Bloxham School prides itself on offering its pupils a wide selection of sporting activities to choose from, with teams and fixtures in at least fifteen different sports, but present day Bloxhamists would probably be surprised to know that baseball was once played on Main Field. The historic fixture, never repeated, was contested by two teams from Chipping Norton in July 1924.
Frederick Lewis worked in the family building business in Chipping Norton and was active in the town’s Golf Club and Scout Group. Looking for a team game that scouts of all ages could play, he introduced the game of baseball to the town in 1909, and then the rest of the UK a year later. Fred had never visited America, so had never seen the game played there, but explained: ‘I have met some of the greatest American players on their visits to England, and I have enjoyed watching their play; that is all.’
Image above: Fred Lewis ‘Father of British Baseball’
The town’s baseball club was formed by Fred in 1920, complete with a smart grey kit, and as the game’s popularity soared, Chipping Norton became recognised as the centre of British baseball. Thus it was that two teams from the club played an exhibition match on Bloxham School’s Main Field on Thursday 10th July 1924. Surprisingly, there is no mention of the match in the school magazine, The Bloxhamist, but The Banbury Advertiser, which described the fixture as ‘quite a novelty for Bloxham’, reported that ‘a good number were present to witness the match, which was very much enjoyed.’ Even so, this was an experiment which was never to be repeated at the School, though the Chipping Norton Club would go from strength to strength.
In 1926, the Daily Mail organised the British Baseball Championship at Stamford Bridge, London, between Chipping Norton and an ‘All Star’ team of London Americans, with the Chippy team, reported as comprising ‘brawny Oxfordshire youths‘, winning 13-12. They retained their title the following year by beating St Joseph’s College from North London, again at Stamford Bridge 9-5.
Image above: The ‘Champions’ at Stamford Bridge in 1926. Image by kind permission of The Chipping Norton Local History Museum
By the 1930s, when the game took off nationally, Chipping Norton had five baseball teams, and Fred Lewis would come to be known as ‘the Father of British Baseball’. Fred died, aged 81, in 1960, and without him, Chipping Norton Baseball Club faded away, but his legacy has been recognised in the town, with a road named after him and a plaque erected at his birthplace by the local history society and the town’s museum.
Bloxham now once more has a connection to baseball, with Third Form pupil Aiden heavily involved in the sport. Click here to read more about Aiden’s successes.
With thanks to Simon Batten, School Archivist, for his research on the history of baseball. Simon is grateful to Keith Janes for his assistance.
Sources:
Bill Williams, https://www.playingpasts.co.uk/articles/team-sports/were-they-the-champions-the-fascinating-story-of-chipping-norton-baseball-club
Banbury Advertiser, 7th, 10th July 1924.
Oxford Mail, 7th February 2008.