Warwick Baseball's Hard Hitters

In this week’s Stories from the Vault takes a look at one of Warwick baseball's hard hitters.

Our photograph features the Watford baseball club at Forest in 1939. Seated in the front row on the right edge is Lloyd “Dolly” Cook. Lloyd moved to the outskirts of Warwick village in 1898 when he was two years old. From a young age, he loved to play baseball and was an ace pitcher for the Watford team in 1917 before he enlisted in the First World War in 1918. After he came home, he resumed his role as pitcher for the Watford team and continued playing until the local leagues disbanded in 1942 for the Second World War. Outside of the diamond, Lloyd owned and operated the Warwick General Store with his wife, Anna.

The 1939 season of the Western Counties Baseball Association, featured in our photo, saw the Watford Wire Workers meeting the Forest Lakesides in the semifinal of the playoffs. Unfortunately, Watford lost both games against Forest, with the second game being called in the eighth inning on account of the darkness - baseball fields didn’t have lights in those days!