Strike during wartime years: when baseball flourished in Londonderry

During the Second World War thousands of American GIs passed through Londonderry and a game immortalised in the popular imagination by Babe Ruth was briefly played side by side with the discipline perfected by WG Grace.

But the mellifluent sound of leather on ash was hit out of the ballpark - so to speak - at least insofar as the US Marines at their base at Beech Hill in Ardmore were concerned between 1942 and 1944.

Expert Gary Bedingfield has published an in depth account of “Baseball in Northern Ireland During WW2” on the blog “Baseball in Wartime,” which is dedicated to all those baseball players who served with the armed forces during WW2.

He explains that just seven weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour American troops arrived in Ulster and that within three months more than 10,000 were based here.

The first troops to arrive in Northern Ireland were a contingent of 4,058 men of the 34th Infantry Division on January 26, 1942 but by June 1942 more than 41,205 American military personnel had arrived, writes Mr Bedingfield.

“With the Americans came American culture, from bubble gum and candy to big bands and, of course, baseball. The build-up was an impressive display of American efficiency, but one obstacle, unforeseen by military high command, was causing a dilemma,” he explains.

“In a country where similarities with home seemed to end with the language, troops became desperately homesick. Daily training left them restless, agitated and suffering low morale. Something was needed to prevent the worsening of an already difficult situation.

“It was evident that a competitive sports program could help improve matters, and team games of basketball and soccer, combined with track and boxing, went a long way to make amends. But America’s national pastime - baseball - had by far the greatest impact on morale,” the blog continues.

The first recorded baseball game took place near Belfast in April 1942 but troops based at the United States Naval Operations Base (USNOB) in Londonderry also welcomed it with open arms and battalion-level baseball soon flourished.

Mr Bedingfield notes a common complaint of visitors and residents alike that might as easily be applied to the Donegal hills and the foothills of the Sperrins as readily as the Mountains of Mourne.

“Captain Frank B. Williss, US Army special service officer and chairman of the league, had arranged an elaborate opening day that included a military parade, but not everything went according to plan,” he writes.

“The U.S. Army Quartermaster Agitators were leading the Medical Corps Pill Rollers, 4-3, after six innings, when the rapidly darkening skies produced a torrential downpour that put an abrupt end to all activities.

“Northern Ireland’s notoriously damp weather was something the Americans would become all too familiar with. As one G.I. quipped, “If you can see the Mountains of Mourne, it's going to rain and if you can't see them, it's already raining!,” he adds.

The Glasgow-based baseball enthusiast also details how the ever-burgeoning naval base in Londonderry ran its own league as well as having a team compete in a Belfast league.

“The U.S. Navy base at Londonderry was constantly expanding as it became the co-ordination centre for the war against the German U-boats, and in addition to having a team in the Belfast league; it operated its own league during the summer months with teams representing the Navy, Seabees, Naval Hospital and Marine Corps,” he explains.

“Pitching ace for the Navy that summer was F1/c ‘Ski’ Pekarovits. Nicknamed the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Pekarovits beat the Air Force Mustanges, 3-0, on July 18, allowing just one hit and striking out 14. During a run of 21 innings he allowed just five hits and struck out 26.”

But it was the Ardmore men - not the cricketers on this occasion - that apparently won the Londonderry series in 1943.

“It was the Beech Hill Marine Corps detachment that clinched the Naval Operations Base (NOB) five-game playoff series in September. First-Sergeant Bill "Sunny" Robinson managed the Marines, aided by Robert “Red” Kimball, a pre-war semi-pro pitcher with the Marion Swamp Foxes of North Carolina, and Charles Ziober, formerly in the Yankees farm system, providing the offensive punch,” writes Mr Bedingfield.

The following year a reduction in the number of troops based in the North West would eventually lead to baseball disappearing, although the Beech Hill marines once again were cream of the crop.

“In 1944, the American presence in Northern Ireland rapidly declined with the Allied advance into mainland Europe. However, the Navy operated a successful season that opened on May 18.

“It was the Beech Hill Marines, 1943 NOB champions that again dominated the season. They crushed the Lisahally Supply team, 16-0, on opening day and went on to clinch their second league title,” the blog notes.

Mr Bedingfield concludes this amazing episode in Londonderry’s wartime history with the reflection: “By the end of 1944, only 2,000 American troops remained in Northern Ireland.

“The American occupation had come to a close, and although baseball rapidly became a distant memory for most Irish folk, veterans like Orlando Langenfeld hold warm recollections. ‘I have many fond memories of baseball over in Northern Ireland,’ he recalls.

“‘The practices and games provided a welcome respite from the training and monotony of army life, while our friendly rivalry always made the games interesting.’”

Read more at Gary Bedingfield’s blog Baseball in Wartime at: http://baseballinwartime.blogspot.com.