Baseball NT

Last updated

Founded1968;53 years ago (1968)

Baseball NT is the governing body of baseball within the Northern Territory, Australia. [1] Baseball NT was formed in 1968 under its original name, the Northern Territory Baseball League. [2] Baseball NT is governed nationally by the Australian Baseball Federation. [3] Historically, baseball in Australia and the Northern Territory has been an amateur sport. [4] [5]

Contents

Overview

Organised baseball is played in Darwin, Alice Springs and Katherine. Darwin has four clubs; Nightcliff Tigers, Palmerston Reds, Pints and Tracy Village Rebels. [6] The East Darwin Beasts disbanded in 1987 and the South Darwin Rabbitohs disbanded in 2004. In Darwin, baseball is a dry-season sport, played between April and September each year. Baseball in Darwin is controlled by the Darwin Baseball Association.

The Katherine Baseball Association has four teams; Dodgers, Cubs, Angels and Braves. The sport is usually played between the months of February through to September, during the dry season. Predominantly, only under seventeen competitions are played due to a lack of interested players. Although a high percentage of participating players are successful in making local squads and Territory/ state teams.

Alice Springs has six teams; Bulls, Cubs, Demons, Panthers, Redbacks and Venom. [7] In Alice Springs, baseball is a summer sport, usually played between October and March. Baseball in Alice Springs is controlled by the Alice Springs Baseball Association.

The Northern Territory competed in the national Claxton Shield competition between 1981 and 1989. [2] During its nine-year admittance, the Northern Territory won only one game, in 1987, against South Australia with a score of 20–11. [8] Bill Hutcheson, a Catcher, from originally Tennant Creek and later Darwin, was the only player to play in all nine Claxton Shields. Evan Gordon was the first Territorian to hit a home run on 16 January 1983, against NSW. [9]

In 1991, the Territory joined the national Australian Provincial Championship (also known as the Commonwealth Cup) competition for regional Australian baseball. [2] Bill Fryar became the first Territorian to hit a home run in 1992, against Queensland. In 1999, the Northern Territory won the Cup for the first time under the leadership of player/coach, Andrew Kendray. [10]

Success for the Northern Territory is difficult as promising juniors are attracted away from the Territory to pursue careers in the southern leagues where their development and opportunities are greater. [2] Several Territorian home-grown players have gone onto successful baseball careers and these most notably include Greg Mosel, [11] Max Hardy, Jon Mellor, [12] [13] Lachlan Burrows, Darren Welch, [14] Wilson Lee, [15] Sam Tibbits, [16] Dushan Ruzic [17] and Adrian Burnside. [2] [12] [18] Rarely do these players return to the Northern Territory. This has created a catch 22 situation for Baseball NT whereby it understands that by developing home-grown talent, there is a good possibility these players will be lost to southern leagues, unlikely to return to the Northern Territory. [2]

In November 1983 however, Territory players were selected to play for Australia against the touring Japanese Industrial League champions, Toshiba, and included, Bill Fryar, Dwayne McInnes, and Laurie Moore from Darwin; John Baldock from Tennant Creek Evan Gordon and Darren Welch from Alice Springs. [19]

Since the late 1990s, the popularity and standard of baseball in the Northern Territory has steadily declined as it struggles to compete against Australian icon sports such as cricket, as well as attract juniors away from the information technology revolution such as computer games and the "hip-hop" culture. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

Darwin, Northern Territory Capital of the Northern Territory, Australia

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city is known as Garramilla to the traditional owners of the area, the Larrakia people, a word which refers to the white stone found in the area. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely-populated Northern Territory.

Northern Territory Federal territory of Australia

The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other islands of the Indonesian archipelago.

Alice Springs Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Alice Springs is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd, wife of the telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd. Now colloquially known as The Alice or simply Alice, the town is situated roughly in Australia's geographic centre. It is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.

Nightcliff, Northern Territory Suburb of Darwin, the Northern Territory, Australia

Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

NRL Northern Territory

NRL Northern Territory is the organisation responsible for administering the game of rugby league in the Northern Territory. It controls the Darwin Rugby League, Darwin Junior Rugby League and Central Australian Rugby Football League.

Northern Territory Greens Political party in Australia

Northern Territory Greens is a Green Party located in the Northern Territory, a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party.

Michael "Magic" McLean is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club, Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Australian rules football in the Northern Territory

Australian Football in the Northern Territory has a history dating back to the 1910s and is the most popular sport in the territory, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands.

Sport in the Northern Territory

Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Nightcliff Baseball Club

Nightcliff Baseball Club Inc. is an amateur baseball club located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Also known as "the Tigers", the club was formed in 1969 and competes in the Darwin Baseball League (DBL), latterly known as Baseball NT. It is also an affiliated member of the Nightcliff Sports Club.

Established in 1953, the Darwin Baseball Association and latterly Darwin Baseball League (DBL) is the governing body of amateur baseball in Darwin, Northern Territory. The DBL is governed by Baseball NT and ultimately, the Australian Baseball Federation.

Nightcliff Middle School is a coeducational state school situated between Nightcliff Road, Aralia Street and Ryland Road, in the northern Darwin suburb of Rapid Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.

Library & Archives NT Library and archives in Northern Territory

Library & Archives NT comprises the Northern Territory Library and the two Northern Territory Archives Centres in Darwin and Alice Springs. Located in Parliament House in Darwin City, it is the premier public research and archival organisation focused on the history, development and culture of the Northern Territory of Australia. The library holds more than 108,000 books and 30,000 items. The archive holds Northern Territory Government records, which are normally opened 30 years after they were created.

Northern Territory Buffaloes was a baseball team from the Northern Territory that competed in the Australian national Claxton Shield competition from 1981 until 1988. The Buffaloes enjoyed little success during its eight-year admittance winning only 1 game, in 1987, against South Australia. Despite their poor on-field results, the Buffaloes did manage to play a few competitive games.

Joel Carroll Australian field hockey player

Joel Carroll is an Australian field hockey player. He played club field hockey for University team in the Darwin Hockey Association A-Grade league, and for the NT Stingers in the Australian Hockey League. He was a member of Australia's junior U21 team. He also represented Australia on the senior men's team, winning a gold medal with the side at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy. He was part of the 2012 Olympic team that won the bronze medal.

Desmond Abbott is an Australian field hockey midfield/striker from the Northern Territory. He is a member of the Australia men's national field hockey team, having made his debut on 28 January 2007. He won gold medals at the Hockey Champions Trophy in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and unsuccessfully tried to secure a spot on the team to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Reuben Cooper is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for playing for the South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League.

Nightcliff Dragons Rugby League Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Nightcliff, Northern Territory formed in 1961. They conduct teams for both junior and senior teams and run preseason academies for both youth boys and youth girls.

Barbara James Northern Territory journalist & activist

Barbara James was an author, historian, journalist, political adviser and activist based in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. James is best known for documenting the contribution of women to the development of the Northern Territory in books and articles, most significantly, the award-winning No Man’s Land: Women in the Northern Territory. She was also a press secretary and adviser to Bob Collins, Leader of the Territory Opposition and Senator for the Northern Territory and later Clare Martin, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.

Abby Cubillo is an Australian professional basketball player. She plays for the University of Canberra Capitals in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She is a national champion and a world champion, and the first player born and raised in the Northern Territory to play in the WNBL.

References

  1. ↑ "Northern Territory Baseball Inc". Baseball NT. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clark, Joe (2003). A History of Australian Baseball: Time & Game. Lincoln, Nebraska, United States: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN   0-8032-6440-2. OCLC   52127597. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "State Associations". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  4. ↑ Holtzman, Jerome (2007). "History: Amateur Baseball". Encyclopædia Britannica . p. 15. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  5. ↑ Gmelch, George (2006). Baseball without Borders: The International Pastime. Lincoln, Nebraska, United States: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN   0-8032-7125-5. OCLC   64594333.
  6. ↑ "Baseball in Darwin". AsiaRooms.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ↑ "Senior's". Alice Springs Baseball Association. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  8. ↑ Australian Baseball Federation Inc. Annual Report 1987-88 (page16) Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2015-05-08.
  9. ↑ Interview with Bill Hutcheson of 21 August 2009.
  10. ↑ The Official Handbook of the Darwin Baseball League Inc: 1999 Edition.
  11. ↑ Greenwood, Rob (2 March 2018). Adelaide Bite pitchers Greg Mosel and Matt Williams set to represent Australia in Japan series. The Advertiser. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  12. 1 2 "NT Junior Sportsperson of the Year". NT Government Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport. Archived from the original on 31 July 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  13. ↑ "Jon Mellor Minor League Statistics & History". Society for American Baseball Research . Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  14. ↑ Dominitz, Nathan (10 July 2009) Welch comes from a land down under Archived 14 July 2012 at archive.today . Savannah Morning News. Retrieved on 21 September 2009.
  15. ↑ Morris, Greg (22 April 2010). Tyro pitcher on path to baseball big-time. Northern Territory News, page 38.
  16. ↑ Flintoff & Dunn (18 January 2006). "Claxton News 2006" . Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  17. ↑ "Dushan Ruzic Minor League Statistics & History". Society for American Baseball Research . Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  18. ↑ "Adrian Burnside Minor League Statistics & History". Society for American Baseball Research . Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  19. ↑ "Japan side full of stars". Darwin, NT: News Limited. Northern Territory News. 19 November 1983. p. 45.
  20. ↑ Raney, Arthur A; Bryant, Jennings (2006). Handbook of Sports and Media. LEA's Communication series. Mahwah, New Jersey, United States: L. Erlbaum Associates. p. 403. ISBN   0-8058-5188-7. OCLC   62858067.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.