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The Sheffield Bladerunners have been in existence for over 35 years, representing Sheffield in the northern conference of the British Baseball League.
Sheffield’s roots with the UK minority sport of baseball, actually go a lot further back. In 1936, the Sheffield Dons enjoyed great popularity. In its peak between 1936 and 1939 thousands packed in to watch the team play. If it wasn’t for World War II there is no telling where baseball would be in this area today. The Dons played at the, still popular, Owlerton Stadium at Hillsborough. With crowds of 3000 fans, the sport was at its peak. Sheffield had great Canadian pitcher on its books and with other areas such as Hull also experiencing great success, the North was matching and arguably surpassing the popularity in the South. Sadly, in addition to the war, changes to rules governing baseball led to the sport regressing.
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Never since, has The Dons opening crowd of 6000 been matched in this area, but the modern day Bladerunners play and represent the sport with the same passion and desire to win as it was back then. Crowds may not be vast, sponsors may not be knocking down the door but an equivalent 9 players take the field on a diamond of the same measurements, so with patience, commitment and vision, anything is possible. The Dons gave us the legacy of baseball in Sheffield, 35 years on, its revival carries on, with Bladerunners baseball having a strong pulse within the Steel City.
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This is where it all started, founded in the mid 80’s. These pictures were supplied by Frazer Longford & Steve Parkin and shows the team has come a long way since the late 80's and as they headed into the early 90's. Through the years one thing hasn't been lost and that's the essence of what make the Sheffield Bladerunners great – Spirit, Friendship, A Will To Win, Camaraderie and above all a ‘Love Of The Game!’
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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 girlfriend’s 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 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 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 the 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 knockout competition with prizes awarded to the winners and a big slap up buffet afterwards, usually held at Menwith Hill.
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 girlfriend’s 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 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 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 the 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 knockout competition with prizes awarded to the winners and a big slap up buffet afterwards, usually held at Menwith Hill.
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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 Spague, 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 of us 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 it’s 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 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 it’s 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.
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My name is Mandy Bradford – formerly Holt, any old timers reading this will remember me as the scorer to the Yorkshire Yankees and occasional scorer for the Bladerunners when Sue Wright – nee Perry was not available. I was prompted to write this when I read the letter from Paul Perrozzi whose antics in centre field I remember well.
We were talking about the Bladerunners whilst on holiday and we decided that the idea, along with the first bat and glove appeared in summer 1982 with the first games being 1983. At first it was just another one of Bushey’s daft ideas and involved perhaps a dozen or so lads and lasses messing around in Graves park which was local to us.
Our life seemed to revolve around baseball for 10 years my own involvement ending in 1993 following the birth of my daughter Lucy (one of her first outings was to a Bladerunners game) at the time we were playing on the playing fields on Carterknowle Road, and I went along to pass on some tips to the new volunteer scorer. One of my other roles was to represent the Bladerunners at BBF meetings and Yorkshire region meetings in the late 1980’s and 1990’s.
We still have some of the early press cuttings and reports from the Green ‘Un along with a few old score sheets if anyone is interested, although I did have a bit of a clear out a few months ago and got rid of a bit of stuff.
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I remember all the teams Paul listed in his letter along with a lot of the characters that played for them; the Leeds pitcher that Paul refers to was Rick Stout, who’s step dad Phil Koda managed Leeds for a while, Rick had a try out for the New York Yankees but not as a pitcher, he made it to the second cut. Other memorable names from the Leeds side were Ian Smythe and Chris Housley.
The main blasts from the past for the Bladerunners were Steve Herbert – manager, Carl Bradford – pitcher, 2nd base, fundraiser, umpire, Mark Cooper – catcher, pitcher, 2nd base, Steve Kimpton – (lefty) 1st/3rd base, organiser of the 100 club, Steve Parkin – 2nd base, baseball fanatic/ tactician, Joe Muino – Shortstop, banana head, comedian, Brothers Dave & Chris Askham – 1st/3rdbase, outfield, Tony Wright – outfield, John Sugden ( John the foot), Chris Barker, Darren Hunt, Paul Perrozzi, Roy Coomes, Paul Jones, Fred Sprague, Richard Woodhead and many more sorry if I missed your name out, we did also have a couple of visiting Americans who played for the team for a short while but were legends in Bladerunners history Dirk Danderand the pitcher (build a field and he will come) and a guy called Rick whose surname escapes me who caught for a season or so.
One other name I feel I ought to mention is Amelia Dewing then girlfriend of Steve Kimpton who along with myself and Sue Perry sat on 3rd base line week in week out but she held the distinction of donning Bladerunners blue and white overshirt on numerous occasions when we found ourselves short of players.
If any of the old gang do read this it would be great to hear from them – never know perhaps we could arrange a short challenge match, old team versus new team.
The main blasts from the past for the Bladerunners were Steve Herbert – manager, Carl Bradford – pitcher, 2nd base, fundraiser, umpire, Mark Cooper – catcher, pitcher, 2nd base, Steve Kimpton – (lefty) 1st/3rd base, organiser of the 100 club, Steve Parkin – 2nd base, baseball fanatic/ tactician, Joe Muino – Shortstop, banana head, comedian, Brothers Dave & Chris Askham – 1st/3rdbase, outfield, Tony Wright – outfield, John Sugden ( John the foot), Chris Barker, Darren Hunt, Paul Perrozzi, Roy Coomes, Paul Jones, Fred Sprague, Richard Woodhead and many more sorry if I missed your name out, we did also have a couple of visiting Americans who played for the team for a short while but were legends in Bladerunners history Dirk Danderand the pitcher (build a field and he will come) and a guy called Rick whose surname escapes me who caught for a season or so.
One other name I feel I ought to mention is Amelia Dewing then girlfriend of Steve Kimpton who along with myself and Sue Perry sat on 3rd base line week in week out but she held the distinction of donning Bladerunners blue and white overshirt on numerous occasions when we found ourselves short of players.
If any of the old gang do read this it would be great to hear from them – never know perhaps we could arrange a short challenge match, old team versus new team.
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There was a distinctive buzz around the Bladerunners during the early 90’s, Steve Herbert was still in charge of the club (as well as, soon to be, BBF President) and the team was well established and respected throughout the northern leagues. Having being based at various locations over the previous years, one of which was one a field behind Abbeydale School, the team moved to Hinde House School. During this time the team looked settled, with a core group of friends forming a firm base for the line-up – Frazer Longford, Jimmy Ellis, Steve Ellison, The Vaughn Brothers (Lee and Danny) and Craig White. Also added into the equation were Andy Browes, Dylan Holman, Rich Green and Will Greenwood. Meanwhile, on the youth side of things, Steve Herbert had encouraged several youngsters to get involved, one of which was ‘Tommy’ Booth, who would later go to be a pivotal part of the Bladerunners side.
Just as in the 80’s, the north of England was well represented by clubs, culminating that by the mid 90’s the main teams being Manchester Cougars, Leeds City Royals, Hessle Apaches, Hull Royals, Preston Bobcats, Newark Yankees, Birmingham Brewers, Barnsley Strikers, Liverpool Trojans, Menwith Hill Pirates as well as Darlington Demons, Nottingham Pirates, Tamworth Strikers, Humberside Mets, Humberside Warriors, Birmingham Braves, Nottingham Hornets, Stretford A’s, Durham Centurions, Cartmel Valley Lions, Sileby Vikings. In addition there were also trips to Scotland to play Edinburgh and Strathclyde in the late 90’s, which were an adventure in themselves. There certainly wasn’t a shortage of teams around, some, it has to be said, in some bizarre baseball towns/villages?! , however as the years passed there was a gradual drop off, as influential leaders of teams, either moved on or simply called it quits.
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During the time that baseball was at its peak for team numbers, the Bladerunners were slap bang in the middle of all the action. In ’95, Sheffield were playing in the BBF north division 2 in a league of 5, the quality of our roster was pretty stable, however Steve Herbert was beginning to take less control of the team and the reigns were passed, to the then, inexperienced duo of Lee Vaughn and Frazer Longford. Both guys did a great job of holding the team together. I think it would be fair to say squad numbers were hanging by the balance at some times but as always the Bladerunners came through and entered yet another phase of its growth. In 1998, Hinde House (our home for several years) underwent a major refit and left the team looking for a new field to call home. At around the same time, the Bladerunners very own’ saviour’ had joined the club. The name of this man was Jay ‘Flanders’ Stearns. Appointed as captain in the ’98 preseason, the first job was to secure a new ground. After evaluating many options the Bladerunners finally settled at Myrtle Springs in Gleadless.
Although the field was on a slight incline (which made running to home hard work!) this became the Bladerunners home for a couple of seasons. The roster still retained the same core players of Tommy Booth, Andy Browes, Jimmy Ellis, Steve Ellison, Rich Green, Dylan Holman, Frazer Longford, Lee Vaughn and the relatively new names of Jay Stearns, Darren Bristow, Dave Garrett (who came from the old Leeds team), Dean Davidson, Ian McNair, Jaffa Ahmad, Andy Beacon and our very own scorer Paul Taylor.
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1999 proved to be the Bladerunners second and last season at Myrtle Springs. The team retained a lot of the previous year’s roster, however a new core group of players were forming. Three friends of Andy Beacon- Igor and Bjorn ‘Bob’ Christensen and Mike Taylor joined around this time and would provide a key role in shaping the Bladerunners into 2000 and beyond. The team finished the ’99 season with a 7-11 record, in a year when things were changing for the Sheffield Bladerunners.
’98 also saw the birth of ‘Beaver Bites’ the Sheffield Bladerunners very own club Newsletter. For those who are curious, the name came about, loosely, from Jay’s work with his local Beaver Scouts group, and once it was in place, it was well liked and it stuck for the baseball club. It was a great time for the team, spirits were high, and Jay had injected a new energy into us all. Tommy and Jimmy were in control on the mound and with the addition of Paul ‘killer’ Kennedy we had a steady pitching squad. ’98 saw us on the road to Durham, Cartmell, Preston, Newark, Sileby, Liverpool and Manchester so road trips were a test but also great fun. The season saw a variety of stories, from fights in Liverpool, a 43-8 victory, a lord mayor opening of a mound in Durham, the emergence of Andy Beacon as MVP and a great winning season.
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As the 90’s ended, it brought with it a major change of direction for the team. With Jay really taking the ‘Bull by the horns’ our ambitions were high, with a role adjustment from player/coach to team manager, this provided us with our springboard for the delayed move to the Phoenix Sports Club.
Heading into the 2000 season, big changes would change the fortunes of the Bladerunners – with a new home diamond, solid starting line-up and some great new additions.
Having played on various fields over the years, we had finally found what would become a fantastic ground with great facilities to cement the foundations of the Bladerunners for many years to come.
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2000 also brought changes in the league structure, going to a single league of 10 teams in ’99 to multiple leagues in 2000, with Sheffield in 5 team format along with Manchester’s 2nd team, Durham, Barnsley and what still to this day has to be the most bizarre name in British baseball - the Yorkshire Puddings (although the more recent- Bolton Robots of Doom and Hove Tuesday, runs a close second).
Besides these major changes off the field, on it, the 2000 season went by pretty uneventfully, however the season ended with 7 of the Bladerunners (Tommy Booth, Rich Green, Bjorn and Igor Christensen, Dave Garrett, Andy Watterson and Andy Richter) representing England in a special game at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, against a Scottish select team. It was a fantastic event watched by A LOT of spectators and certainly the autograph signing at the end was a surreal moment.
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Other highlights at this time were the arrival of Dave Whitaker who hit a home run in his debut game and Bjorn (Bob) hitting 4 homeruns as well as Igor’s 3, all in the 2003 season. The league structure yet again changed from year to year, from the 5 teams in 2000 to 10 teams in 2002 (which included Shropshire Panthers, Edinburgh Diamond Devils, Glasgow Stars, Yorkshire Cobras, as well as Menwith Hill, Liverpool, Halton and 2 teams from Manchester). By 2004 our league was back to 8, but those other 7 teams were not ready for the pure domination Sheffield were about to unload during the regular season!
The Preseason included a 2 day tournament in Brentwood, Essex. This is where what turned out to be the final pieces of the puzzle, which had been developing over the past few seasons, fell into place. A solid lineup of the Christensen brothers, Tommy Booth, Andy Beacon, Andy Browes, Jay Stearns, Jimmy Ellis, Frazer Longford, Rich Green, Michael Taylor, Dave Whitaker to name just a few, had the promise of big things in 2004. So, up stepped 2 Bladerunner rookies by the names of Matt Botwood and Steve Carr. Matt a proficient infielder and Steve and all round powerhouse.
Sheffield utilized all these players to successfully advance to the final, to play the National League team, the Menwith Hill Patriots. This proved one game too far for the preseason and the Bladerunners came in runners up, which was still a great achievement against tough competition.
The regular season was a different story, the Bladerunners went undefeated through their scheduled games, finishing 21-0 and breezed through the playoffs to win the championship and ending the season unbeaten.
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I think it would be fair to say everyone played their part in making this the most successful season to date (though there’s been a few close seconds).
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The 2005 season came, and with it came a young American by the name of Nick Wills, whose influence is still being felt to the present day, with him came the usual annual changes. Steve Carr disappeared as fast as he arrived, as he headed back to Australia. New addition Zsolt Jurkuliak arrived and brought a new crazy, but lovable, energy that revitalised the entire team. Of course other players came and went, yet the Bladerunners continued to build on the previous years success despite the changes.
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It was approx. 2007 when the Sheffield Bladerunners decided to scoop up a declining Barnsley Strikers team. Barnsley had been struggling for playing numbers and with the Sheffield bench bursting under the strain, it seemed the perfect time to take the Sheffield Bladerunners to a new level. The Bladerunners played in the AAA league while the Strikers played in the AA level. While the Bladerunners grafted yet another solid season, the Strikers struggled. That being said, never before has a losing team had so much fun and despite the results (some of which were ugly!) the players loved the playing time and this would prove valuable in the coming years.
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Despite the success of 2 teams playing all season, it was clear there were cracks in the rushed through plans. During the off season a hard decision was made, one which meant Sheffield would revert back to a one team format for the following season. Although this was very disappointing it proved to be a very wise move, as later that off season, the roster was significantly reduced due to retirement, career changes, family commitments etc.
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During this same period, the BBF (British Baseball Federation) decided to switch from metal bats to wooden ones. This had several effects, one being safety, as the ‘ball off the bat’ speed was reduced helping reaction times for pitchers and infielders. It also brought a cost factor with it, now every team would hear ringing of the cash register every time a bat broke. At well over £30 each, it quickly got expensive. Finally batting stats, home runs were greatly reduced and player stats certainly took an initial dip until adjustments were made.
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The Bladerunners continued to bask in the great home diamond that had been developed and despite players coming and going, the team soldiered on. The era between 2005 and 2010 saw Jay & Frazer continue to drive the team, while the involvement of Nick developed on an annual basis. A low point for the team was 2008 when the season record fell to 6-18 (mainly due to the readjustment from the 2 team format). However the ever changing face of baseball proved again this would not last and by 2010 the team was on the up. Frazer had now finally hung up his cleats after 20 years of service, Andy Browes had switched baseball for parenthood, Matt Botwood had headed to South Africa. The Christensen brothers and Mike Taylor had vanished in favour of Sunday mornings with a hangover. Dean Thorpe finally called it a day, along with Andy Beacon, who took a reluctant step back. Also Tommy Booth stepped away from the diamond. |
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Despite the losses, we now had the ‘2009 and beyond’ generation, led by veterans Jay Stearns, Jimmy Ellis, Rich Green and Damien Kilkenny. In addition we had Nick Wills, Mark Houchin, returning ‘old school’ Jon Gardner, as well as established players Nestor Martinez, Phil Longdin and notable new additions Wai-Kai Liao & John Mackie. A special mention to Dave Whitaker for the cameo appearances throughout the seasons - always a welcome sight.
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So the 2010 season came and the Bladerunners took the field unaware of the bombshell waiting around the corner. Despite losing the royal mail funding, due to the player link to the organization disappearing, the team soldiered on by being self-funded. The website had also fallen inactive and things were looking a little cloudy for the future.
It was during the 2011 season, when team Manager Jay announced, he was relocating back to the States in 2012. As if that was not enough, the Phoenix Sports Ground announced that due to a massive cash investment, it was redeveloping the playing fields into a youth football centre.
The Sheffield Bladerunners were left without a ground, manager, funding, website and significant player numbers!!!
Since the mid-eighties the Bladerunners have battled to bring a much loved American sport to the Yorkshire landscape, the events of 2011 could crush many local amateur teams – NOT THE BLADERUNNERS!
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Jay made it his leaving gift, to find a new home for the team – he didn’t disappoint. From the 2012 season, the team moved into its new home at the Thorncliffe recreation ground in High Green. Jay even built the team a portable mound, due to the lack of a developed diamond. (Although I’m sure he picked the heaviest wood possible, as pre-game warm ups could easily just consist of just lifting and moving the mound into place!! – we're sure that all those players would agree, it was a beast! Cheers Jay 😉)
The next challenge was handing the reigns over to Nick, who thankfully, had been actively assisting Jay in recent years. With some key players helping Nick in this time of transition, the team went on to post a 13-9 record in Jay’s farewell season. The following season, almost without missing a beat, in what most of us thought would be a tough year, we went on to record an impressive 23-3 record, only losing out to Milton Keynes in the 2012 playoffs – a fantastic achievement!
The following 12 months continued the Bladerunners heroic climb against adversity. Through Nick’s leadership, the team had a brand new website, greater representation on social media channels, player numbers increasing and a good structure of elected officers with defined roles. Along with a new coach, the election of a social media officer and a much improved off season program, things are starting to bloom.
What else could possibly happen?
What else could possibly happen?
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Despite the 11-13 record from 2013, the Bladerunners entered the 2014 season with a much more robust organisational setup, a great potential from new and improving players and a league that looks more in our favour, as some of the stronger/established teams have moved up a level. Funding still needed to be addressed and as it approached our 30 year anniversary, the Sheffield Bladerunners were a team on the rise, despite the rollercoaster ride, that is commonly known as, British Baseball.
In 2014 everything slotted into place, including a solid base of players, a tandem of Nick Wills and Rich Green running the club and a settled base at the Thorncliffe field.
Jim Ellis celebrated his 21st season representing the club, and to mark it, the team bulldozed its way through the opponents to rack up a 13-5 record and a trip to the BBF finals at Farnham Park on a baking hot September day, only to come up short in an extra innings semi-final. All in all a great season with everyone finishing on a massive high from another finals experience.
Jim Ellis celebrated his 21st season representing the club, and to mark it, the team bulldozed its way through the opponents to rack up a 13-5 record and a trip to the BBF finals at Farnham Park on a baking hot September day, only to come up short in an extra innings semi-final. All in all a great season with everyone finishing on a massive high from another finals experience.
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Did someone mention a rollercoaster ride?
Well, February 2015 brought another massive heart stopping moment, when Sheffield Council announced, with less than 2 months until the season opener, that Thorncliffe was no longer available due to plans to build a swimming pool/sports complex.
A frantic search took place between Nick and Rich, to find a suitable replacement. Thankfully Rich had been looking at other potential options over the winter months, on the off chance there was something better out there and this led Nick to set up a visit to Forge Valley School to see if a solution could be found.
Little did we know, this would only be the start to providing the new foundation for the club to grow and grow over the following years. However, there were still challenges to overcome, financially, Forge Valley and all its facilities would be a huge financial commitment for the club to absorb as this was a private run facility, rather than council funded.
After an amazing effort to relocate, in such a short space of time, the club headed into the regular season, feeling slightly like the away team, while playing at home. Despite this, the team still chalked up another winning season (14-12) again went to the playoff only to fall to Manchester at the final hurdle.
Well, February 2015 brought another massive heart stopping moment, when Sheffield Council announced, with less than 2 months until the season opener, that Thorncliffe was no longer available due to plans to build a swimming pool/sports complex.
A frantic search took place between Nick and Rich, to find a suitable replacement. Thankfully Rich had been looking at other potential options over the winter months, on the off chance there was something better out there and this led Nick to set up a visit to Forge Valley School to see if a solution could be found.
Little did we know, this would only be the start to providing the new foundation for the club to grow and grow over the following years. However, there were still challenges to overcome, financially, Forge Valley and all its facilities would be a huge financial commitment for the club to absorb as this was a private run facility, rather than council funded.
After an amazing effort to relocate, in such a short space of time, the club headed into the regular season, feeling slightly like the away team, while playing at home. Despite this, the team still chalked up another winning season (14-12) again went to the playoff only to fall to Manchester at the final hurdle.
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After 2 years of Nick having more of a supporting role behind the scenes, while Rich ran the day to day duties, it officially transferred across to Rich Green to run the show solo. During 2016 it saw player numbers increase, a more settled year at Forge Valley and another trip to the Playoffs (with a hard earned 13-13 record), this time defeating Richmond in a wet National Semi-Final and losing to a rested Daws Hill Spitfires team in the final on the following day. Still, National AA runners up was a great result.
In 2017, Rich made the call to move the diamond to the other side of the huge Forge Valley field, this would allow the club to develop the playing field more. 2017 also saw player numbers peak to a level where nearly 2 squads were turning up on game day, providing massive, productive headache re. lineups/playing time. This challenge, in addition to other developing factors, resulted in a 14-18 record over a mammoth 32 game season. Somehow, the club sneaked in through the back door, to the playoffs, but as it was a bit unexpected, the club was woefully short on available players and unsurprisingly lost to the Manchester A's.
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Another year rolled around (2018), a whole host of new players joined the club, a pitching mound was built and a fun but challenging year was had by all. The season was seen as a fantastic opportunity to build something great moving forward and bringing a massive amount of new players along may have hurt the win/loss column (5-25) but the foundations were laid for massive positive changes in the following seasons.
2019 led to another bold move by manager Rich Green, that being expanding the club to 2 teams. Despite the inexperience on the field, the dedication to learn and sheer number of players made the risk worth it. The leap of faith placed in the decision was rewarded in a fantastic year for all members to be a part of. Including Derby games, more field developments, a 2nd alternate jersey introduced etc etc all resulting in 'Team I' winning the division and a club spirit to be proud of.
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That brings us up to the present, so read up on all the current action and developments throughout this website.....
On behalf of all the clubs' players and members, past and present, it’s an honour to represent the Sheffield Bladerunners and our goal is to have as many new people as possible involved in the sport, over the years to come, as well as continue to develop the youth system with the help of local businesses and player/coach commitment.
Long may Sheffield Bladerunners represent the City in this truly special game!.............. Play Ball!
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Sheffield Bladerunners Club 2019