The 1914 Southern Union Baseball season was the twentieth season of professional baseball within the Southern Union.

It was the first season of a 14-team Super Ligan and 16-team Division Ett, which also saw the additions of GK Udde Korall and Litenstat Jarnekdal SBK for the first time, as well as the return of Freyr Viksida IK and Västra Delen 95.

In Ianoia, the Ianoian Baseball Association will form a second division known as the Nationwide League next year, whilst the Baseball Meisterschaft in Günsovölk reached an agreement to expand the league from 16 to 22 teams from 1915, as well as implementing a knockout cup called the Güns-Kelch.

Domestic Baseball

Koana Islands

Super Ligan

Jordnot Kanjon BK stunned the Koana Islands baseball world by winning the Super Ligan title, becoming the seventh team to win the league in it’s 20-year history. Predicted to finish in the lower half of the expanded competition, the Prowlers performed as expected in the first third of the year before a run of form through June saw them briefly top the table. BK Salau and Ny Aucklanda IF were locked in a heated fight and eventually overtook the eventual winners, only for Jordnot Kanjon BK to win 15 of their last 21 games to clinch the title in unexpected circumstances.

It was a dismal year for the reigning champions, Omfattandestad BoIS, who slumped to their worst finish since 1902, struggling for form throughout the year. The club couldn’t even blame wins becoming draws as they finished behind both Glenton Kullar BbK and Sandford Stad BF who drew more games despite winning the same amount (38).

Whilst overshadowed by the champions performance, AIF Thomassmåstad performed well to finish 7th, having expected to stay clear of the relegation zone. They improved on two consecutive 9th-place finishes to top BF Oberoendestad, who slipped down the order after two-straight 6th-place finishes.

Two of the three promoted teams all survived to live another year in the top flight, with IF Blidområde and Atletisk Nyhamn turning things around in September, having occupied both relegation spots up to that point. The latter – making their debut in the Super Ligan – sat 8 points behind in last place at the halfway stage, following an 11-game winless streak.

Ultimately it was BK Humoor 1893 and newly-promoted BK Embleton who succumbed to the drop, with both teams combining for a 2-1-23 record through September.

Division Ett

With the league expanded to 16 teams with an extra 12 games per team, it was little wonder that 1890 Ängelar SK came within four points of setting a new points in a season as they romped to their second Division Ett title, returning to the Super Ligan for the first time since 1909. Despite briefly allowing SK Ryttare to catch up a couple of times – including the final weeks of the season – the Armada were rarely troubled and held top spot the majority of the season.

IK Förenta Saffron will join them in the top flight next year, returning to the Super Ligan after a 12-year absence. It was a slow start to the season for Riddarer, who were expected to finish mid-table, ending the year with just 8 losses in their final 30 games to leapfrog SK Ryttare on the final day of the season thanks to BK Randia’s 6-5 victory over Guldpojkar.

Körsbärstad IF and Nyhaven SK were never really in the hunt for promotion despite being early season favorites, with the latter’s push to bounce straight back up thwarted quite early on. Prestons-Grenada’s 8th place finish was a major improvement on last year when they were forced to go through the re-election process for the 7th time in 9 years. They finished above Portlethen Måndag GK who had a disappointing year considering they had their eyes on slim hopes of promotion.

Elon BF came home 11th, but truthfully could’ve finished much lower down if it wasn’t for the red-hot start to the season when they led the league from 1890 Ängelar SK after 27 games. Horrid months of July and August, when they had a combined record of 3-4-17, dashed any hopes of a top-half finish. They edged out Västra Delen 95 by a point who were making their return to the professional leagues.

Newcomers to Division Ett were Litenstat Jarnekdal SBK and GK Udde Korall, finishing in 14th and 15th respectively. It was a tough year for the latter who sat in last place, 18 points behind Portlethen Måndag GK, after 51 games. They eventually recovered to finish respectably, which could not be said of Litenstat Jarnekdal, going 8-5-32 in the back half of the year to drop like a stone.

Both GK Udde Korall and Freyr Viksida IK were put up for re-election, but both teams comfortably won their respective votes to stay in Division Ett for another year.

Günsovölk

Baseball Meisterschaft

In one of the most captivating seasons on record, Mächtstadt VfL won their first Baseball Meisterschaft, completing the upward trajectory that started 5 years ago. After finishing 10th in the 1910 baseball season, Die Artilleristen finished 4th the following year, before finishing 3rd, and then runners-up last season.

The title looked out of reach for the eventual winners with 14 games to play when they sat 11 points adrift of BSG Geldstadt who had held top spot since the first week in May. However, Mächtstadt VfL swept the league-leaders, who had earlier lost two of three against third placed Rasensport Sorgenfrei, to put the eventual winners level on points with 6 games to play, before going on to wrap up the title by a single point.

Viktoria Grosstadt SV finished fourth ahead of SG 1632 Schönheit, with the latter briefly flirting with second place at the two-thirds marker following a 12-game winning streak, whilst BV Küstestadt was comfortably second in the table at the halfway stage before a dip in form in late September saw them plunge down the ladder.

Ducibus BV had a strong start to the year, before a run of one win in 16 games in the latter half of the season saw them drop down to finish 9th, still an improvement on last season’s 14th. They finished above 1. Trappen who were let down by poor form away from home, which included a league-leading 30 fielding errors throughout the year.

Hafenstadt BV’s campaign was one to forget, languishing in 15th for the majority of the year, before an upturn in fortunes saw them eventually finish 13th, leapfrogging Blau-Weiss Ruigoord with a few games to spare after they picked up just 4 points out of a possible 44. Gelb Kekerdom TuS and Uelzenia Hüll were put up for re-election, the former going through the process for the second straight time, with both successfully arguing their case to stay in the league.

During the 1914 season, Günsovölk Baseball-Bund agreed to expanding the Baseball Meisterschaft with the ultimate goal of implementing a second professional tier below within teen years. After much consultation, the league reached an agreement that expanding by 6 teams to have a league of 22 clubs made the most financial sense, with clubs playing each other just four times, instead of the current six. The reduction of league games from 90 to 84 was caused by the lack of travel time between series, especially with the implementation of the knockout tournament, Güns-Kelch, which included a scheduled second day to replay any games that finished with scores level for all rounds of the competition.

Despite reluctance from numerous owners, the localism of denying teams from Duyfken Island in joining the league was beaten in a vote, 9 to 7, and after approaching the islands biggest league the Zilverland und Tonne Boden Wettkampf (ZTBW), invited the three most successful clubs from this year which were Eintracht Ruysch, Ahnüü 96, and LR Benëe.

The other clubs joining the Baseball Meisterschaft next season are BSV Berümt, Thijssen Juist and BC Burgbernheim.

Ianoia

I-League

McCutchen City’s dominance of the I-League continued, as they clinched their third successive I-League title and sixth in eight years, reeling in the early league leaders Sporting Cuckney to claim the trophy on wins after the top three teams all tied on 79 points.

Sporting Cuckney were tipped for midtable obscurity at the start of the season, but by the halfway stage of the season had held top spot for the majority of the time and had a slender 3 point lead over the chasing Racing Welford after losing 4 straight games. The team started to run out of puff as the season wore on, and losses started to pile up through July and August which allowed the eventual winners to take the lead in the championship. A brief charge by Ulcombe United at the death saw them take the lead going into the final gameday after winning both fixtures against the Myrmidons, but McCutchen City clung-on to beat them 5-3 to claim the title.

It was a solid season for Chatteris United, who challenged the front-runners for much of the year to finish fourth, ahead of Oldstead Irish & Racing Welford. The latter picked up just 7 wins in July and August, ending their hopes of a title push and condemning them to their worst finish since the 1910 baseball season.

Tyrant-Ilford, who narrowly avoided the re-election process last season, came home in a respectable seventh, overtaking Spartans of Martletwy in the final weeks following a 4-game winning streak. Blenkinsopp Town finished 9th, and didn’t move much from that area of the standings all season, they finished above Juniors who were re-elected last year and sat in 11th for the majority of the season.

Byfleet Hawks slipped from 9th last year to 11th this season, but were lucky to avoid finishing with the wooden spoon having languished in last place for the bulk of the campaign. One win in 14 fixtures, which included a 9-game losing streak, saw Athletic Ivychurch finish in last place right at the death of the season, having hovered around 9th and 10th until the final month.

Athletic Ivychurch were spared any blushes during the re-election process, with the Ianoian Baseball Association finalizing an agreement to introduce a second division of professional baseball from next season. The Nationwide League will be contested by 14 teams, with plans in place to expand both the I-League and Nationwide League by a further 6 teams each over the coming years. The IBA sought out a merger with the Nationwide Baseball Alliance, a rival league and association, reaching an agreement with 14 of the 16 clubs in the league. Only one team from the Nationwide League and I-League will switch divisions each season until the leagues have expanded to 16 and 18 clubs respectively.

Social Cup

After a rewarding league campaign which saw them improve dramatically over last season, Tyrant-Ilford clinched their first Social Cup with a 6-3 victory over Chatteris United. Both teams had appeared in the final once before, with Tyrant-Ilford appearing in the first tournament in the 1910 baseball season where they lost to Blenkinsopp Town. Chatteris United finished as runners-up in the following year to non-league outfit Boythorpe Loco, but looked set to win their first Cup until the Claymores scored 4 runs in the 8th to take a commanding lead in the game.

Last years winners, Juniors, were knocked out in the Second Round to non-league side Chilton, which proved to be the biggest giant-slaying of the tournament. In the early qualifying rounds, Raw Rovers became the first team to record a no-hitter in the Cup, when they shutout Darowen City, 7-0.

QUARTER-FINALS
Tyrant-Ilford (ILG) 7-3 McCutchen City (ILG)
Warcop Workers (NON) 4-5 Lockledean Rose (NON) (F/11)
Oldstead Irish (ILG) 10-2 Martletwy United (NON)
Stourport Hotspur (NON) 2-9 Chatteris United (ILG)

SEMI-FINALS
Lockledean Rose (NON) 2-7 Chatteris United (ILG)
Oldstead Irish (ILG) 3-8 Tyrant-Ilford (ILG)

FINAL                                                            R   H   E
Chatteris United (ILG)    0   0   0   0   1   1   0   1   0      3   5   1
Tyrant-Ilford (ILG)       0   0   2   0   0   0   0   4   0      6  13   1

Albaland

Baseball League

Sandwick City cruised to their fourth consecutive league title, rarely troubled by their nearest rivals after moving to top spot near the end of June and never relinquishing control.

Despite a slow start by the Students, Sandwick City went on a 10-game winning streak through June and into July to take control of the league from early pace-setters Tower Hill, who collapsed in the September to fall away and finish 6th.

Oxenfoord Wanderers claimed runners-up for the first time in their history, tied with Bridgebank on everything but runs scored. Glenarm finished fourth, let down by poor home form.

Douglastown BC finished 5th, their best season since 1910, capped off with a combined no-hitter in a 0-0 draw with Bridgebank.

The biggest shock was the comparative poor performance by Terregles Collieries. Predicted to be outside chances of winning the league, they sat in 15th after May with a 4-1-11 record before eventually recovering to finish a disappointing 10th, one place behind Warriors who finished the season with a 7-game winless streak.

At the bottom, Waltonians never left last place save for a couple of days scattered throughout the season to be put up for vote during the re-election process which they successfully navigated. A point ahead of them was Strathmiglo Wanderers who have gone 5 straight years of finishing lower than they did the year before, having won the inaugural Baseball League in 1910. Truth be told, they only slipped down to 15th in the final month following Kirkcolm Town’s 4-4-1 record to finish out the season, having themselves sat in second-last for the majority of the year.

Alba Shield

Backing up their fine season in the league, Oxenfoord Wanderers capped off their 1914 campaign by winning the Alba Shield for the second time after beating Warriors in 10 innings. After giving up 2 runs in the top of the 9th, the team rallied and scored 3 in the final frame to force extra innings.

Nobody can claim the winners had an easy draw to reach the final, facing off against Rigside Nine, Glenarm and Kirkcolm Town along the way. A 9-3 victory against non-league opponents Newton Albaland the only non-Baseball League team they faced. For Warriors, it was their first appearance in the final, needing extra innings in every game except the Quarter-Finals to advance.

Waltonians dreadful year could be summed up in one game, when they were bundled out of the Shield in the First Round by non-league opponents Balmaclellan Bulldogs.

QUARTER-FINALS
Kirkcolm Town (BL) 7-2 Strathmiglo Wanderers (BL)
Newton Albaland (NON) 3-9 Oxenfoord Athletic (BL)
Douglastown BC (BL) 5-3 Melton Coss (BL)
Abner Arduaine (BL) 2-7 Warriors (BL)

SEMI-FINALS
Douglastown BC (BL) 3-4 Warriors (BL) (F/10)
Kirkcolm Town (BL) 2-6 Oxenfoord Athletic (BL)

FINAL/10                                                             R   H   E
Warriors (BL)             0   0   0   1   1   0   0   3   2   0      7   7   0
Oxenfoord Athletic (BL)   1   0   1   1   0   0   1   0   3   2      9  11   0

Houtmansland

Topklasse Divisie

In what proved to be a dissatisfying title fight, KBO Armweide won their third straight league title, running away from their rivals to finish a whopping 14-points clear. They rounded out the year with an undefeated record of 13-2-0, having started undefeated in their first 10 games. Perhaps a sign of things to come for their Topklasse Divisie rivals, KBO Armweide no-hit SAE Zwingelspaan on Opening Day in a 3-0 win.

Eikenheuvel HC were expected to be serious challengers and despite sitting in second place for the first half of the year, were already 10 points adrift of the eventual reigning champions by the halfway stage, eventually finishing fourth behind Bos Aan Zee and Atletisch Bath.

SHC Koedijk finished 5th, but matched Eikenheuvel HC in points after 27 games, before they slumped to a 5-game losing streak which started their freefall down the order. It was their fourth 5th-place finish in the last five years.

SAE Zwingelspaan finished 6th, the clubs best ever finish in the league since joining eight years ago. They set a new home winning percentage record of 0.519 (12-4-11), a solid turnaround after starting the year 3-1-5 at Velden Ballpark.

RKC Mesch played under .500 ball for the first time in two years, dropping another place from the previous season for the second straight year. They finished above Herksen-Heerenveen & HC Notendaal who are still trying to find their feet in the professional league. HHV were put up for re-election for the second straight year after dropping into last place on Matchday 30 and never recovering.