Bolton Robots of Doom
Encyclopedia
Bolton Robots of Doom is an English baseball team from Bolton
situated in the North West region of England, playing in the Northern AA/A Division under the British Baseball Federation
.
The modern team began in the summer of 2002 while Matthew Norburn was the General Manager and player for Manchester A's Baseball Club
. Frustrated with the lack of direction and commitment Norburn decided to look into setting up a new club in his hometown of Bolton.
After early talks with the Bolton Local Authority, who were eager to have a baseball team set up in Bolton plans moved forward. Norburn recruited fellow player Barrie Joyce from Manchester to help set the club up. Norburn and Joyce finished off the season in Manchester and Norburn resigned as the clubs GM.
Bolton Baseball Club took the team name of Brewers and went about preparing for 2003 baseball season, with only two team members. The Brewers soon secured a council grant that would ensure adequate equipment could be purchased.
As the 2003 season came closer Bolton had built up a good roster size with former junior players and people new to the sport. However the planned baseball field would not be ready till the end of the inaugural season. In a last minute deal Bolton Baseball agreed to join CMB Sports Club located in Lostock and became known as CMB Baseball Club.
Bolton Baseball Club remained part of CMB Sports Club for 3 years before making a move to their own facility. The team took this opportunity in 2006 to rename the team to the Blaze. The move to a new ground proved to be one of the biggest mistakes the club would ever make. The new ground provided by the Local Authority turned into a money pit. The ground situated off Slack Lane, Westhoughton
was continually flooded by poor drainage. Looking to put a brave face on and play the season opener on this poor attempt of a field, Bolton awaited visiting team Humber. After looking at the state of the field, Humber refused to play at that site. The teams did however manage to locate a suitable site across town to play the game at Markland Hill
Playing Fields. With no official home field, Bolton played the rest of the 2006 season at two different locations.
During the 2006 off-season major interest was put to the local council for use of the Markland Hill playing fields. After many discussions with the council it was agreed that Bolton Baseball Club could use the field. The field was renamed the Ballpark at Stapleton Avenue. Since the 2007 season the Blaze have invested heavily in developing the ball park in the aim that it will become one of the best facilities in the country.
During 2007 a junior baseball team was re-introduced into the Bolton community, originally headed by John Baxendale and later to be fulfilled by Andrew Lee Heaton. The junior team, named the Bear’s entered league play in 2008. In 2009 the junior team was taken over by Dave Clugston who is still currently the junior team manager.
In 2008 the Bolton Blaze changed its name to Bolton Robots of Doom after a much maligned voting process. The name change was met with a mixed reaction from its own players. Some embraced the outlandish new name, whilst others remained unimpressed; so much so that one player duly quit the team citing the name change as being utterly ridiculous. The irony in this was the quitting players' surname was "Daft". As one fan on a public forum put it..."You cannot make this stuff up!".
Nevertheless club GM, Matthew Norburn, pressed on and remained unmoved by any criticism. Once the name was formally announced in the public domain, it again was greeted with varied reactions. Local team rivals scorned and ridiculed the club, whilst baseball fans bought into the spirit of such an unusual name, to the point where fans of the MLB's New York Mets
began a thread on their own fans forum discussing what they felt was a unique and inspired team name. One thing was guaranteed, no other baseball team had the name Robots of Doom.
Over the next few years, the team would evolve on a playing level. By introducing more talented players into the team Bolton R.o.D. would develop from its status as perennial division whipping boys, to serious divisional contenders. The team would also begin to take part in mid-season European tournaments, beginning in Dublin in 2008 where on the opening day Bolton R.o.D. almost upest the British allstar team, Northern Knights and kept within touching distance of the Irish national side, Team Ireland.
Then it was off to Holland in 2009 & 2010, where the standards of baseball were at higher levels than had previsouly encountered. These elements combined would ultimately lead the club to its first ever playoff appearance in 2009, and a second playoff appearance in 2010 following the club's greatest success when it won AA/A North Division Title with a winning record of 18-6.
2010 also saw the clubs first ever win on European soil against Hagen Chipmunks of Germany, and ultimately finishing 4th narrowly losing by 1 run to the tournament favourites Rouen Dragons of France.
In 2010 the club were featured in a two-page article entitled 'Bolton's Batmen' in Lancashire Life
magazine, which covered the clubs history and involvement in the Bolton community, and club GM Matthew Norburn was interviewed for BBC Radio
live on air. This was Norburn's final act as club GM before returning to his native Canada. The responsibility for club affairs now rests with Dom Clarke.
Pitchers
Player
Nationality
Positions
Bat/Throw
50 Jamie Sherlock
P/C/3B
R/R
24 Seb Yaseen
P/C/3B
R/R
15 Zak O'Boyle
P/1B/SS
R/R
12 Dale Hargan
P/3B
R/R
10 Ryan Patterson
P/C
R/R
Catchers
Player
Nationality
Positions
Bat/Throw
13 John Baxendale
C/1B
R/R
35 Riccardo Toniolo
C
R/R
33 Tom Woodburn
C/P
R/R
66 Chris Clifton
C
R/R
Infielders
Player
Nationality
Positions
Bat/Throw
77 Tony Berry
SS
R/R
27 Wayne Clark
2B
R/R
94 Melvin Cullen
3B
R/R
73 Joe Santarcangelo
2B
R/R
57 Eddie Curson
1B
R/R
Outfielders
Player
Nationality
Positions
Bat/Throw
54 Duncan Slater
RF
R/R
79 James Newall
LF
R/R
2 Mickey Bateson
RF
R/R
5 Paul Wilson
CF/3B
R/R
7 Richard Ramos
OF/2B
R/R
48 Andrew Lee Heaton
RF
R/R
34 Billy Roberts
LF/RF
R/R
11 Kieran O'Leary
LF/CF
R/R
19 James Walsh-Hill
OF
R/R
40 Joe Spalding
OF
R/R
14 Dom Clarke
OF
R/R
Utility Players
05 Bullpen Van Der Buddy
OF
L/L
Player
Nationality
Positions
Bat/Throw
Bat Boy
Player
Nationality
Positions
Bat/Throw
00 Lucas Berry
BATBOY
R/R
>
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
situated in the North West region of England, playing in the Northern AA/A Division under the British Baseball Federation
British Baseball Federation
The British Baseball Federation is the national governing body of baseball within the United Kingdom, founded in .BBF is a federated member of both the Confederation of European Baseball and the International Baseball Federation...
.
History
Information on the beginnings of Bolton baseball are scarce. The earliest known details date back to 1938. The then named Bolton Scarlets Baseball team played their first game at Raikes Park in Bolton against a team from Oldham in May 1938.The modern team began in the summer of 2002 while Matthew Norburn was the General Manager and player for Manchester A's Baseball Club
Manchester Baseball Club
Manchester Baseball Club is one of the largest baseball clubs in the north of England, with two senior teams and four youth teams playing in the British Baseball Federation leagues. The club can trace its roots back as far as 1947, with the formation of the Stretford Saints...
. Frustrated with the lack of direction and commitment Norburn decided to look into setting up a new club in his hometown of Bolton.
After early talks with the Bolton Local Authority, who were eager to have a baseball team set up in Bolton plans moved forward. Norburn recruited fellow player Barrie Joyce from Manchester to help set the club up. Norburn and Joyce finished off the season in Manchester and Norburn resigned as the clubs GM.
Bolton Baseball Club took the team name of Brewers and went about preparing for 2003 baseball season, with only two team members. The Brewers soon secured a council grant that would ensure adequate equipment could be purchased.
As the 2003 season came closer Bolton had built up a good roster size with former junior players and people new to the sport. However the planned baseball field would not be ready till the end of the inaugural season. In a last minute deal Bolton Baseball agreed to join CMB Sports Club located in Lostock and became known as CMB Baseball Club.
Bolton Baseball Club remained part of CMB Sports Club for 3 years before making a move to their own facility. The team took this opportunity in 2006 to rename the team to the Blaze. The move to a new ground proved to be one of the biggest mistakes the club would ever make. The new ground provided by the Local Authority turned into a money pit. The ground situated off Slack Lane, Westhoughton
Westhoughton
Westhoughton is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester....
was continually flooded by poor drainage. Looking to put a brave face on and play the season opener on this poor attempt of a field, Bolton awaited visiting team Humber. After looking at the state of the field, Humber refused to play at that site. The teams did however manage to locate a suitable site across town to play the game at Markland Hill
Markland Hill
Markland Hill is a mostly residential district of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it is about 2.5 miles to the north west of the town centre. It lies on the lower south facing slopes of the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by Lostock to the south, Doffcocker to...
Playing Fields. With no official home field, Bolton played the rest of the 2006 season at two different locations.
During the 2006 off-season major interest was put to the local council for use of the Markland Hill playing fields. After many discussions with the council it was agreed that Bolton Baseball Club could use the field. The field was renamed the Ballpark at Stapleton Avenue. Since the 2007 season the Blaze have invested heavily in developing the ball park in the aim that it will become one of the best facilities in the country.
During 2007 a junior baseball team was re-introduced into the Bolton community, originally headed by John Baxendale and later to be fulfilled by Andrew Lee Heaton. The junior team, named the Bear’s entered league play in 2008. In 2009 the junior team was taken over by Dave Clugston who is still currently the junior team manager.
In 2008 the Bolton Blaze changed its name to Bolton Robots of Doom after a much maligned voting process. The name change was met with a mixed reaction from its own players. Some embraced the outlandish new name, whilst others remained unimpressed; so much so that one player duly quit the team citing the name change as being utterly ridiculous. The irony in this was the quitting players' surname was "Daft". As one fan on a public forum put it..."You cannot make this stuff up!".
Nevertheless club GM, Matthew Norburn, pressed on and remained unmoved by any criticism. Once the name was formally announced in the public domain, it again was greeted with varied reactions. Local team rivals scorned and ridiculed the club, whilst baseball fans bought into the spirit of such an unusual name, to the point where fans of the MLB's New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
began a thread on their own fans forum discussing what they felt was a unique and inspired team name. One thing was guaranteed, no other baseball team had the name Robots of Doom.
Over the next few years, the team would evolve on a playing level. By introducing more talented players into the team Bolton R.o.D. would develop from its status as perennial division whipping boys, to serious divisional contenders. The team would also begin to take part in mid-season European tournaments, beginning in Dublin in 2008 where on the opening day Bolton R.o.D. almost upest the British allstar team, Northern Knights and kept within touching distance of the Irish national side, Team Ireland.
Then it was off to Holland in 2009 & 2010, where the standards of baseball were at higher levels than had previsouly encountered. These elements combined would ultimately lead the club to its first ever playoff appearance in 2009, and a second playoff appearance in 2010 following the club's greatest success when it won AA/A North Division Title with a winning record of 18-6.
2010 also saw the clubs first ever win on European soil against Hagen Chipmunks of Germany, and ultimately finishing 4th narrowly losing by 1 run to the tournament favourites Rouen Dragons of France.
In 2010 the club were featured in a two-page article entitled 'Bolton's Batmen' in Lancashire Life
Lancashire Life
Lancashire Life is a British Regional magazine, first published in 1947, devoted to the English county palatine of Lancashire. The magazine covers lifestyle topics including motoring, property, food, art and everyday life in the county.-Circulation:...
magazine, which covered the clubs history and involvement in the Bolton community, and club GM Matthew Norburn was interviewed for BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
live on air. This was Norburn's final act as club GM before returning to his native Canada. The responsibility for club affairs now rests with Dom Clarke.
Quick facts
- Uniform colors: Navy, Orange, White.
- Logo design: R.o.D Robot holding bat with circular background
- Alternate logo design: Letter B with Robot holding bat
- Team motto: "Felt wrong not to swing"
- Mascot: R.o.D. Robot.
- Spring Training Facility: St James's Sports College.
- AA/A North Division: Bolton Robots of Doom, Manchester Torrent, Sheffield Bladerunners, Oldham NorthStars, Humber Pilots
Current roster
Tony Berry
-Career:Brought up in Tottenham and educated at Latimer Upper Grammar School, Berry played cricket for Middlesex Young Amateurs and became an apprentice football professional for Tottenham Hotspur....
Wayne Clark
Wayne Maxwell Clark is a former Australian cricketer who played in 10 Tests and 2 ODIs from 1977 to 1979....
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson may refer to:*F. Paul Wilson , American science fiction and horror author*R. Paul Wilson, sleight of hand expert*Paul Wilson , pitcher in Major League Baseball...
Billy Roberts
Billy Roberts is an American songwriter and musician credited with composing the 1960s rock music standard "Hey Joe"...
Kieran O'Leary
Kieran O'Leary is an Irish Gaelic footballer. He plays at U21 and senior levels with the Dr. Crokes club team and the Kerry county team. In 2007, O'Leary was a kery member of the Dr. Crokes team that reached the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final on St. Patrick's Day...
>
External links
See also
- Baseball in the United Kingdom
- British Baseball FederationBritish Baseball FederationThe British Baseball Federation is the national governing body of baseball within the United Kingdom, founded in .BBF is a federated member of both the Confederation of European Baseball and the International Baseball Federation...