1946 Claxton Shield

Australian Interstate Baseball Carnival
1946
Tournament information
Date3 – 10 August
Host(s)New South Wales Sydney, NSW
Teams3
Defending champions New South Wales
Final positions
Champion New South Wales (4th title)
1st runner-up Victoria
2nd runner-up South Australia
← 1939
1947 →

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[1] and Marrickville Oval[2] in Sydney from 3 to 10 August, and was won by the hosts New South Wales for the fourth time in a row.[3] With this tournament win, they overtook South Australia as the outright leading state in Claxton Shield tournament wins.[4]

The other participating teams were Victoria and hosts South Australia. The two newest teams to the tournament—Western Australia and Queensland—did not participate.[5] However both did host an interstate series: Western Australia hosted a South Australian team,[6] and Queensland hosted New South Wales after the Sydney season.[7]

Format

With the reduction of participating teams back to the original three, the format also returned to a pure round-robin tournament. Once again, each team met each other team twice over the course of the week. In each game, two competition points were on offer to the teams. The points were awarded as follows:

  • Win – two points
  • Tie – one point
  • Loss – no points

At the end of the tournament, the team with the most points was declared the winner, and awarded the Claxton Shield.[1]

Results

 1946 Claxton Shield Champions 

New South Wales
4th title
Team Points Wins Ties Losses
 New South Wales 8 4 - -
 Victoria 4 2 - 2
 South Australia 0 - - 4
3 August 1946 New South Wales  9 – 1  South Australia New South Wales Petersham Oval
3 August 1946 New South Wales  3 – 0  Victoria New South Wales Petersham Oval
6 August 1946 Victoria  6 – 4  South Australia New South Wales Petersham Oval
8 August 1946 Victoria  5 – 3  South Australia New South Wales Petersham Oval
10 August 1946 New South Wales  8 – 0  South Australia New South Wales Marrickville Oval
10 August 1946 New South Wales  10 – 2  Victoria New South Wales Marrickville Oval

All-Australian team

At the conclusion of the tournament, representatives from the Australian Baseball Council selected an All-Australian team. It was the second such Australian team selected at the end of a Claxton Shield tournament. As had been the case in the 1939 side, New South Wales players dominated the team, with seven players selected.[8]

Position Player
Pitcher New South Wales L. Dale
Catcher New South Wales M. Yuille
First Base New South Wales F. Brittain
Second Base Victoria (state) N. Harvey
Third Base New South Wales M. Diegan
Short Stop New South Wales K. Gulliver (c)
Left Field New South Wales H. Hawkins
Centre Field South Australia W. Radbone
Right Field Victoria (state) J. Nagle
Reserve
Battery 		Pitcher New South Wales R. Lawler
Catcher South Australia P. Brideoake
Utility Victoria (state) J. Ellis
Manager Victoria (state) R. Darling

References

  1. ^ a b "Double Baseball Success By N.S.W." The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 August 1946. p. 7. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Baseball Win By Victoria". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 August 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  3. ^ "N.S.W. Baseball Outstanding". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 August 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  4. ^ Clark 2003, pp.60–1
  5. ^ Harris 2009, p.36
  6. ^ "S.A. Confident Of Baseball Win". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Baseball Team For Queensland". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 August 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 6 January 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Champion Baseball Side Chosen". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 August 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2010.

Bibliography