With thousands of North American troops stationed in England during the Great War, it was inevitable that baseball would find its way to area athletic fields as U.S. and Canadian troops brought their bats and gloves along with rifles and equipment.
The Anglo-American Base Ball League was formed by Arlie Latham, formerly of the St. Louis Browns (1883-1889, 1896), Chicago White Stockings (1890), Cincinnati Reds (1890-1895), Washington Senators (1896), and New York Giants (1909) and consisted of five U.S. Army and five Canadian Army teams playing mostly in and around London. Our scorecard was created for a league game played in Birmingham at at Villa Park, Aston Villa Grounds.
More than 8,000 spectators attended the June 9, 1918 with proceeds to be distributed to British War Charities.
U.S. Army Team:
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Bumgardner | 2B |
| Callan | LF |
| Crosland | C |
| Curry | 1B |
| Frazier | P |
| Frederick | RF |
| Hitzeman | 3B |
| Maturski | P |
| Ray | CF |
| Wallace | SS |
Printed on paper, the scorecard features glued-in lineups of both teams as well as a set of basic rules of the game for the benefit of British attendees. The condition is fair, showing considerable wear on the corners and fold of the single sheet piece.
Download a printable copy of the entire scorecard
Canadian Army Team:
| Player | Position |
| Cullyday | 2B |
| Curley | C |
| Dennison | LF |
| Harrison | 3B |
| Kale | RF |
| Miller | CF |
| Stewart | 1B |
| Yondovictz | SS |
| Zwinge | P |
The visiting U.S. Army club plated five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, scoring additional runs in every inning from the third frame. Canadian batters tallied one run in the bottom of the second and trailed the Yanks 5-1, which was the narrowest run differential for the entire game.
Down 17-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Canadian bats finally came to life scoring five runs. Their eighth inning offensive output was nullified in the top of the last frame as the Americans countered with six to pull ahead 23-6.
Acquired at online auction, October 2023.
Chevrons and Diamonds 