Old Salopians play a leading role in British Baseball success

Two old Salopians have just returned from the World Baseball Classic in the USA where the British team won a historic victory and secured a place in the next WBC in 2026.

Tom Thornhill (I 2008-2013) is the President of the British Baseball Federation. He started playing Baseball at university but first became interested in the sport after playing softball at Shrewsbury. Rich Evans (M 1976-1978) is the Marketing and Communications Officer. A chance conversation about attending boarding school led them to discover recently that they are both old Salopians.

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the USA but is relatively unknown in the UK. The GB team chalked up their first ever win against Columbia to finish fourth in their group which guaranteed a place at the 2026 competition. The WBC is equivalent to the World Cup in football. Qualifying is worth six times the annual income of the governing body in Britain. The British team also ran the USA and Mexico surprisingly close which shocked the World Baseball Community.

The Federation led by Tom Thornhill hope this represents a significant breakthrough for the sport in this country. Tom and Rich will both in London in June to see the Chicago Cubs take on the St Louis Cardinals when Major League Baseball returns to the London Stadium. It’s only the second time a series has been played in the UK and this time the games will be live on the BBC.

Flickr album: World Baseball Classic | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default - Transparent