Exeter Spitfires cut the turf on their new diamond

Patch named after 'the father of baseball'

Exeter’s only Baseball team, The Exeter Spitfires, – has cut the turf on their new diamond at Bromham’s Farm Fields near Marsh Barton. 

The Spitfires, have honoured the new field to the man often called ‘the father of baseball.’

It is named after Henry Chadwick, who was born in Exeter before moving to the United States as a young boy.

He grew up to become a prominent sports journalist and statistician and his contributions to baseball helped transform the game from a relatively obscure pastime into a structured, national sport.

To mark the 200th birthday of Henry Chadwick, the Exeter Spitfires are naming their future home after him. There is even potential that the legendary Chadwick walked across the fields at Bromham’s Farm when he was a boy.

Club Chairman Matthew Cousins say why this is important: “He moved to the states and he basically wrote the rulebook of baseball… he’s in the hall of fame as the so-called father of baseball.

We hope by naming the diamond after him we can bring the name and the legacy of Henry Chadwick to Exeter, where he was born.”

He also outlined the five-year goal for the Exeter Spitfires. “We want to have two mixed adult teams, a women’s team and a walking team and many junior teams… I want people to be playing baseball on this field seven days a week.

It’s been a long old run and six years later I am incredibly proud for us, the club and the city.”