Originally known as the John Moores Cup, it was contested by the United States and Great Britain over a series of five games from August 13 to 20 in five different cities in England.

Two future Major League Baseball players, Mike "Lefty" Schemer and Mizell "Whitey" Platt, participated in the tournament on the United States team.

Mann had first tried to set up a tournament between the national teams of the United States and Japan in 1937, but was prevented by the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War that same year.

"[3] The USABC held trials for the United States national team in Lincoln, Nebraska, with over fifty young players in attendance.

[4] England selected their team mostly from the professional Yorkshire-Lancashire League, which in those days was attracting crowds of 10,000 people, though many of the players were Canadian.

The U.S. scored two more runs in the seventh and eighth, but a rally in the ninth was cut short when O'Rourke was caught out, leaving two men on base, and delivering Britain the 8–6 win and putting them on the cusp of a series victory.

Controversially, the game was called during the ninth inning due to bad light, giving Great Britain the 4–0 win and clinching the title.