Paul Perrozzi - one of the original Sheffield Bladerunners - describes the state of British baseball when he started playing in 1986.

My involvement with baseball began with meeting Steve Herbert, the manager of Bladerunners and an occasional player. Steve was my girlfriends' brother at the time. I had played a bit of cricket so went along and had a go at baseball and it took off from there. I proved that I was able to slog a ball, could cover lots of ground and read the game so centre field was mine from then on.

In 1986 the league was regional and consisted mainly of Yorkshire teams; Sheffield Bladerunners, Leeds City Royals, Barnsley Strikers (three teams), Menwith Hill U.S. Airbase, Harrogate Redwings, Huddersfield Heroes and Nottingham. The Leeds Royals had a pitcher who was bloody lethal, his fastball was clocked at ninety mph, and some of their other players had an edge over us Brits in tactics but we had the distinction of beating the Yanks at Menwith Hill on a couple of occasions.

We all used to travel in cars or mini buses and make a full day of it, sometimes going to a pub after the game for a drink and a meal. Each year we held an annual tournament and it was a grand affair. All the teams participated in a knock out competition with prizes awarded to the winners and a big slap up buffet afterwards, usually held at Menwith Hill.

The Bladerunners home ground at that time was Rowlinson Sports Centre (Meadowhead). All of our matches were reported each week in the Green Un' with comments on play, scores, MVP's, etc. I got my name in a few times I'm proud to say. At that time the sport attracted quite a few U.S players but we only had two - Dick Dandurand, a pitcher, and Fred Sprague, an all rounder. The rest of us found our niche in the team according to our strengths. Some of us even had trials for the Yorkshire Yankees in the National League and a couple attended and tried out for the G.B team that was attempting to get to the Olympics via a European play off league.

I had one real problem at the beginning: finding a lefties mitt! Initially I played a few games using a wicket keepers glove. The team got together and agreed on a design for our club logo, and I'm glad to see its still in use and unchanged! Our kit was very similar, thin blue stripes on a white shirt and leggings, blue undershirt and those sock type things whose name eludes me at the moment.

Every year we had a meeting to discuss player stats and present awards - I was Triple and Home Run Champion twice in succession. One guy consistently had an average of .650 for three years - good going really against some hot opposition.

My time with the Bladerunners ended when work forced me to leave the region for a few years and when I came back no sign of anything, except one lucky incident- I bumped into Steve Herbert, our old manager, in Rotherham one day. He was at Herringthorpe Leisure Centre coaching a load of school kids, and he even had my old leftie mitt there just in case.

I am going to contact the Sheffield Star to enquire about old copies of the Green Un' to see if they have any archive material. They were really good days spent with a bunch of great guys. I wonder what they are doing now?

- Paul Perrozzi. Bladerunner from 1986-89

We wonder too. If there are any old B'runners out there please get in touch and share your stories with us.

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