Claxton Shield (Australian baseball trophy) displayed in August 2013 by the 2013 championship team, Canberra Cavalry.
The Canberra Cavalry team celebrating with the Claxton Shield, after winning the 2012–13 ABL championship series.

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]

Champions

Claxton Shield

Key
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.
Year Champion Team State
Titles 		Team
Titles 		Final Host Helms Award Winner Ref
1934  South Australia 01† 01† Adelaide, SA [4]
1935  South Australia 02† 02† Melbourne, VIC [5]
1936  South Australia 03† 03† Sydney, NSW [6]
1937  New South Wales 01 01 Adelaide, SA [9]
1938  New South Wales 02 02 Perth, WA [10]
1939  New South Wales 03‡ 03‡ Melbourne, VIC [11]
1940No tournament held 1940–1945
1946  New South Wales 04† 04† Sydney, NSW [12]
1947  Victoria 01 01 Adelaide, SA [13]
1948  Victoria 02 02 Perth, WA [14]
1949  Victoria 03 03 Melbourne, VIC [15]
1950  New South Wales 05† 05† Sydney, NSW [16]
1951  New South Wales 06† 06† Adelaide, SA [17]
1952  Western Australia 01 01 Perth, WA [18]
1953  New South Wales 07† 07† Brisbane, QLD [19]
1954  Victoria 04 04 Melbourne, VIC [20]
1955  New South Wales 08† 08† Sydney, NSW [21]
1956  Victoria 05 05 Adelaide, SA [21]
1957  South Australia 04 04 Perth, WA [21]
1958  Victoria 06 06 Brisbane, QLD [21]
1959  South Australia 05 05 Melbourne, VIC [21]
1960  South Australia 06 06 Sydney, NSW [21]
1961  South Australia 07 07 Adelaide, SA [21]
1962  Victoria 07 07 Perth, WA New South Wales Anthony Strand [21][22]
1963  New South Wales 09† 09† Brisbane, QLD New South Wales Kevin Cantwell* [21][23]
1964  South Australia 08 08 Melbourne, VIC South Australia Adrian Pearce [21][22]
1965  Victoria 08 08 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Graham Deany* [21][23]
1966  South Australia 09‡ 09‡ Adelaide, SA South Australia Kevin Greatrex* [23][24]
1967  South Australia 10† 10† Perth, WA South Australia Garry Thompson [21][22]
1968  Victoria 09 09 Brisbane, QLD Victoria (state) John Swanson* [21][23]
1969  South Australia 11† 11† Melbourne, VIC South Australia Neil Page* [21][23]
1970  South Australia 12† 12† Sydney, NSW New South Wales Paul Russell [21][22]
1971  South Australia 13† 13† Adelaide, SA Victoria (state) Ron McIver [21][22]
1972  Victoria 10 10 Brisbane, QLD Western Australia Don Knapp* [21][22]
1973  Victoria 11 11 Perth, WA South Australia David Mundy* [21][23]
1974  Victoria 12 12 Melbourne, VIC Victoria (state) Neil Buszard [21][22]
1975  Western Australia 02 02 Sydney, NSW Queensland Larry Home* [21][25]
1976  South Australia 14† 14† Adelaide, SA Queensland Alan Albury* [26]
1977  Western Australia 03 03 Perth, WA Victoria (state) Ron Owens [21][22]
1978  Western Australia 04 04 Brisbane, QLD Western Australia Ray Michell* [21][23]
1979  Western Australia 05 05 Melbourne, VIC Victoria (state) Brian Wonnacott [21][27]
1980  South Australia 15† 15† Sydney, NSW South Australia John Galloway [28]
1981  Victoria 13 13 Adelaide, SA Victoria (state) John Hodges [29][30]
1982  Queensland 01 01 Sydney, NSW Queensland Geoff Martin [21][22]
1983  Queensland 02 02 Perth, WA Western Australia Doug Mateljan* [21][22]
1984  Victoria 14 14 Brisbane, QLD Victoria (state) Brett Ward [31][32]
1985  Western Australia 06 06 Brisbane, QLD Western Australia Tony Stall [22][33]
1986  Victoria 15‡ 15‡ Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Lindsay Orford [21][22]
1987  Queensland 03 03 Brisbane, QLD Queensland Dave Nilsson* [34][35]
1988  Queensland 04 04 Brisbane, QLD Western Australia Tony Adamson* [22][36]
1989  New South Wales 010 010 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Richard Vagg [22][36]
1989Replaced by ABL & IBLA 1989–2002
2003 Queensland Queensland Rams 08 05 Sydney, NSW New South Wales Craig Lewis [22][37]
2004 New South Wales New South Wales Patriots 12 11 Sydney, NSW Queensland Brett Roneberg [38][39]
2005 New South Wales New South Wales Patriots 13 12 Sydney, NSW Victoria (state) Brad Harman [40]
2006 Queensland Queensland Rams 09 06 Sydney, NSW Queensland Brad Dutton [39][41]
2007 Victoria (state) Victoria Aces 21† 16† Perth, WA Victoria (state) Matthew Kent [42][43]
2008 Western Australia Perth Heat 10 07 Sydney, NSW Western Australia Clint Balgera [22][44]
2009 Western Australia Perth Heat 11 08 Perth, WA Western Australia Nick Kimpton [45][46]
2010 Victoria (state) Victoria Aces 22† 17† Melbourne, VIC New South Wales Wayne Lundgren [47][48]

Australian Baseball League (1989–1999)

Season Champion Team Games Runner Up Team
Titles 		State
Titles 		League MVP Ref
1989–90 Victoria (state) Waverley Reds 3–1 Victoria (state) Melbourne Monarchs 01† 16† Victoria (state) Phil Dale (WR) [49]
1990–91 Western Australia Perth Heat 3–2 Queensland Daikyo Dolphins 01‡ 07 Queensland David Nilsson (DD) [50]
1991–92 Queensland Daikyo Dolphins 3–1 Western Australia Perth Heat 01‡ 05 Queensland Adrian Meagher (DD) [51]
1992–93 Victoria (state) Melbourne Monarchs 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 01‡ 17† United States Kevin Jordan (BB) [52]
1993–94 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 New South Wales Sydney Blues 01‡ 06 United States Homer Bush (BB) [53]
1994–95 Victoria (state) Waverley Reds 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 02† 18† Western Australia Scott Metcalf (PH) [54]
1995–96 New South Wales Sydney Blues 2–0 Victoria (state) Melbourne Reds 01 11 New South Wales Gary White (SB) [55]
1996–97 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 02‡ 08 South Australia Andrew Scott (AG) [56]
1997–98 Victoria (state) Melbourne Reds 2–0 Queensland Gold Coast Cougars 03† 19† New South Wales Brendan Kingman (SS) [57]
1998–99 Queensland Gold Coast Cougars 2–0 New South Wales Sydney Storm 02 07 Victoria (state) Adam Burton (MR) [58]

International Baseball League of Australia

Season Champion Team Games Runner Up Team
Titles 		State
Titles 		Helms Award Winner Ref
1999–2000 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 Queensland Queensland Rams 01† 09 New South Wales Chris Snelling [1][22]
2002 Victoria (state) Victoria Aces 1–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 01‡ 20† New South Wales Rodney van Buizen [1][22]

Australian Baseball League (2010–present)

Season Champion Team Games Runner Up Team
Titles 		State
Titles 		Helms Award Winner Ref
2010–11 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 South Australia Adelaide Bite 01† 12 United States James McOwen (ADE) [59][60]
2011–12 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 02† 13 Western Australia Tim Kennelly (PER) [61][62]
2012–13 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Cavalry 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 01 United States Adam Buschini (CAN) [63]
2013–14 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Cavalry 03† 14 United States Ryan Casteel (MEL) [64]
2014–15 Western Australia Perth Heat 2–1 South Australia Adelaide Bite 04† 15 United States Aaron Miller (ADE)  
2015–16 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 South Australia Adelaide Bite 01 10 United States Justin Williams (BRI) [65]
2016–17 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 02 11 Queensland Aaron Whitefield (BRI) [66]
2017–18 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–1 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Cavalry 03 12 United States Jake Fraley (PER) [67]
2018–19 Queensland Brisbane Bandits 2–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 04 13 Western Australia Tim Kennelly (PER)

Germany Marcus Solbach (ADE)

 
2019–20 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 2–0 South Australia Adelaide Bite 01 23  
2020–21 Victoria (state) Melbourne Aces 1–0 Western Australia Perth Heat 02 24  
2021–22 Season cancelled due to COVID  
2022–23 South Australia Adelaide Bite 2–1 Western Australia Perth Heat 01 16 South Australia Jordan McArdle (ADE)
    
2023- 24 Adelaide Giants 2-1 Perth Heat 2 17

Championships by state

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.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Previous Domestic Leagues and Competitions". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  2. ^ Nash, Stephen (9 February 2010). "ACES: a message from the General Manager". Baseball Victoria. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Kent, Mitsie. "Baseball Backgrounder". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  4. ^ a b "South Australia Wins Championship". The Argus. Melbourne. 13 August 1934. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Baseball Championship—Won By South Australia". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 August 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Claxton Shield—Retained by South". The Argus. Melbourne. 10 August 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  7. ^ Laidlaw, Robert (6 February 2010). "Victoria claim the 2009/10 Domino's Claxton Shield". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  8. ^ "Season Launch Party". 90 Feet of Heat. Season 1. Episode 4. 19 October 2011. Event occurs at 2:04. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Claxton Shield To N.S.W." The Argus. Melbourne. 16 August 1937. p. 13. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  10. ^ "N.S.W. Wins Claxton Baseball Shield". The Argus. Melbourne. 15 August 1938. p. 20. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  11. ^ "N.S.W. Has Vine Victory—Baseball Title". The Argus. Melbourne. 7 August 1939. p. 7. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  12. ^ "N.S.W. Baseball Outstanding". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 August 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  13. ^ "State Honours to Victoria". The Age. Melbourne. 12 August 1947. p. 14. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  14. ^ "Details of Sport — Baseball". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 August 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  15. ^ "Victoria Wins Baseball". Sunday Herald. Sydney. 7 August 1949. Sports Section p. 10. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  16. ^ "N.S.W. Wins At Baseball". Sunday Herald. Sydney. 6 August 1950. Sports Section p. 12. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Jubilee Trophies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 August 1951. p. 8. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  18. ^ "Details Of Sport — Baseball". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 August 1952. p. 6. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  19. ^ "Baseball Title To N.S.W." Sunday Herald. 19 July 1953. Sports Section p. 8. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  20. ^ "Victoria Wins Baseball". The Argus. 26 July 1954. p. 17. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Claxton Shield Trophy Winners". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Claxton Shield Helms Award Winners". Australian Baseball Federation. 30 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g "Hall of Fame inductees". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  24. ^ "Baseball title goes to SA". The Age. Melbourne. 8 August 1966. p. 21. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  25. ^ "'Homer' for Newport". The Age. Melbourne. 20 February 1975. p. 24. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  26. ^ "Queenslander top baseballer". The Age. Melbourne. 19 January 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  27. ^ "Victoria leads Claxton Shield". The Age. Melbourne. 12 January 1981. p. 20. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  28. ^ Curran, Brian (23 January 1980). "Claxton Shield to SA". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 22. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  29. ^ "Victoria takes Claxton Shield". The Age. Melbourne. 19 January 1981. p. 22. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  30. ^ "It's Victoria's Shield". The Age. Melbourne. 19 January 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  31. ^ "Tight Claxton final to tough Victoria". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 1984. p. 23. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  32. ^ Green, Bradley (17 January 2009). "Graeme Lloyd lobs back for Victoria's All-Star Claxton Shield". Geelong Advertiser. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  33. ^ "Sport Summary — Baseball". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 February 1985. p. 35. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  34. ^ "Sport Summary — Baseball". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 February 1987. p. 52. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  35. ^ Pramberg, Bernie; Reed, Ron (8 October 2008). "Hall of fame dreams come true". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  36. ^ a b "Claxton fiasco: Young calls for sacking". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 February 1988. p. 47. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  37. ^ Stockman, Jennifer (23 January 2004). "Defending champions keep trophy in their sights". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  38. ^ Cowley, Michael (26 January 2004). "One game at a time ..." The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  39. ^ a b "2007 Claxton Shield Media Guide" (DOC) (Press release). Australian Baseball Federation. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  40. ^ Stockman, Jennifer (29 January 2005). "The Shield stays with defending champs NSW". Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  41. ^ "Queensland secures Claxton Shield". ABC News. 29 January 2006. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  42. ^ Watson, James (29 January 2007). "Aces finally hit top stride to take home Claxton Shield". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  43. ^ Foster, Ben (27 January 2007). "'ACES HIGH' – Victoria claim Shield title in thrilling final showdown" (Press release). Australian Baseball Federation. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  44. ^ Laidler, Gemma (8 February 2009). "Perth wins finals, claims back-to-back Claxton titles". The Sunday Times. Perth. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  45. ^ "Baseball, February 9 — Claxton Shield". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. Australian Associated Press. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  46. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 2009, p.10
  47. ^ Dunn, Adrian (7 February 2010). "James Beresford snaps tie to seal shield victory". Herald Sun. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  48. ^ "Wayne Lundgren named 2010 Helms Award winner". Australian Baseball Federation. 1 April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  49. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1999, Section 11, pp.1–2
  50. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1999, Section 11, pp.3–5
  51. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1999, Section 11, pp.5–7
  52. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1998, Section 10, p.5
  53. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1998, Section 10, pp.13–14
  54. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1998, Section 10, p.17
  55. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1998, Section 10, pp.20–21
  56. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1998, Section 10, pp.23–24
  57. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1998, Section 10, pp.27–28
  58. ^ Flintoff & Dunn 1999, Section 11, p.31
  59. ^ Schroder, Mark (13 February 2011). "Perth Wins!". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 13 February 2011. Perth Heat Win Inaugural Australian Baseball League Championship
  60. ^ ABL Staff (28 October 2011). "Perth Turn Up the HEAT in Repeat Attempt". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  61. ^ Romano, Ross (13 February 2012). "Heat win Gm. 3 thriller, repeat as ABL champions". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 13 February 2012. Perth outlasts Melbourne in 13 exciting innings
  62. ^ ABL Staff (26 February 2012). "Tim Kennelly honoured with 2012 Helms Award". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 22 January 2013. Perth slugger becomes 40th winner of prestigious award
  63. ^ "Canberra Cavalry win ABL championship". WA Today. Australian Associated Press. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  64. ^ Tyler Maun (14 April 2014). "Casteel named Helms winner at BADAs". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 17 October 2014. Casteel named Helms winner at BADAs
  65. ^ Australian Baseball Federation 2015/16 Annual Report
  66. ^ David Penrose (21 December 2017). "Casteel named Helms winner at BADAs". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 3 March 2018. Brisbane's Aaron Whitefield claims Helms Award
  67. ^ David Penrose (1 May 2018). "Fraley wins Helms Award". Australian Baseball League. Retrieved 20 December 2018. Jake Fraley has become the first Heat player to be honoured with the Helms Award since Tim Kennelly in 2011/12.

Bibliography

External links

Claxton Shield (1934–1988, 2003–2010)
Baseball in Australia
Category