Club of Morocco
| Nick Name | Morocco |
|---|---|
| Earliest Known Date | Circa 1930 |
| Last Known Game | |
| Location | Morocco |
| Modern Address | |
| NABBP Status | |
| Nine Class | Senior |
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| Description | Dr. Caleb Guyer Kelly (d. 1960), a Methodist missionary, former Baltimore City College ballplayer, and friend of Ned Hanlon, organized a baseball league in Tunis, Tunisia (then a French colony) in 1921. This eventually led to the "ligue Tunisienne de Baseball." Kelly boasted of forming 107 teams in Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Morocco (all French or Italian colonies at the time) in North Africa, and was known as "the father of North African Baseball." In 1937 he invited the Pittsburgh Pirates to train in Tunis. An article in the Dallas Morning News, March 12, 1933 (shorter version in the San Diego Union, March 13, 1933) says that in the summer of 1932 a team of American tourists and ship crew, off a visiting ocean liner, played and defeated a picket local Tunis team 19 to 5. The African team obtained uniforms and bats from the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. See "Baseball is Thriving Sport on North African Shores," Dallas Morning News, March 12, 1933; Elias, "The Empire Strikes Out," p. 113; Vlasich, "A Legend for the Legendary. The Origin of the Baseball Hall of Fame," pp. 90-91; St. Petersburg Independent, Jan. 15, 1961; "Bucs Invited to Train in Africa," Springfield (MA) Republican, Dec. 25, 1937; San Diego Union, June 5, 1928. An article in "The Chaplain," vol. 9 no. 3 (May-June 1952) states that Rev. Kelly had recently established leagues in Morocco, Luxembourg, and France. |
| Sources | "Baseball is Thriving Sport on North African Shores," Dallas Morning News, March 12, 1933; Elias, "The Empire Strikes Out," p. 113; Vlasich, "A Legend for the Legendary. The Origin of the Baseball Hall of Fame," pp. 90-91; St. Petersburg Independent, Jan. 15, 1961; "Bucs Invited to Train in Africa," Springfield (MA) Republican, Dec. 25, 1937; San Diego Union, June 5, 1928; "The Chaplain," vol. 9 no. 3 (May-June 1952). |
| Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
| Has Source On Hand | No |
| Comment | Edit with form to add a comment |
| Query | Edit with form to add a query |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
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| Has Supplemental Text |
Ballgames
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Players
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Playing Fields
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