Mr Francis Ley, owner of the adjacent foundry, developed the site as a sports ground for his workforce in the 1880s and, following a trip to the USA in 1889, adapted the venue to accommodate baseball. Derby County FC first used the ground in 1892 and when they moved in from the Racecourse Ground on a permanent basis in 1895, the pitch was enlarged and a stand brought from their previous ground and re-erected, probably on the north side. Football and baseball shared the facilities (including dressing rooms in the north east corner and a terrace on the east side) for a few years and by 1914 stands had been constructed on the west side and at the south end.  The club purchased the ground for £10,000 in 1924 and in the years leading up to WWII constructed a new 3,300 seat main stand on the west side, double deck seated stands at each end and a cover over the east side. Post war improvements included the installation of seats in the main stand paddock and on the terraces at each end and the construction of an all-seat stand on stilts on the east side. The terracing on the east side was subsequently installed with seating giving an all seat capacity in 1996 of 17,451.

Derby County FC moved to Pride Park in 1997 and the Baseball Ground was used for youth team and occasional reserve fixtures until 2004 when the site was demolished and replaced with housing