1976 Claxton Shield 'Golden Bat Award' newspaper article
1976This original black and white newspaper article and photograph appeared in 'The Sports Review' on 3 May 1976. In the photograph Australian Batting Champion Bob Ossey is holding a trophy and being presented with a black baseball bat by the South Australian Minister of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, Mr T. Casey. Text below the photograph contains details of where and why the trophy and bat were awarded.
The 1976 Claxton Shield was the 37th annual Claxton Shield Championship; an Australian baseball tournament. It was held in Adelaide, South Australia and was won by the host State of South Australia.
At the conclusion of the championship the 'Golden Bat Award', in the form of a black aluminium bat with gold lettering, was presented to Western Australian first-baseman Bob Ossey. He had topped the Australian batting with a .526 average; the highest batting figure ever recorded by a Western Australian player in a Claxton Shield series.
Details
Details
This newspaper article illustrates the outstanding batting prowess of Western Australian baseballer Bob Ossey. He was one of a handful of top hitters in Australia during his playing career and was arguably the best left-handed hitter in the country throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
Bob Ossey's playing career included:
• Australian Team Member: 1978 & 1979 Korean National Team Tours in Australia; 1979 (Tour of Korea and Japan)
• Played in Western Australia and other states against touring Asian teams 1973-1983
• Western Australian Claxton Shield Team Member 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985
• Claxton Shield Golden Bat Award 1976
• Western Australian Mickle Medal (WA MVP Claxton Shield) 1977
• Western Australian Diamond Anniversary All-Star team (1934-2008)
• Western Australian State League Premiership Player/Coach 1976/77, 1978/79, 1980/81, 1981/82
Bob Ossey was inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Baseball WA Hall of Fame in 2021. He donated this newspaper article, together with his Golden Bat Award, to the Baseball WA Museum & Archives.
The newspaper article records an historic and significant moment in the baseball career of an outstanding Western Australian sportsman. It provides information for those researching the history of baseball and comes with impeccable provenance.
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[Courtesy of 'The Sports Review'.]
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