Sports History On This Day: July 30

July 30, 1874 – The very first baseball teams to play outside of the US borders occurred. The Boston Red Stocking and the Philadelphia Athletics, whom the English papers also called the Blue Stockings, played at the Liverpool Cricket Grounds or Edghill as part of an envoy to introduce the game to British citizens.

The London Guardian reported the next day that the ball players were “disheartened” by the poor turnout of Brits to watch the game. They would try again on July 31 at the venue of the Manchester Cricket Club, but the fear of being snubbed by English spectators was on their minds, as the Brits felt the game far inferior to their game of cricket.