2017 British Baseball Hall of Fame class announced

Carter, Young and Smallwood join the British Baseball Hall of Fame

The 2017 elections to the British Baseball Hall of Fame have introduced three new inductees, increasing the class to 32.

Nick Carter and Ian Young were inducted from the modern ballot, with Don Smallwood MBE being elected by the historical vetting panel that was introduced in 2016.

Carter and Young are two of the most decorated Great Britain national team players of the past thirty years. The former was a mainstay on the GB team between 1996 and 2005, competing in six European Championships, whilst twice being the starting and winning pitcher in a decisive national championship game for the Brighton Buccaneers (1999 and 2001).

Young’s Great Britain career lasted 13 years between 2000 and 2013, the highlight of which being his ‘All-Tournament’ team performances for the side that won a silver medal at the 2007 European Championship.

Smallwood’s involvement in British baseball spanned six decades, during which he achieved considerable success as a player, most notably on the formidable Hull Aces teams of the 1960s and 1970s, and even more in a wide variety of administrative roles.  Upon passing on the news of his election, sadly I learned that he passed away earlier this year at the age of 84.

Full details about the three new members of the Hall, alongside bios for the other 29 already elected, can be found on the BBHoF website: http://www.bbhof.org.uk/

I’ve been involved in the BBHoF for several years and have now stepped up to the role of Chair. I’m taking over from Joe Gray who has done a huge amount of invaluable work over the past decade, both directly on the Hall of Fame and the wider Project for the Chronicling of British Baseball (Project COBB).

Thankfully Joe’s still involved as Secretary and I’m indebted to all his support and help provided.  I’ve got a list of research topics and Hall of Fame work ready for the off-season, so keep an eye out for those here on this website and at Project COBB.

If you’re interested in getting involved in looking at the game’s history on these shores, please do get in contact either via the comments below or using the contact details on the Project COBB website.

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