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1938 photograph of 'Chevs' baseball team

Overview

A 1938 black and white photograph of the 'Chevs' Baseball Club team mounted centrally on a compressed foam board. Printed above the photo is the name of the baseball club and their finals achievements for the 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1939 seasons. Below the photo are the names of the team members and the year date and place where the photo was taken.

Historical information

Chevs was one of the teams that competed in the inaugural year of the West Australian Baseball League in 1936. The team was comprised solely of members of the firm of Sydney Atkinson Motors, Ltd in Perth.

In 1936 they fielded a 'C' grade team which defeated Hawks 16–11 in the grand final. In 1937 they moved up to 'B1' grade and defeated Tigers 5–4 in the 'A' Reserve grand final. From 1938 they played in the 'A' grade league, however, were defeated in the 1938 and 1939 finals by Wests.

From 1936 to 1941 the team reached the grand final four years out of six, (1936, 1937, 1940, 1941).

In 1941, during World War II, it was decided that league baseball would go into recess in Western Australia, where the game was in its infancy and 95 per cent of players had enlisted in the armed services. In other Australian states the game was maintained during the war because those associations were older and had reserves of younger players.

When league baseball was revived in Western Australia in 1946, the Chevs and Daily News clubs amalgamated to form the Perth Baseball Club.

National Library of Australia [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50328767]

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-100-2020.728
Item type
Width
35 cm
Height or length
28.5000 cm
Depth
1.1000 cm
Inscriptions and markings

'Chevs Baseball Club'
'Premiers "C" grade 1936 defeated Hawks'
'Premiers "A" Reserve 1937 defeated Tigers'
'Defeated final 1938 by Wests'
'Defeated final 1939 by Wests'
Front row R. Kelly G. Young A. Barrett (Mascot) F. Nelligan (Captain) H. Crofts'
Back row G. Zepplin (Coach) W. Hall J. Beale G. Dickinson T. Limb A. Burns T. Merrett (Manager)'
'Taken 1938 Perth Esplanade'

Contextual Information

This is an image of one of the original teams in the West Australian Baseball League and one of the first 'corporate' baseball clubs.

The photograph had been in the possession of Baseball WA and was passed to the Baseball WA Museum & Archives.

Statement of significance

This rare photograph of one of the original West Australian Baseball League teams is of historic and social significance. The team was created and supported by a business entity, with the staff members making up the team. Many baseball clubs were started this way in the 1930s and 1940s in Perth. These teams fostered a social connection between employers, employees and their families.

Primary significance criteria
Historic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Object’s condition or completeness
Rare or representative
Well provenanced
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Baseball WA

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1938 'Chevs' Baseball Club team.
1938 'Chevs' Baseball Club team.

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