History

The sport we now know as Welsh (or, more accurately, British) baseball dates back to 1892, when the English and Welsh governing bodies changed the name from ‘rounders’ to reflect more accurately the demanding, high-speed nature of the sport.

Rounders had become a popular spectator and participant sport for men, as well as women and children, through the 19th century, especially in South Wales, Merseyside, Gloucestershire, Scotland and Ireland 

However, baseball has roots in Britain which predate those of rounders. There are literary references to 'base ball' in Britain as long ago as 1744, when the children's publication A Little Pretty Pocket-Book tells us "The ball once struck off, Away flies the boy, to the next destin'd post, then home with joy"..

Although contests between teams from different areas took place, there was no agreed set of rules until the 20th century. The first representative international match between Wales and England was held in Cardiff in 1908.

Unified rules were formalised in 1927 with the formation of the International Baseball Board, which remains the sport’s governing body, with representatives from the Welsh Baseball Union and the Liverpool-based English Baseball Association.