West Australian Baseball League Inaugural Life Member badge (1949) - Glen Dunstan

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Overview

An 8 carat gold, shield-shaped medal, attached to a gold T-bar by a two-link gold chain. The medal has an inner border of black enamel with the name of the baseball league in gold lettering. In the centre of the medal is a black enamelled swan. Below the shield is a gold-edged black enamelled scroll with gold lettering. The back of the medal is engraved with the name of the recipient and the year date. Stamped into the medal on the bottom edge is the number/letters denoting the purity of the gold.

Historical information

The West Australian Baseball League (WABL) was formed in 1936 and Glen Dunstan was appointed the Registration Secretary and a member of the Grades Committee.

In 1937 he was elected to the Executive Committee of the newly constituted Council of the West Australian Baseball League. He also served as WABL Treasurer and Registrar and was a member of the Grading Committee, Adverse Weather Committee and Fixtures Committee.

1938 saw him again serving as Treasurer and Registrar and on the Fixtures and Disputes Committee and the Protests and Disputes Committee. It was the year Western Australia hosted the Claxton Shield Series for the first time and Glen was appointed to the committee organising the arrangements for visiting interstate teams. This included the social functions and sightseeing engagements. Glen was also the liaison officer to the visiting Victorian team during the Carnival.

In 1939 and 1940 Glen was re-appointed Treasurer and Registrar and served on the Fixtures Committee. The advent of World War II saw him chosen in 1940 as the WABL delegate to the West Australian Sportsmen's Organising Council for Patriotic Funds. Seventy-four sporting organisations comprised the Sportsmen's Council, affording a wealth of talent for public entertainment and machinery for good. The constitution of the council also provided for encouragement, advice and assistance in the provision of facilities for any approved body wishing to conduct fixtures for patriotic purposes. Money raised as a result of organised entertainment for the public supplemented other funds to which the public contributed.

Despite the war, the 1941 baseball season went ahead and Glen was once again appointed as Treasurer of the WABL. Baseball went into recess from 1942 to 1945, then in 1946 league games were once again scheduled. Over the next four years Glen served as WABL Treasurer, State Team Selector, and State Team Manager.

In 1949 Glen was elected as Vice-President of the WABL and was awarded the honour of Inaugural Life Member of the League.

[National Library of Australia - Trove]

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-100-2020.441

Item type

Badges

Material

Enamel (Fused Coating)

Gold

Width

1.6000 cm

Height or length

2.6000 cm

Themes

People

Social History

Sport

Inscriptions and markings

[Obverse]
'W.A. Baseball League Inc.'
'Life Member'
[Reverse]
'G. H. Dunstan'
'1949'
'8 CT'

Contextual Information

Glen Dunstan's WABL Life Member medal honours a man who served the game of baseball in Western Australia as a tireless administrator for more than 13 years.
However, Glen was not only an administrator. He was also an elite player at both League and State levels. He was captain of 'The West Australian' team in the Newspaper Baseball League (1936); in the WA Baseball League he captained 'Wests' baseball team (1936-1938); captained the 'Press' team (1938-1939); played in the very first WA State team (WA v Victoria - 1936) and in Claxton Shield teams — Vice-Captain (1937 and 1938), Captain/Coach (1939).

Keywords

Glen Dunstan

West Australian Baseball League

Life Members

1949

Western Australian State Baseball Team

Newspaper Baseball League

Interstate Baseball Series 1936

Claxton Shield 1937

Claxton Shield 1938

Claxton Shield 1939

Sportsmen's Organising Council for Patriotic Funds

Statement of significance

This Life Member medal was donated to the Baseball WA Museum & Archives by the family of Glen Dunstan and is a significant addition the Museum's collection. It is of historic importance, and has social significance due to the years of dedication to the sport by its recipient. It is rare...there can only be one 'first'...and has impeccable 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

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