Francis Ley,a local industrialist, had introduced the game of Baseball to the city of Derby after a trip to America in 1889. In the years after, the popularity of football proved too much and baseball faded into the background. The baseball ground (cap. 20.000) became the permanent home of Derby County in 1895, when the footballing section of Derbyshire Cricket Club moved to the ground. The Baseball Ground has been the home of the Rams until their new stadium, Pride Park, was opened in 1997. |