Today, fans of baseball in Britain might get frustrated by a train cancellation or traffic jam depriving them of seeing the opening innings of a game. For one fan back in 1938, though, the greatest fear would have been a puncture.
The Hull resident HJ Sanderson followed the 1938 baseball season on his bicycle. He clocked up mile after mile on his way to and from games, and his arrival at the national cup final in Rochdale marked his completion of 800 miles in the saddle that season. In one report on that final, he is described as the “No 1 baseball fan,” and it is hard to argue with this title.
His efforts that day were rewarded with a gem of a game. The only run was plated in the top of the 16th frame, and it handed the Rochdale Greys a 1-0 victory over the Oldham Greyhounds.
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