In Australia, baseball is a game that is played in all states and territories of the country.
The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010–11, the tournament was replaced by one of three other competitions: the original Australian Baseball League (ABL), the International Baseball League of Australia (IBLA), and since the 2010–11 season the new ABL. Despite other competitions being held in place of the Claxton Shield, the physical trophy has remained the award for the winning teams. Though city-based teams have competed for the Claxton Shield in some seasons, the name engraved on the shield is that of the winning state; for the 2010–11 ABL season won by the Perth Heat, "West Australia 2011" was engraved.
The International Baseball League of Australia was a baseball league which existed from 1999 to 2002.
The 1935 Claxton Shield was the second annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at the Albert Ground and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne from 3 to 10 August, and was won by South Australia for the second time in a row. The other participating teams were New South Wales and hosts Victoria.
The 1936 Claxton Shield was the third annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at Marrickville Oval in Sydney from 3 to 10 August, and was won by South Australia for the third time in a row. The other participating teams were Victoria and hosts New South Wales.
The 1937 Claxton Shield was the fourth annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at Unley Oval in Adelaide from 7 to 14 August, the second time Adelaide had hosted the Shield. New South Wales won the Shield for the first time. Western Australia joined the tournament for the first time, becoming the fourth state to be represented. The other participating teams were Victoria and hosts South Australia.
The 1938 Claxton Shield was the fifth annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at the WACA Ground and Subiaco Oval in Perth from 3 to 13 August, the first time Perth had hosted the Shield. New South Wales won the Shield for the second time, successfully defending their title from the previous year. Hosts Western Australia had their best finish, losing to New South Wales in the final to finish second overall. The other participating teams were Victoria and South Australia.
The 1939 Claxton Shield was the sixth annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at Richmond Cricket Ground, Albert Ground, South Melbourne Cricket Ground and National Park in Melbourne from 29 July to 5 August, the second time Melbourne had hosted the Shield. New South Wales won the Shield for the third time, successfully defending their title from the previous two years. Queensland joined the other four states for the first time in the tournament. The other participating teams were Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. It was also the first year an Australia national team was picked primarily based on the Championships.
The 1946 Claxton Shield was the seventh annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament—the first time the tournament was held after a seven-year break due to World War II. It was held at Petersham Oval and Marrickville Oval in Sydney from 3 to 10 August, and was won by the hosts New South Wales for the fourth time in a row. With this tournament win, they overtook South Australia as the outright leading state in Claxton Shield tournament wins.
The 1962 Claxton Shield was the 23rd annual Claxton Shield, it was held in Perth, Western Australia thanks to a travelling pool to help the eastern states. The participants were South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. The series was won by Victoria claiming their sixth Shield title.
The 1988 Claxton Shield was the 49th annual Claxton Shield. The participants were South Australia, New South Wales Patriots, Victoria Aces, Western Australia, Queensland Rams and Northern Territory. The series was won by Queensland claiming their fourth and second consecutive Shield title.
The 2010 Claxton Shield was the 76th Claxton Shield tournament, the premier baseball competition in Australia, and was held from 6 November 2009 to 7 February 2010. It was hailed as the precursor to the new Australian Baseball League that will start in the place of the Claxton Shield in late 2010 to early 2011. The Victoria Aces defeated South Australia two games to nil in the championship series to win the tournament; this was the 22nd time the Claxton Shield had been awarded to a Victorian team. The competition was sponsored by Domino's Pizza.
The 1956 Claxton Shield was the 17th annual Claxton Shield, it was held in Adelaide, South Australia. The participants were South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. The series was won by Victoria in due to a controversial decision in the final game. They claimed their fifth Shield title. The 1956 Olympic Baseball team was selected from the tournament.
The 1964 Claxton Shield was the 25th annual Claxton Shield, it was held at the Albert Park in Melbourne, Victoria. The participants were South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. The series final was between South Australia and Victoria, with South Australia defeating the Victorians led by newcomer Ian Chappell who drove in seven runs in the final alone.
The 1965 Claxton Shield was the 26th annual Claxton Shield, it was held in Sydney. The participants were South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. Victoria won their 8th Claxton Shield title in poor weather conditions similar to that of the 1964 Shield.
The Fitzroy Baseball Club, known as the Fitzroy Lions, is a baseball club founded in 1889 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria. The club was a founding member of the Victorian Baseball League, Victoria's first organised baseball competition. Fitzroy has won 16 Division 1 championships and currently has seven senior men's teams, one women's team and a masters team competing in the Baseball Victoria Summer League, as well as junior sides representing the club at every age level.
The 1977 Claxton Shield was the 38th annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held in Perth from 14 to 23 January, the eighth time Perth had hosted the Shield. Hosts Western Australia won the Shield for the third time. The other participating teams were New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
The 1987 Claxton Shield was the 48th annual Claxton Shield. The participants were South Australia, New South Wales Patriots, Victoria Aces, Western Australia, Queensland Rams and Northern Territory. The series was won by Queensland, who took a 17–3 record into the final against Western Australia, before claiming their third title. Peter Vogler was named the MVP of the Finals Series against WA
The 1989 Claxton Shield was the 50th annual Claxton Shield and the final Shield in its traditional state format before the Australian Baseball League (1989–1999). The participants were South Australia, New South Wales Patriots, Victoria Aces, Western Australia and Northern Territory with the incumbent back to back champions Queensland absent. The tournament was held in Sydney over twelve days at Auburn Baseball Club's Oriole Park rather than a home and away series. The home New South Wales team were champions.
