BJ De Lorenzo talks about joining the Trojans, and helping to put them on the path to success.

After 3yrs in beautiful LA, we again packed up our belongings and headed across the pond.  I swore and we would not do it again. This time I knew who to contact, Chris Gee, he was still playing with the Burtonwood Braves and I could still get on to the team.

The following Sunday he picked me up on his motorcycle and we make the trip to Warrington. During my time away the team had changed, the Sgt Major was now in charge. There were some top players in the team, and it was a big problem getting a game. We still had the same Brits in the team -Chris Gee, Rob Alger, and a much-improved Rob Orme. After around 4 or 5 games I got my chance to play and never looked back. I think it must have been the end of a couple of players tours because half way through the season a few of the best players rotated back to the states. This included the manager so the base commander Danny Prinze took over. It took a little adjustment but we soon got back to winning ways. The number of teams in the Northwest dwindled from 12 when I went away to only 6 on my return, and the competition was not as good. We had a great team made up of some characters, but our baseball was fun to play.

In the months to come we were informed the base was closing down and the team would be disbanded. This was our final season so the likes of me and Chris Gee, Rob Orme, Rob Alger and Steve Williams, a player from the Aintree Indians had to find a new team. The closest was the Trojans. At that time the Trojans were losing players through age and other reasons, so we had no problems fitting in.

The team was managed by long-time Trojans player, Arthur Bolton. They had a great set-up from Norman Wells the founder and an original Trojan, to Arthur’s dad as treasurer. The Trojans had gone from 2 teams to one and were now playing at Bootle Stadium since moving from Long Lane.  Handy for me as we lived a stone’s throw from the field. The Trojans still had a few of the best players in the league in Art Bolton himself, and Brian Bretheron, but over the next few years, they would hang up their gloves.

The Trojans went through a variety of managers at this time with Bobby Tune, Steve Williams, Chris Gee, Rob Nesbitt, and Rob Orme all taking a turn. The Trojans still had that “never stop fighting” attitude. It was during this period of transition that I was elected secretary for the club. My first job was getting the local council to build us a proper ball field at Bootle Stadium. I contacted the authorities and negotiated to have them do cut-outs for home plate, running path and build a pitching mound. However, building the backstop would not be in the job, so I approached a local fabricator for sponsorship, and he agreed to build us a backstop.

As spring came and the ground was soft enough to work on so the council got to work. Our first few games had to be scheduled away as the ground was not going to be ready. However when it did get finished we had the best ground in the northwest. The Trojans were becoming a proper baseball club again, and in all aspects. During this time two of our players were picked to play for the Great Britain national team, Chris Gee and Rob Orme. We felt like we were starting to live up to our proud history, and from there the only way was up…