Trojans Great Honored By Hall of Fame Induction
While 2021 may have gotten off to a slow start for many of us, the same cannot be said for Trojans legend Martin Godsall as it was announced this week that he has been inducted into the British Baseball Hall of Fame.
Read the original submission for his inclusion sent in on behalf of the club below.
Although it would be fair to say that record-keeping during various sections of Martin Godsall’s career was a little inconsistent, conservative estimates suggest that the pitching ace accrued between 350-400 wins across a 33 year career playing at the senior level from 1986 to 2018 – Before presenting anything further to build our case, we would ask if there are any other pitchers that can lay claim to even half that number during this (or any other) era of British Baseball?
The man we call “Goddy” came into the game in the game as 15 year-old in the 1983, his potential as a pitcher having been noticed by his PE Teacher, a former-Liverpool Trojan player by the name of Mal Hudson, during a school cricket game. It wasn’t long before a local junior side, the Ince-Blundell Freebirds, snapped him up and began to develop his game.
As a young pitcher, Godsall dominated behind a fastball which he was able to throw consistently to all corners of the strike zone, but as the years progressed so did his understanding of how to make outs. This cerebral approach aided him in the development of a repertoire of pitches more extensive than typically present anywhere in baseball, but perhaps especially in the UK. Not only could he throw all these pitches, he also knew when to throw them to maximum effect. A lethal combination.
At 5’11’’ and weighing little more than 160 pounds, Godsall does not fit the stereotype of the tall, physically imposing ace on the mound, but what he lacked in stature, he made up for in determination and this would pay dividends throughout his long, successful career.
His early years at senior level saw him recognised as an individual on far more occasions than it seemed possible to record at the time. League ERA titles were awarded to him in 1991, 1993, 2002 and 2003. The gap between 1993 and 2002 is most probably explained by the award not actually being given out in those years. In 2003 at the tender age of 35, Godsall, who was hitting lead-off for most of that season, actually led his team in stolen bases too, his total of 27 enough to keep the (much younger) competition trailing in his wake.
In the 00’s Godsall finally found himself with a team behind him capable of turning his assured performances into championships on a consistent basis. Between 2003 – 2018, the Liverpool Trojans would go on to win 13 division titles in 16 years, including two BBF National AAA titles in 2011 and 2012.
It is quite possibly his performances at the national championship level over the four years 2009-2012 that Godsall’s light shone brightest. In 2009, it took a two-out, two-run error in the bottom of the last to deny him a complete game shutout and give him his only loss in this remarkable postseason run.
In 2010, Godsall pitched two complete games in one day, giving up only one run to propel his team to the AAA National final, but on this occasion, with Godsall rested following the previous day’s heroics, his team fell short to Oxford Kings in the final.
The 2011 finals saw Godsall come in in relief during the AAA semi-final with his team down by six runs early in the game, the Trojans rallied back to win, and Godsall would pitch the complete game victory in the final the next day too, as the Trojans exacted revenge over the Kings for the previous year. Two wins in two days, and only one earned run conceded for the cerebral assassin, the MVP award would follow.
In 2012, Godsall came in late in the game with the score tied at 2-2 against Cambridge Royals before his team rallied in the bottom half of that inning to claim the win. He came back out the next day to pitch a complete game victory against the Essex Redbacks. Two more wins, and an ERA of 0.931 saw him once again crowned as the tournament MVP. https://gc.com/g/AAANBC2012
“There’s a sport for everyone, and I found mine” were the words that came to Godsall as he accepted the Team of the Year award on behalf of the Trojans at the Sefton Sports Awards in 2012. This provided a rare insight that, for all he had given to baseball, he still had love for all the game had given to him as well.
His highly decorated playing career finally came to an end in 2018 where, at 50 years old, Godsall pitched a nine-inning complete game against Nottingham Rebels as his beloved Trojans collected their second successive British Baseball League title. And, of course, Godsall was named MVP for this tournament too.
Perhaps the key to his longevity in the game was his approach to own physical fitness – he could often be spotted running a 10k along Formby beach on a gameday morning, before he got to the field early to mow the grass and rake the mound. “There’s no better way to warm-up”. He used to say. Often followed by “I get too excited to sleep past 5am on a gameday anyway.”
If an alternative secret to his success could be offered, it would be support he received from his wife Julie, and daughters Sam and Yaz – all of whom were regulars on the sidelines to cheer him on, when their own sporting ambitions would allow.
These days Godsall is still active with the Trojans, helping to keep the ground at Norman Wells Ballpark in tip-top condition, as well providing some mentorship to the young pitchers hoping to follow in his footsteps. On occasion, he will even threaten a comeback…
Godsall represented Great Britain for many years
Middle row, fourth from the left. Yes, the one with the wonky hat.
A tribute from his long-standing friend and rival, Gavin Marshall
“When I look back at my career and especially the early days a few names stick out, Martin Godsall is one of them.
“At a young age, and watching some of the great battles of British Baseball, I saw Martin pitch, he was bursting with energy, he was relentless and a fearless competitor. I had never seen energy levels this high but what stood out the most for me was his competitiveness, this was a guy who wanted to win, this was a guy who was willing to do anything to give his team a chance to win. Over the next few decades, I saw this on a regular basis and from both sides, one as a teammate and one as an opponent. Martin continued to battle giving himself, but more importantly his GB team mates the opportunity to win ball games at the highest level in European Baseball.
“On a very personal note, Martin and I battled against each other numerous times, he stood toe to toe against me when I was Junior College Pitcher, he raised his game and challenged me as a NCAA Division 1 pitcher. He raised his game once again and stood ready to do battle with me upon my return from pro ball.
“Martin played a huge part during the whole of my career, before during and even after. Before, Martin paved the way to showing me what competing was. During, he constantly battled against me pushing me to become better. And after, I still compete today at everything I do, and this is all thanks to Martin Godsall.
“There are a lot of positives which pitchers today can take from Martin as I have already stated, but there are a couple more things which stand out for me ; The love he has for the game; the pride he takes in the history of Liverpool Baseball; but perhaps most importantly, his body language. If you ever got the opportunity to watch Martin pitch you would know that no matter what the score was, Martin’s body language always remained as if he was winning a 1 run ball game. He had a great saying in the dugout, “PUT HIM IN THE BOOK, HEY” well maybe it is time to “PUT HIM IN THE HALL OF FAME, HEY?”
“Thank-you Martin for being an inspiration to me, thank-you for pushing me every time we took the mound, and thank-you for being a loyal member of British Baseball.”
It would, no doubt, be a fitting end to Martin Godsall’s playing career to see him recognised by the British Baseball Hall of Fame and, if elected, he would find himself among friends. To single out just a few in what could be a longer list, in addition to Gavin Marshall, he played alongside Alan Bloomfield, Alex Malihoudis, and Josh Chetwynd for Great Britain; and of course he shared a sporting friendship with the late, great Norman Wells that spanned four decades – The two of them could often be observed dissecting the scorebook over a pint after games. Goddy would have it known (with a smile and a wink) that, if not for his great mate Norm, his ERA might be even lower!
This submission to campaign for Matin Godsall’s induction into the British Baseball Hall of Fame comes from all of us at Liverpool Trojans Baseball Club. We are the ones that may have benefited the most from what this flagbearer for the game achieved over the years, but his contributions to the game in Britain are appreciated by a far wider audience.
Thank-you for taking the time to read this, and for considering Martin Godsall for the British Baseball Hall of Fame. It would be a fitting way to recognise one of the true greats of the British game.
N.B. Due to the length of the proposal submitted by the club, it was edited heavily and much-reduced before being submitted to the selection committee. We have chosen to show you the full submission so that our strong feelings about Godsall’s contribution to the club, and sport as a whole, are not filtered.
It also became apparent that Godsall was under consideration even before the club put him forward which speaks yet more volumes of his incredible achievements, and reputation with the game.