Gemenskapsklubb Udde Korall (Community Club Udde Korall) is a baseball club located in Udde Korall, Toivakka, Koana Islands. They are officially the 31st team to turn professional in the Koana Islands, joining an expanded Division Ett for the 1914 baseball season alongside Litenstat Jarnekdal SBK. They are affectionately known as Grönfisken, a name derived from fish found in the River Ämtenån that flows through the city.
The club was established in 1902 as a merger between Södra Udden and BK Ljungan who had been groundsharing at Nordostaveny for two years. The new club took BK Ljungan’s place in the Toivakka Basebollförbund from 1902 to 1913; BK Ljungan had finished bottom of the table for the two previous seasons, and the merged club finished bottom of the league for the next three seasons. However, a change in fortune followed and the club claimed their first trophy in 1908, repeating the feat in 1910 and 1911.
With the Koanian Basebollförbundet looking to grow the professional game of baseball in the early 20th century, the KBF felt obliged to look at expanding into the state of Toivakka, having only had two teams (Ruysdael Akademisk IF and AIF Thomassmåstad) representing the state at that point, and none representing the southern coast. The success of GK Udde Korall in the state league along with it’s relative population size made it an ideal target for expansion; especially after the early success of former amateur league rivals Elon BF who turned professional in 1912. In 1913, the KBF approached the club and offered them a place in an expanded Division Ett from 1914 onwards, which the club accepted.
The home ballpark of Nordostaveny is situated in a lively entertainment district, surrounded by restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues. It becomes a hub of activity on gamedays, with fans enjoying pre and post-game festivities along Messlingen that gets closed off to traffic and runs parallel from the left field foul pole to left of center.
Stands surround the playing area with the exception of left field due to the proximity of the road behind the outfield wall; a giant electronic scoreboard helps to prevent home runs leaving the ballpark altogether which are called Stora överraskningar (Big Surprises) and are tracked on the scoreboard each year.
A slight lean towards a batter-friendly playing area thanks to a fairly short outfield that balloons out in left of center and surrounded by 11 to 12-foot high walls does see a reduction in triples but batting averages are using 10% higher here than elsewhere in the league.
The team plays in olive, orange, and white.