Miscellaneous
Michael Harrold was the Great Britain national team's longest tenured manager, leading the squad to a European title in 1988 and the juniors to a championship in 1993. His exceptional career also included stints as a distinguished player at both the national and domestic levels, as well as success as a manager in domestic league play. A talented catcher-pitcher, Harrold was named to Great Britain squads for the 1971 and 1984 European Championships as well as European qualifying games in 1974 and 1975. As a member of the Nottingham Lions from 1970 to 1976, he led his club to two league championships, two league cups, and a national Knock-out Cup title. During that stretch, he was named the club's Most Valuable Batter twice and Most Valuable Player once. More success followed with the Southglade Hornets from 1979 to 1992. The dominant Midlands club, which he pitched for and then began managing in 1985, captured nine league titles and eight cup trophies along with a number of other pieces of hardware - most notably, a national Knock-out Cup trophy in 1986 - during his tenure. His teams were also national runners up four times. Personal accomplishments during that stretch included two league Most Valuable Player awards (1980 and 1983) and a league cup Most Valuable Player award (1981). From 1988 to 1995, Harrold skippered the Great Britain national team. It was an era in which non-domestic players did not represent a large contingent of the national team. With a squad made up of primarily born-and-bred British players, Harrold navigated Great Britain to a title at the 1988 European Championship B-Pool. He also led the junior national team to the top of the B-Pool at the 1993 championships. In addition to his work on the field, Harrold was a long-time administrator. Among his many roles, he served as British Baseball Federation president and a member of the British Olympic committee. Finally, through his commitment to the Old Timers Baseball Club he was able to continue as an active baseball player through his 50s and competed in his last game aged 60, against an Italian touring team. - GB HoF