1950s Perth Tigers night baseball team stick pin

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c. 1954

Overview

A circa 1950s gold-coloured, shield-shaped, metal badge with a silver-coloured metal stick pin. In the middle of the shield is a gold-coloured circle with the black outline of a tiger's head. Surrounding the circle are the words 'Perth Tigers Baseball Club' in gold-coloured letters on a yellow background.

Historical information

The Western Australian Night Baseball League was formed in 1954. Three lighting pylons had to be installed at the West Australian Cricket Association (WACA) Ground, where initially six teams competed on a district basis. They were Perth (The Tigers), Fremantle (The Braves), Wembley (The Magpies), West Perth (The Indians), Southern Districts (The Cubs) and Swan Districts (The Angels).

Among the sport notables who announced their intention to play were: Charlie Puckett, Basil Rigg, Len Beresford, Arthur Lodge, Frank Day, Milton Bandy, Don Callanan, Ray Gooch, Jim Dore, Gil Eddington, Keith Denham, and cricketers Tony Mateljan and Ken Meuleman.

The season was to occupy 20 weeks. Games were to be played on Wednesday night and there was a 'double-header' on each program. Entry cost 2 shillings 6 pence (children 9 pence), with the public being treated to entertainment from 7.15 to 10.45 p.m. The first games were to be played on 10 November 1954, however bad weather moved the opening matches to 17 November.

National Library of Australia
[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/75793290]
[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59697460]

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-100-2020.683

Item type

Badges

Themes

People
Social History
Sport

Material

Metal

Width

1.3000 cm

Height or length

4.3000 cm

Inscriptions and markings

'Perth Tigers Baseball Club'

Contextual Information

In Perth in the 1950s baseball was an enormously popular sport and the introduction of Wednesday night games saw its popularity soar, with about 6000 fans attending the opening games. This Perth Tigers Baseball Club stick pin was owned by Joe 'Snow' Mahony (1931-1991), who was a supporter of the 'Perth Tigers' night baseball team.

The pin was donated to the Baseball WA Museum & Archives by the Mahony family.

Keywords

Perth Tigers

Perth Tigers Baseball Club

Year

c. 1954

Statement of significance

This is a rare item of historic and social significance, signifying the birth of night baseball in Western Australia. It is in very good condition and has excellent provenance.

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Social or spiritual significance

Comparative significance criteria

Object’s condition or completeness

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

Baseball WA

Organisation Details
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