Claxton Shield

Jay Nilsson holding the Shield.

The Claxton Shield or Claxton Shield Championships is the annual national baseball championship in Australia and is overseen by the Australian Baseball Federation. The tournament was first held in 1934. The tournament is competed by the state teams of South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and an Australian Provincial team representing the rest of Australia.

The shield is named for Australian sports philanthropist Norrie Claxton, who donated the trophy in 1934. He had served as the South Australian Baseball League's president from 1913 to 1929, and as a patron from 1932 to his death. It was originally intended to be given to the first winner of the national championships in three consecutive years. However, after South Australia won the first three tournaments (1934-1936), the state associations agreed to make it a permanent competition trophy, and the tournament was renamed to the Claxton Shield Championships.

In the 1990s, the shield was awarded to the winner of the ABL and then later to the winner of the International Baseball League Australia. After the collapse of both leagues, the shield competition reverted back its original format. When the ABL was re-formed in 2010-2011, the Shield was again the award but was no longer the name of the tournament.

For its first fifty years, the tournament was held during the winter, but after the formation of the summer-based Australian Baseball League, the tournament has switched to the summer.

The tournament MVP was given the Helms Award starting in 1962.

Championships by State

• Victoria: 18 (1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2001/2002, 2006/2007, 2009/2010)
• South Australia: 15 (1934, 1935, 1936, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1980)
• New South Wales: 12 (1937, 1938, 1939, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1963, 1988, 2003/2004, 2004/2005)
• Western Australia: 8 (1952, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1985, 2007/2008, 2008/2009)
• Queensland: 5 (1982, 1983, 1987, 2002/2003, 2005/2006)
• Australian Provincial: 0

Claxton Shield Winners

National Championships (1934 - 1988)

Year	Champion	Site
1934	South Australia	Adelaide, South Australia
1935	South Australia	Melbourne, Victoria
1936	South Australia	Sydney, New South Wales
1937	New South Wales	Adelaide, South Australia
1938	New South Wales	Perth, Western Australia
1939	New South Wales	Melbourne, Victoria
1940 to 1945	Series suspended due to World War II
1946	New South Wales
1947	Victoria
1948	Victoria
1949	Victoria
1950	New South Wales	Sydney, New South Wales
1951	New South Wales	Adelaide, South Australia
1952	Western Australia	Perth, Western Australia
1953	New South Wales	Brisbane, Queensland
1954	Victoria	Victoria
1955	New South Wales	Sydney, New South Wales
1956	Victoria
1957	South Australia	Perth, Western Australia
1958	Victoria	Brisbane, Queensland
1959	South Australia	Melbourne, Victoria
1960	South Australia
1961	South Australia	South Australia
1962	Victoria	Perth, Western Australia
1963	New South Wales	Brisbane, Queensland
1964	South Australia	Melbourne, Victoria
1965	Victoria	Sydney, New South Wales
1966	South Australia	South Australia
1967	South Australia	Perth, Western Australia
1968	Victoria	Brisbane, Queensland
1969	South Australia	Melbourne, Victoria
1970	South Australia	Sydney, New South Wales
1971	South Australia
1972	Victoria	Brisbane, Queensland
1973	Victoria	Perth, Western Australia
1974	Victoria	Victoria
1975	Western Australia	Sydney, New South Wales
1976	South Australia	Adelaide, South Australia
1977	Western Australia
1978	Western Australia
1979	Western Australia
1980	South Australia	Sydney, New South Wales
1981	Victoria
1982	Queensland	Sydney, New South Wales
1983	Queensland	Perth, Western Australia
1984	Victoria	Series was a "home and away" competetion
1985	Western Australia
1986	Victoria
1987	Queensland
1988	New South Wales

Australian Baseball League (1988 - 1999)

Awarded to the champion of the Australian Baseball League

Year(s)	Champion
1989/1990	Waverly Reds
1990/1991	Perth Heat
1991/1992	Daikyo Dolphins
1992/1993	Melbourne Monarchs
1993/1994	Brisbane Bandits
1994/1995	Waverly Reds
1995/1996	Sydney Blues
1996/1997	Perth Heat
1997/1998	Melbourne Reds
1998/1999	Gold Coast Cougars

Australian Baseball League (1999/2000 - 2000/2001)

Awarded to the champion of the International Baseball League Australia

Year(s)	Champion
1999/2000	Western Heelers
2000/2001	IBLA Internationals

National Championships (2001/2002 - present)

Year(s)	Champion	Venue
2001/2002	Victoria	Melbourne Ballpark (Altona, Victoria)
2002/2003	Queensland	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2003/2004	New South Wales	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2004/2005	New South Wales	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2005/2006	Queensland	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)

Championships

State	Championships	Venue
2001/2002	Victoria	Melbourne Ballpark (Altona, Victoria)
2002/2003	Queensland	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2003/2004	New South Wales	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2004/2005	New South Wales	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2005/2006	Queensland	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2006/2007	Victoria	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2007/2008	Western Australia	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2008/2009	Western Australia	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)
2009/10	Victoria	Blacktown Olympic Centre (Blacktown, New South Wales)

Related Sites

• Claxton Shield Championships Winners
• Claxton Shield
• Flintoff & Dunn Australian Major League Baseball Results
• New South Wales Patriots