Sport
Ley visited the United States of America in 1889, and was impressed by the game of baseball. Some people had been intrigued by Albert Spalding's world tour with his baseball team when it played in England in 1889. Ley decided that, as a way of ensuring a healthier and more productive workforce, an investment should be made in promoting recreation for his workers. During his journey to the States, Ley had seen the way in which baseball fields had been laid out by companies and factories for the use by their workers and decided to follow suit on his return to Derby. Consequently, Ley had what was to be called "Ley's Recreation Centre" built; a 12-acre (49,000 m2) park for the use of workers with cricket and baseball facilities.
The National Baseball League of Great Britain and Ireland was started in 1890 and a letter was sent to Spalding in America requesting help in establishing a league. The British requested eight to ten players to coach and convert the existing players whose primary game was usually football. Spalding, who also sold sporting goods, was enthusiastic and sent a skilled manager, Jim Hart and players: William J. Barr, Charles Bartlett, J.E.Prior and Leech Maskrey.
The intention had been to have eight teams but initially there were just four Aston Villa, Preston North End, Stoke and Derby Baseball Club. The first three used Hart to decide the line-up of their teams, but Ley, who had more experience of baseball, made his own decisions. Derby ran away with the first professional championship; however, pressure from other teams in the league over the number of American professionals (three) on the team led to Derby withdrawing when they would have been the first British champions. Derby did win the amateur British title three times in the 1890s.
Derby County Football Club become tenants of Ley's grounds in 1895. Ley's Derby Baseball Club continued on, dominating baseball until 1900, at which point (at Ley's behest) local football clubs formed baseball clubs to join the league, including a Derby County Baseball Club. The Baseball Ground continued to be used under that name as the home of Derby County F.C. until 1997.
Ley's grounds were used for a variety of sports. A picture below shows Ley's 1912 cricket team. Remarkably it contains three players who were capped for England at football. These were S. Bloomer on the right of the back row, H. Barnes on the left but one of the middle row and J. Bagshaw who is first on the front row.
