1913 Baseball Season

The 1913 Southern Union Baseball season was the nineteenth season of professional baseball within the Southern Union. It was the last season of a 12-team Super Ligan before expanding to 14 teams as well as the expansion of Division Ett from 14 to 16 teams.

Domestic Baseball

Koana Islands

Super Ligan

Omfattandestad BoIS secured their 8^th Super Ligan title, needing a 6-2 victory on the final day against Sandford Stad BF to claim the championship following Ny Aucklanda IF’s 5-5 draw with AIF Thomassmåstad after leading 5-4 into the bottom of the ninth.

BK Salau finished third despite slumping from first to fifth midway through the season, avoiding a tussle with Glenton Kullar BbK, Sandford Stad BF & BF Oberoendestad to finish off the year.

With only one team getting relegated due to the expansion to 14 teams from next year, Nyhaven SK succumbed to the drop, slipping behind fellow newcomers BK Humoor 1893 with six games remaining having sat 8^th at the halfway point of the year.

Division Ett

With three promotion spots up for grabs, BK Embleton wrapped up an immediate return to the topflight, never losing more than two consecutive games all season. They will be joined by IF Blidområde, who last played in the Super Ligan in 1908, and Atletisk Nyhamn who have won promotion for the first time since turning professional in 1903.

There was strong seasons all round, with Rovaniemi Förenta, Körsbärstad IF & 1890 Ängelar SK all exceeding expectations to finish in the top half of the league despite never looking in contention for a promotion spot.

Relegated from the Super Ligan last year, Bryankeld Förenta BK had a season to forget as they slumped to their lowest ever finish of 9^th, forcing the team to replace their manager at seasons end.

Ruysdael Akademisk IF sat 20 points behind 12^th placed BK Randia with 21 games remaining in the season before going 15-4-2 to jump out of the re-election zone, forcing BK Randia and Prestons-Grenada to go through the process once more. With four new teams joining the league next year, they were both voted to remain in the league.

Throughout the year a shortlist was compiled of which four teams should join the expanded Division Ett, with Västra Delen 95 & Freyr Viksida IK both welcomed back into the fray, citing mistreatment when they were both voted out last time. Joining them is Litenstat Jarnekdal SBK and GK Udde Korall, the former of which is the only team not located on the mainland, as the Koanian Basebollförbundet considers expanding off the mainland following growing financial success in various leagues situated on other island states.

Günsovölk

Baseball Meisterschaft

Despite briefly losing top spot to Mächtstadt VfL for 24 hours, Rasensport Sorgenfrei held top spot for the for the entire back two-thirds of the season to claim their seventh title, ending SG 1632 Schönheit’s run of three straight championships. BSG Geldstadt finished third having been touted as a lower-half team pre-season, but were never close to finishing as runners-up until the final weekend following Die Artilleristen’s four-game losing streak.

It was a season to forget for Fortuna Juemen who were touted as possible championship contenders but a dip in form in the back half of the year which included a stretch of 1 win in 10 during August saw them slump to a disappointing tenth.

At the bottom, Gelb Kekerdom TuS finished last for the first time in their history with their lowest ever winning percentage, but were comfortably re-elected alongside Blau-Weiss Ruigoord.

At season’s end, the Günsovölk Baseball-Bund started to consider their options, with newspapers voicing their concerns at the dominance of Rasensport Sorgenfrei and SG 1632 Schönheit in recent seasons. A national second division was touted alongside a knockout cup tournament, with expansion of the Baseball Meisterschaft to 20 or 22 teams a further possibility.

Ianoia

I-League

McCutchen City lifted their second successive I-League title and fifth in seven years, staving off a spirited challenge by Ulcombe United who went 20-6-7 in the back half of the season to briefly lead the league following a dip in form by the Myrmidons.

Oldstead Irish had a good year to finish above Racing Welford who continue to slump year to year after winning the title in 1911. Chatteris United were nailed on for third before two 4-game losing streaks in August saw them slip down the ladder.

Sporting Cuckney had their best finish since turning professional in 1906, setting a new team record of wins in a season and winning percentage to finish sixth, but the same could not be said about Juniors who finished last for the second straight year.

At season’s end, all I-League owners agreed a 12-team competition is not conducive of competitive baseball, especially following the dismal performance by the national team at the 1911 Centaurus Cup. Following several meetings during the summer, a agreement was made to form a second division, aiming to begin play in the 1915 season.

Social Cup

Despite a dreadful league performance, Juniors became the fourth team to win the Social Cup, fending off Oldstead Irish in the final which helped the team defend their professional status a few weeks later during the I-League re-election meetings. Last years winners McCutchen City couldn’t repeat the double again, falling at the semi-finals.

In one of the biggest giant slayings in Social Cup history, Burnham United eliminated Athletic Ivychurch in the First Round, 3-2. Playing the majority of the game with only 8 players, the team was forced to play without a right fielder, and a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth gave them the win.

QUARTER-FINALS
Racing Welford (ILG) 0-5 Oldstead Irish (ILG)
Juniors (ILG) 3-0 Rainow Town (NON)
Tyrant-Ilford (ILG) 4-5 McCutchen City (ILG)
Ulcombe United (ILG) 7-0 Egham City (NON)

SEMI-FINALS
McCutchen City (ILG) 5-7 Oldstead Irish (ILG)
Ulcombe United (ILG) 4-5 Juniors (ILG) (F/11)

FINAL                                                            R   H   E
Oldstead Irish (ILG)      0   0   1   0   0   1   1   0   0      3   5   1
Juniors (ILG)             0   1   1   1   0   1   0   0   0      4  13   0

Albaland

Baseball League

In what was considered the best season of Albaland professional baseball in it’s young history, Sandwick City clinched it’s third straight title, only moving into top spot with 6 games to spare, having sat sixth at the halfway point of the season.

Terregles Collieries, Warriors and Oxenfoord Athletic all spent time leading the league throughout the year, with the latter exceeding expectations after a 12^th place finish last year. Bridgebank ultimately claimed runners-up after dropping just 4 games in the final three months of the season.

With only 11 points separating the top 10 teams, there was a noticeable gap to South Angel in eleventh. They struggled with form away from home but managed to finish above United Bankfoot who didn’t finish last for the first time in three years. That honor ultimately fell to Kirkcolm Town who struggled converting draws to wins all season, to finish 4 points behind Waltonians who saw out the year with a 1-2-10 record.

Alba Shield

After the disappointment of losing the Alba Shield final last year, Bridgebank capped off their fine year with a 4-2 victory over South Angel to become the first team to reach two Alba Shield finals, and the seventh team to lift the Cup.

Highlights of the tournament include last years final rematch in the quarter-finals, as well as non-League outfit Perceton Town eliminating United Bankfoot 5-3 in the Second Round. In the First Round, Newtonairds stunned Abner Arduaine 7-6 in 10 innings, having finished 9 innings locked at 5-5.

QUARTER-FINALS
Melton Coss (BL) 3-10 Bridgebank (BL)
Rigside Nine (BL) 11-3 Warriors (BL)
Newton Albaland (NON) 0-4 Waltonians (BL)
Perceton Town (NON) 0-2 South Angel (BL)

SEMI-FINALS
Bridgebank (BL) 4-3 Rigside Nine (BL)
Waltonians (BL) 3-6 South Angel (BL)

FINAL                                                            R   H   E
Bridgebank (BL)           1   0   0   0   0   2   0   1   0      4   7   1
South Angel (BL)          0   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   1      2   5   2

Houtmansland

Topklasse Divisie

For the first time in Topklasse Divisie history, a team has repeated as champions, with KBO Armweide overtaking early pacesetters and last year’s runners-up just after the winter break and never looked back. Eikenheuvel HC came home second, thanks in part to a run of good form to round out the year which coincided with Bos Aan Zee losing 6 of their last 8.

One win in 12 during May saw HHV slump from midtable to equal on points with HC Notendaal who had another slow start to the year. Despite hovering a few points ahead of Wijnboeren for most of the season, HHV dropped two of three games to their closest challengers and slipped into last place with 13 games to spare, remaining there for the rest of the season, successfully arguing their case to remain in the league for next year.