formby Cardinals and Swinton & Pendlebury. Everton lost to Formby Cardinals 13-10 – a 5-0 hammering in the sixth innings proved to be the fatal blow. The last time baseball was played at Goodison Park was in 1948, with Liverpool Trojans and Formby Cardinals being the last baseball teams to play there.

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