Baseball WA > Records

1939 Baseball Glove Belonging to Ben Shom

c. 1939
Overview

1939 five-fingered baseball glove, belonging to Ben Shom, made of brown leather with leather binding on the wrist area. There is a tear between the thumb and index finger, a small patch at the base of the thumb and a stitched repair between the two middle fingers.

Historical information

The 1939 Claxton Shield Series was the sixth annual Claxton Shield, an Australian national baseball tournament. It was held at Richmond Cricket Ground, Albert Cricket Ground, South Melbourne Cricket Ground and National Park in Melbourne from 29 July to 5 August, the second time Melbourne had hosted the Championships. Competing teams were South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, who were competing for the first time in the tournament. New South Wales won the Shield for the third time, successfully defending their title from the previous two years. It was also the first year an Australian national team was picked primarily based on the Championships.

Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_Claxton_Shield]

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-100-2020.66
Item type
Material
Width
25 cm
Height or length
23 cm
Depth
5 cm
Contextual Information

This glove was donated to the Baseball WA Museum & Archives by Ben Shom, who made his debut in interstate baseball in the 1939 Australian Baseball Carnival in Melbourne.
Ben started his playing career in 1936 at the age of 17 which was the inaugural year of baseball in Western Australia. He became a star player in the WA State League and was an outstanding shortstop and a feared hitter throughout his career.
Some of Ben's achievements included:
- Claxton Shield All-Star 1943, 1952
- Claxton Shield Team Member 1939, 1946-1950, 1952
- Claxton Shield Team Captain 1949, 1950
- Claxton Shield Champion 1952 (1st WA win in history).

Year
Statement of significance

This glove, from the inaugural years of competitive baseball in Western Australia, is a rare and fine example of a type of glove used in the 1930s. It has impeccable provenance, having been donated to the Museum by Ben Shom himself.

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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1939 Baseball Glove Belonging to Ben Shom - front
1939 Baseball Glove Belonging to Ben Shom - front
1939 Baseball Glove Belonging to Ben Shom - back
1939 Baseball Glove Belonging to Ben Shom - back

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