Definitely real. I remember a similar international taking place at Roath Park Rec in Cardiff in the early/mid 80s. We played this type of baseball at school (we never played Rounders), and there were lots of amateur clubs and leagues in Cardiff. I heard that it was only south Wales and the Liverpool area that played this type.
Surely this is a fake - we were playing Softball at the school I went to (in England) in the early 70's using proper bats and catchers mitts. This just looks weird
@northernhecklet It's completely for real. This was broadcast on BBC-1 Wales at 8.10pm, Tuesday 15th July 1980. It was clearly considered to be of interest only to Welsh viewers though, because it wasn't shown in any other regions. BBC-1 Wales showed International Baseball on four more occasions - August 1982, July 1983, July 1984 and July 1986. Presumably Wales fielded a good enough international baseball team to reach the final in each of those years.
@dunebasher1971 There are no other teams, so it's not so much a "final" as the only game! It's still being played to this day, especially in south Wales and Merseyside, and the international match still occurs in Newport every other year.
The music certainly sets a serious tone. It sounds like a Monty Python skit...
FastWalkToFresno 4 weeks ago
Definitely real. I remember a similar international taking place at Roath Park Rec in Cardiff in the early/mid 80s. We played this type of baseball at school (we never played Rounders), and there were lots of amateur clubs and leagues in Cardiff. I heard that it was only south Wales and the Liverpool area that played this type.
TheSupersuperG 5 months ago
Surely this is a fake - we were playing Softball at the school I went to (in England) in the early 70's using proper bats and catchers mitts. This just looks weird
northernhecklet 5 months ago
@northernhecklet It's completely for real. This was broadcast on BBC-1 Wales at 8.10pm, Tuesday 15th July 1980. It was clearly considered to be of interest only to Welsh viewers though, because it wasn't shown in any other regions. BBC-1 Wales showed International Baseball on four more occasions - August 1982, July 1983, July 1984 and July 1986. Presumably Wales fielded a good enough international baseball team to reach the final in each of those years.
dunebasher1971 5 months ago
@dunebasher1971 There are no other teams, so it's not so much a "final" as the only game! It's still being played to this day, especially in south Wales and Merseyside, and the international match still occurs in Newport every other year.
mocyoung 5 months ago
This is probably close to what American baseball looked like in its nascent stages. Very interesting to see.
GoHawks4 5 months ago
rounders?
tomatomistake 1 year ago
I guess this is what you get when you have cricket players play baseball (with cricket gear).
southparkfan2717 2 years ago
@southparkfan2717 Apart from the flat bat it's nothing like cricket.
raysteer 1 year ago
As I understand it it's rounders renamed baseball in the 1890s or so. Maybe they've changed some rules since then.
brendel99 2 years ago
@brendel99
No, we've had baseball a lot longer. It's mentioned in Jane Austen.
telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3562873/Jane-Austen-wrote-about-baseball-40-years-before-it-was-invented.html
fizzb100 5 months ago
this is cricket haha x'D
halfadollarsuck 2 years ago
they need gloves lol
MasterMind300 2 years ago