Oral history - Dale Hughes

Born in Kalgoorlie in 1940, Dale Hughes was a product of junior sports in the Eastern Goldfields in Western Australia. He excelled at football, cricket and baseball and was playing 'A' grade cricket for North Kalgoorlie at age 12 in 1952, when he was selected as an all-rounder in the WA State Schoolboys team. In 1955, aged 15, he took up baseball, playing with the Kalgoorlie Baseball Club. Dale moved to Perth in 1960, aged 19, and played league football for the Perth Football Club, 'A' grade cricket for the Perth Cricket Club and 'A' grade baseball for Nedlands; competing in all three sports simultaneously. Then, with a desire to represent his state and country in sport, Dale chose baseball over football and cricket.

In 1961 Dale was selected in the Western Australian State baseball team as a catcher, to compete in the Australian Baseball Championships for the Claxton Shield. This was followed by six more consecutive State team selections in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967. In 1968 Dale took a break from baseball and returned to playing cricket. However, a year later he resumed his baseball career and was again selected in the State team in 1969, 1970 and 1971. Following the conclusion of each Australian championship, an all-Australian team was selected, and Dale earned selection in 1963, 1965 and in 1969, when he competed in the Tri-Nations Goodwill Baseball Series in the Philippines.