Ted Peterson MBE (6 May 1916 – 19 December 2005) was a baseball (English/Welsh) player, whose unparalleled achievements in the sport earned him the title ‘Mr Baseball’. A formidable bowler, his international appearances for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

stretched from the 1930s to the 1960s, and when his playing days were over, he devoted his energies to administration.

Life and playing career

Early years

Born in

Canton, Cardiff Canton () is an inner-city district and community (Wales), community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying west of the city's civic centre. It is located adjacent to Pontcanna. Canton is one of the most ethnically diverse of Cardiff' ...

, in 1916, Peterson played for school and church teams before breaking into the

Penylan Penylan is a district and Community (Wales), community in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Edwardian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenue (landscape), avenues. Situated to both the north and ...

side in 1934 – a club he would remain with throughout his career. He spent most of that first season with the second team, but on one first-team appearance, against

Splott Splott () is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. S ...

University Settlement he recorded impressive figures of 8 (men out) for 24 (runs).

International appearances

In 1935, he became a Penylan first team regular and two years later was called into the Wales national team. He took 6 for 33 in two spells against England in 1937 at Stanley Greyhound Stadium,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and was also the top Welsh batsman, with scores of 10 and 4, but it was not enough to help Wales avoid an innings defeat. After missing the 1938 international through injury, he was back in the team for the 1939 trip to Liverpool, and another Welsh defeat. The Second World War saw him on active service with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, before returning to civilian life and the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

, where he was employed, mainly in the docks, for 51 years. The first post-war international was the 1948 game in the grounds of

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle () is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roma ...

. Peterson captained Wales and opened the bowling in front of a crowd of 16,000. He got four England players out for no runs and steered his team to victory by 11 runs, thus ending England's five-game winning streak. The following year at New Brighton, Peterson made his fourth international appearance. As second bowler to Maurice Groves, he finished England's first innings with figures of 4 for 27. He also cemented his reputation as something of an all-rounder: his total of 14 equalled his best international score and took his Wales total to 40 in four games – the average of 10 runs per game being an outstanding figure for a bowler. Back on home soil for the 1950 international, the game had to be replayed after torrential rain disrupted proceedings at

Sophia Gardens Sophia Gardens ( ; ) is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestig ...

. Peterson bowled superbly to take out 8 Englishmen in the first innings and 7 in the second. He also scored 9 in his only innings with the bat to help Wales to a comfortable win. He played in the 1951 and '52 international wins and was picked as substitute, but not used, in the 1953 game. He captained a Welsh team against the English at

in 1957 in a special representative match – in addition to the annual international – staged to raise money for the Empire Games funds. His final appearance for Wales came in 1960, and he took 4 for 9 in the first England innings, as the Welsh won at

Maindy Stadium Maindy Centre (, formerly known as Maindy Stadium, now also known as Maindy Pool and Cycle Track) is a velodrome and indoor swimming pool facility in the Maindy area of Cardiff, Wales. The velodrome was used in the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

, Cardiff.

Club competitions

In club competition, Peterson's Penylan scored the league and cup double in 1952, beating Splott US in the Welsh Baseball Union (WBU) Cup Final by 79 runs, and there were further successes in both premier competitions through the late 1950s and into the '60s. Indeed, in 1961, '62 and '63 Penylan won the treble of league title, WBU Cup and Welsh National Baseball League (WNBL) Cup.

Awards and distinctions

He was named ‘unsung hero of sport’ by the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, and in 1996, at the age of 80, he received the UK national Help the Aged Golden Award for contribution to sport. He died in December 2005, aged 89, still holding the post of President of the WBU. In 1963, he became chairman of the WNBL, and in 1978 – at the age of 62 – finally hung up his baseball boots. In 1980 he was invited to meet

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

, who were in Cardiff for its 75th anniversary of achieving city status. In 1985 he retired after 22 years as secretary of the Penylan club, and became chairman of the new WBU, which at that time administered 72 men's teams, 32 women's teams and 250 junior sides. Stepping down as chairman in 1996, he remained president until his death in 2005. A Wales team selector and member of the International Baseball Board, there is even a cup competition named in his honour. – the Ted Peterson Cup is contested by Welsh men's teams each summer.

Trivia

The racehorse Baseball Ted is named after him and is owned by his son Alan.''South Wales Echo'' December 20, 2008

References

External links

Welsh Baseball

in ''South Wales Echo''
Emotional victory at Ascot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Ted Players of British baseball Royal Engineers soldiers 1916 births 2005 deaths Members_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire