A MERSEYSIDE man's devotion to America's 'national pastime' has been recognised with a prestigious honour.
Norman Wells Sr, forever associated with the Liverpool and later Bootle Trojans baseball team, is one of only three inductees in the inaugural class for the British Baseball Hall of Fame.
Today residing in Ainsdale, Wells's commitment to the sport extends the best part of 70 years.
He was a key founder of one of England's most enduring teams, the Liverpool Trojans.
Established the year after the war ended, the Trojans earned three national crowns and were runners-up twice during his direct involvement.
Wells played catcher and shortstop for the team from 1946-1958.
When interest waned in the club in the early 1960s, Wells played a key role in reforming the squad in 1964 serving as manager for a decade.
He also served as the secretary of the Merseyside League and the North West League for some 15 years and won the National Scorers Award.
Wells's co-inductees in the Hall of Fame are Sir John Moores and Ross Kendrick.
Sir John played a major role in developing the game during its heyday of the 1930s, a period when a Great Britain team became World Champions in 1938.
Kendrick, a fine starting pitcher, played on that 1938 side which remarkably triumphed over a team representing the United States by four games to one.
