Derby Baseball Club is a defunct professional baseball club from Derby England, formed as Ley's Recreation Club by Francis Ley in 1890 and dissolved in the same year. A new Derby Baseball Club was formed (with Ley as Chairman) in 1890 to succeed his dissolved club, this new Derby Baseball Club played until 1900, winning numerous National League titles in the 1890s, albeit as amateurs. History Baseball was introduced to Derby by Francis Ley, an industrialist who owned Ley's Malleable Castings. Following a visit to the United States of America in 1889, Ley decided that, as a way of ensuring a healthier and more productive workforce, an investment should be made in promoting recreation for his workers. Ballpark During his journey to the States, Ley had seen the way in which baseball fields had been laid out by companies and factories for the use by their workers and decided to follow suit on his return to Derby. Consequently, Ley had the Ley's Recreation Centre (later renamed Baseball Ground) built; a park for the use of workers with cricket and baseball facilities. The Baseball Ground eventually became the home stadium of football club Derby County. Uniform It was stated that for their first ever game Derby's uniforms were very similar to those worn by Blackburn Rovers and were supplied by Thompson and Sons of Babbington Lane. For the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain season Derby played in grey uniforms, with blue lettering to the front. First ever game In March 1890 local press featured advertisements appealing for "professionals aged 20 to 25" and "cricketers who can field smartly" to attend Ley's Recreation Centre to help form a new club. In May 1890 Ley's Recreation Club hosted Erdington in “the first baseball match ever played in Derby”. Due to the expert coaching of Americans Bryan, Bullas and Reidenbach Ley's team stormed to a 23–0 lead after just two innings, at which point the Americans competed the rest of the game on the side of Erdington. The game closed out with a 23–11 win for Ley's Recreation Club. The Ley's roster for the game was: Dan Allsopp Edwin Booth William C. Bryan Sim Bullas H. M. Middleton ? Millar W. North S. Presbury John Reidenbach In the following days the local press had dropped the Ley's Recreation Club name in favour of ‘The Derby Baseball Club’. National League of Baseball