The Claxton Shield was the premier baseball competition in Australia, first held in 1934 and last held in 2010. The Claxton Shield is also the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team, and has also been awarded to winners of both the original Australian Baseball League (ABL) and the International Baseball League of Australia (IBLA). [1] The current version of the Australian Baseball League uses the Claxton Shield as its championship trophy in the same way as its predecessor of the same name did. [2]
There had been interstate baseball tournaments held prior to the start of the Claxton Shield. The first was held in Hobart in 1910, won by New South Wales defeating Victoria and hosts Tasmania. New South Wales repeated the feat in 1912 in Melbourne when they won again, this time with the addition of South Australia. [3] None were held regularly though, and they did not always involve all baseball–playing states. In 1934 Norrie Claxton was the principal driver of an annual national competition, and donated the shield to be awarded to the champions. Though it was originally intended to be permanently held by the first team to win in three consecutive years, when South Australia won the first three tournaments [4] [5] [6] all participating states agreed that it should be a perpetual shield, and named it the Claxton Shield in honour of Norrie Claxton. [3]
The Victoria Aces were the last team to win the shield under the Claxton Shield format, having won the 2010 tournament by defeating South Australia two games to nil in the final series. [7] It was the eighteenth time the Aces had won the shield, and the twenty second time it had been won by a Victorian team—the most by any state—including three times by the Waverley / Melbourne Reds and once by the Melbourne Monarchs. [3] The Adelaide Giants currently hold the shield after overcoming the Perth Heat in the 2023–24 Australian Baseball League season. It was the Adelaide Giants first ABL title and seventeen time a South Australian team has won the Claxton Shield. Though city-based teams have competed for the Claxton Shield in some seasons, including under the current ABL format, 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. [8]
State Titles | The number of championships won by that state at the time. (Includes wins by ABL/IBLA teams from the same state.) |
---|---|
Team Titles | The number of championships won by that team at the time. (Treats ABL/IBLA teams as separate from the state teams.) |
† | Denotes most championships by a team/state at the time. |
‡ | Denotes tied for most championships by a team/state at the time. |
* | Denotes member of Baseball Australia Hall of Fame. |
Season | Champion Team | Games | Runner Up | Team Titles | State Titles | League MVP | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989–90 | Waverley Reds | 3–1 | Melbourne Monarchs | 1† | 16† | Phil Dale (WR) | [49] |
1990–91 | Perth Heat | 3–2 | Daikyo Dolphins | 1‡ | 7 | David Nilsson (DD) | [50] |
1991–92 | Daikyo Dolphins | 3–1 | Perth Heat | 1‡ | 5 | Adrian Meagher (DD) | [51] |
1992–93 | Melbourne Monarchs | 2–0 | Perth Heat | 1‡ | 17† | Kevin Jordan (BB) | [52] |
1993–94 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Sydney Blues | 1‡ | 6 | Homer Bush (BB) | [53] |
1994–95 | Waverley Reds | 2–0 | Perth Heat | 2† | 18† | Scott Metcalf (PH) | [54] |
1995–96 | Sydney Blues | 2–0 | Melbourne Reds | 1 | 11 | Gary White (SB) | [55] |
1996–97 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Brisbane Bandits | 2‡ | 8 | Andrew Scott (AG) | [56] |
1997–98 | Melbourne Reds | 2–0 | Gold Coast Cougars | 3† | 19† | Brendan Kingman (SS) | [57] |
1998–99 | Gold Coast Cougars | 2–0 | Sydney Storm | 2 | 7 | Adam Burton (MR) | [58] |
Season | Champion Team | Games | Runner Up | Team Titles | State Titles | Helms Award Winner | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999–2000 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Queensland Rams | 1† | 9 | Chris Snelling | [1] [22] |
2002 | Victoria Aces | 1–0 | Perth Heat | 1‡ | 20† | Rodney van Buizen | [1] [22] |
Season | Champion Team | Games | Runner Up | Team Titles | State Titles | Helms Award Winner | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010–11 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Adelaide Bite | 1† | 12 | James McOwen (ADE) | [59] [60] | |
2011–12 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Melbourne Aces | 2† | 13 | Tim Kennelly (PER) | [61] [62] | |
2012–13 | Canberra Cavalry | 2–0 | Perth Heat | 1 | 1 | Adam Buschini (CAN) | [63] | |
2013–14 | Perth Heat | 2–0 | Canberra Cavalry | 3† | 14 | Ryan Casteel (MEL) | [64] | |
2014–15 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Adelaide Bite | 4† | 15 | Aaron Miller (ADE) | ||
2015–16 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Adelaide Bite | 1 | 10 | Justin Williams (BRI) | [65] | |
2016–17 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Melbourne Aces | 2 | 11 | Aaron Whitefield (BRI) | [66] | |
2017–18 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–1 | Canberra Cavalry | 3 | 12 | Jake Fraley (PER) | [67] | |
2018–19 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Perth Heat | 4 | 13 | Tim Kennelly (PER) Marcus Solbach (ADE) | ||
2019–20 | Melbourne Aces | 2–0 | Adelaide Bite | 1 | 23 | |||
2020–21 | Melbourne Aces | 1–0 | Perth Heat | 2 | 24 | |||
2021–22 | Season cancelled due to COVID | |||||||
2022–23 | Adelaide Bite | 2–1 | Perth Heat | 1 | 16 | Jordan McArdle (ADE) | ||
2023- 24 | Adelaide Giants | 2-1 | Perth Heat | 2 | 17 |
Rank | State | Titles | Most Recent | Tournaments Contested |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Victoria | 24 | 2019–20 | 78 |
2nd | South Australia | 17 | 2023-24 | 78 |
3rd | Western Australia | 15 | 2014–15 | 73 |
=4th | Queensland | 13 | 2018-19 | 68 |
=4th | New South Wales | 13 | 2005 | 75 |
6th | Australian Capital Territory | 1 | 2012–13 | 18 |
=7th | Northern Territory | 0 | 8 | |
=7th | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | |
"Titles" includes seasons of the ABL & IBLA. |
David Wayne Nilsson is an Australian former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Australia national baseball team and the Brisbane Bandits. He played for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers from 1992 to 1999 and was an All-Star in 1999, becoming the first Australian player to appear in an All-Star game. He ended his Major League career on 3 October 1999 with 837 games played, 789 hits, 105 home runs and a .284 career batting average.
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) was a baseball league, established in 1987 and disbanded in 1999.
The Perth Heat is a baseball team in the current Australian Baseball League and a founding member of the Australian Baseball League. It is the most successful team in ABL history, winning 15 Claxton Shields.
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 1997–98 Australian Baseball League season was the 9th season of the original Australian Baseball League, contested between eight teams representing state and regional capitals: Adelaide Giants, Brisbane Bandits, Gold Coast Cougars, Hunter Eagles, Melbourne Monarchs, Melbourne Reds, Perth Heat and Sydney Storm. The Melbourne Reds became the first three-time champions defeating the Gold Coast Cougars 2 games to 0 in the Championship series, in front of a small home crowd of 600 at the Melbourne Ballpark.
The 1934 Claxton Shield was the first annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at the Adelaide Oval and Hindmarsh Oval in Adelaide from 5 to 12 August, and was won by the hosts South Australia. The other participating teams were New South Wales and 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 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 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 1948 Claxton Shield was the ninth annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held in Perth, Western Australia from 7 to 14 August, and was won by Victoria for the second time overall, successfully defending their title from 1947. The other participants were South Australia, New South Wales, and hosts Western Australia.
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it shares some history of the original league with the Claxton Shield awarded to winners of both competitions, it is considered to be a separate competition.
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 would 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.
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The 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season was the inaugural Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 6 November 2010 to 13 February 2011. It came 12 years after the old Australian Baseball League ceased and is the successor of the mostly amateur Claxton Shield competition that has been played since 1934. The season consisted of six teams competing in a 40-game schedule, followed by a three-round finals series to determine the ABL champion.
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