He joined Hull F.C. for a then record fee of £600 in April 1913 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £205,400 in 2013), and was to be paid £14 per match (in contrast to the £4 a week he had been offered to sign for Manchester United), a huge sum at the time (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £4,794 in 2013), plus an additional special bonus. These were huge figures at the time and made Batten possibly the highest-paid professional footballer in Britain, if not the world. He helped the club win the Challenge Cup in his first season, when his presence in the side reportedly added £500 to gate receipts per game. Such was his popularity that Hull F.C. would print "Batten certain to play" over posters advertising their home games at the Boulevard.