title: List of Claxton Shield champions
text: # List of Claxton Shield champions
  
  The Claxton Shield was the premier baseball competition in Australia, first held in 1934 and last held in 2010. The Claxton Shield is also the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team, and has also been awarded to winners of both the original Australian Baseball League (ABL) and the International Baseball League of Australia (IBLA). The current version of the Australian Baseball League uses the Claxton Shield as its championship trophy in the same way as its predecessor of the same name did.
  
  There had been interstate baseball tournaments held prior to the start of the Claxton Shield. The first was held in Hobart in 1910, won by New South Wales defeating Victoria and hosts Tasmania. New South Wales repeated the feat in 1912 in Melbourne when they won again, this time with the addition of South Australia. None were held regularly though, and they did not always involve all baseball–playing states. In 1934 Norrie Claxton was the principal driver of an annual national competition, and donated the shield to be awarded to the champions. Though it was originally intended to be permanently held by the first team to win in three consecutive years, when South Australia won the first three tournaments all participating states agreed that it should be a perpetual shield, and named it the Claxton Shield in honour of Norrie Claxton.
  
  The Victoria Aces were the last team to win the shield under the Claxton Shield format, having won the 2010 tournament by defeating South Australia two games to nil in the final series. It was the eighteenth time the Aces had won the shield, and the twenty second time it had been won by a Victorian team—the most by any state—including three times by the Waverley / Melbourne Reds and once by the Melbourne Monarchs. The Melbourne Aces currently hold the shield after overcoming the Adelaide Giants in the 2019–20 Australian Baseball League season. It was the Melbourne Aces first ABL title and twenty-third time a Victorian team has won the Claxton Shield. Though city-based teams have competed for the Claxton Shield in some seasons, including under the current ABL format, the name engraved on the shield is that of the winning state; for the 2010–11 ABL season won by the Perth Heat, "West Australia 2011" was engraved.
  
  ## Champions
  
  ### Claxton Shield
  
  Key :
  
  | State Titles | The number of championships won by that state at the time. (Includes wins by ABL/IBLA teams from the same state.) |
  | - | - |
  | Team Titles | The number of championships won by that team at the time. (Treats ABL/IBLA teams as separate from the state teams.) |
  | † | Denotes most championships by a team/state at the time. |
  | ‡ | Denotes tied for most championships by a team/state at the time. |
  | * | Denotes member of Baseball Australia Hall of Fame. |
  | Year | Champion Team | State Titles | Team Titles | Final Host | Helms Award Winner |
  | 1934 | South Australia | $01^†$ | $01^†$ | Adelaide, SA | |
  | 1935 | South Australia | $02^†$ | $02^†$ | Melbourne, VIC | |
  | 1936 | South Australia | $03^†$ | $03^†$ | Sydney, NSW | |
  | 1937 | New South Wales | 01 | 01 | Adelaide, SA | |
  | 1938 | New South Wales | 02 | 02 | Perth, WA | |
  | 1939 | New South Wales | $03^‡$ | $03^‡$ | Melbourne, VIC | |
  | 1940No tournament held 1940–1945 |||||||
  | 1946 | New South Wales | $04^†$ | $04^†$ | Sydney, NSW | |
  | 1947 | Victoria | 01 | 01 | Adelaide, SA | |
  | 1948 | Victoria | 02 | 02 | Perth, WA | |
  | 1949 | Victoria | 03 | 03 | Melbourne, VIC | |
  | 1950 | New South Wales | $05^†$ | $05^†$ | Sydney, NSW | |
  | 1951 | New South Wales | $06^†$ | $06^†$ | Adelaide, SA | |
  | 1952 | Western Australia | 01 | 01 | Perth, WA | |
  | 1953 | New South Wales | $07^†$ | $07^†$ | Brisbane, QLD | |
  | 1954 | Victoria | 04 | 04 | Melbourne, VIC | |
  | 1955 | New South Wales | $08^†$ | $08^†$ | Sydney, NSW | |
  | 1956 | Victoria | 05 | 05 | Adelaide, SA | |
  | 1957 | South Australia | 04 | 04 | Perth, WA | |
  | 1958 | Victoria | 06 | 06 | Brisbane, QLD | |
  | 1959 | South Australia | 05 | 05 | Melbourne, VIC | |
  | 1960 | South Australia | 06 | 06 | Sydney, NSW | |
  | 1961 | South Australia | 07 | 07 | Adelaide, SA | |
  | 1962 | Victoria | 07 | 07 | Perth, WA | Anthony Strand |
  | 1963 | New South Wales | $09^†$ | $09^†$ | Brisbane, QLD | Kevin $Cantwell^*$ |
  | 1964 | South Australia | 08 | 08 | Melbourne, VIC | Adrian Pearce |
  | 1965 | Victoria | 08 | 08 | Sydney, NSW | Graham $Deany^*$ |
  | 1966 | South Australia | $09^‡$ | $09^‡$ | Adelaide, SA | Kevin $Greatrex^*$ |
  | 1967 | South Australia | $10^†$ | $10^†$ | Perth, WA | Garry Thompson |
  | 1968 | Victoria | 09 | 09 | Brisbane, QLD | John $Swanson^*$ |
  | 1969 | South Australia | $11^†$ | $11^†$ | Melbourne, VIC | Neil $Page^*$ |
  | 1970 | South Australia | $12^†$ | $12^†$ | Sydney, NSW | Paul Russell |
  | 1971 | South Australia | $13^†$ | $13^†$ | Adelaide, SA | Ron McIver |
  | 1972 | Victoria | 10 | 10 | Brisbane, QLD | Don $Knapp^*$ |
  | 1973 | Victoria | 11 | 11 | Perth, WA | David $Mundy^*$ |
  | 1974 | Victoria | 12 | 12 | Melbourne, VIC | Neil Buszard |
  | 1975 | Western Australia | 02 | 02 | Sydney, NSW | Larry $Home^*$ |
  | 1976 | South Australia | $14^†$ | $14^†$ | Adelaide, SA | Alan $Albury^*$ |
  | 1977 | Western Australia | 03 | 03 | Perth, WA | Ron Owens |
  | 1978 | Western Australia | 04 | 04 | Brisbane, QLD | Ray $Michell^*$ |
  | 1979 | Western Australia | 05 | 05 | Melbourne, VIC | Brian Wonnacott |
  | 1980 | South Australia | $15^†$ | $15^†$ | Sydney, NSW | John Galloway |
  | 1981 | Victoria | 13 | 13 | Adelaide, SA | John Hodges |
  | 1982 | Queensland | 01 | 01 | Sydney, NSW | Geoff Martin |
  | 1983 | Queensland | 02 | 02 | Perth, WA | Doug $Mateljan^*$ |
  | 1984 | Victoria | 14 | 14 | Brisbane, QLD | Brett Ward |
  | 1985 | Western Australia | 06 | 06 | Brisbane, QLD | Tony Stall |
  | 1986 | Victoria | $15^‡$ | $15^‡$ | Sydney, NSW | Lindsay Orford |
  | 1987 | Queensland | 03 | 03 | Brisbane, QLD | Dave $Nilsson^*$ |
  | 1988 | Queensland | 04 | 04 | Brisbane, QLD | Tony $Adamson^*$ |
  | 1989 | New South Wales | 010 | 010 | Sydney, NSW | Richard Vagg |
  | 1989Replaced by ABL & IBLA 1989–2002 |||||||
  | 2003 | Queensland Rams | 08 | 05 | Sydney, NSW | Craig Lewis |
  | 2004 | New South Wales Patriots | 12 | 11 | Sydney, NSW | Brett Roneberg |
  | 2005 | New South Wales Patriots | 13 | 12 | Sydney, NSW | Brad Harman |
  | 2006 | Queensland Rams | 09 | 06 | Sydney, NSW | Brad Dutton |
  | 2007 | Victoria Aces | $21^†$ | $16^†$ | Perth, WA | Matthew Kent |
  | 2008 | Perth Heat | 10 | 07 | Sydney, NSW | Clint Balgera |
  | 2009 | Perth Heat | 11 | 08 | Perth, WA | Nick Kimpton |
  | 2010 | Victoria Aces | $22^†$ | $17^†$ | Melbourne, VIC | Wayne Lundgren |
  
  ### Australian Baseball League (1989–1999)
  
  | Season | Champion Team | Games | Runner Up | Team Titles | State Titles | League MVP |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1989–90 | Waverley Reds | 3–1 | Melbourne Monarchs | $01^†$ | $16^†$ | Phil Dale (WR) |
  | 1990–91 | Perth Heat | 3–2 | Daikyo Dolphins | $01^‡$ | 07 | David Nilsson (DD) |
  | 1991–92 | Daikyo Dolphins | 3–1 | Perth Heat | $01^‡$ | 05 | Adrian Meagher (DD) |
  | 1992–93 | Melbourne Monarchs | 2–0 | Perth Heat | $01^‡$ | $17^†$ | Kevin Jordan (BB) |
  | 1993–94 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Sydney Blues | $01^‡$ | 06 | Homer Bush (BB) |
  | 1994–95 | Waverley Reds | 2–0 | Perth Heat | $02^†$ | $18^†$ | Scott Metcalf (PH) |
  | 1995–96 | Sydney Blues | 2–0 | Melbourne Reds | 01 | 11 | Gary White (SB) |
  | 1996–97 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Brisbane Bandits | $02^‡$ | 08 | Andrew Scott (AG) |
  | 1997–98 | Melbourne Reds | 2–0 | Gold Coast Cougars | $03^†$ | $19^†$ | Brendan Kingman (SS) |
  | 1998–99 | Gold Coast Cougars | 2–0 | Sydney Storm | 02 | 07 | Adam Burton (MR) |
  
  ### International Baseball League of Australia
  
  | Season | Champion Team | Games | Runner Up | Team Titles | State Titles | Helms Award Winner | Ref |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1999–2000 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Queensland Rams | $01^†$ | 09 | Chris Snelling | |
  | 2002 | Victoria Aces | 1–0 | Perth Heat | $01^‡$ | $20^†$ | Rodney van Buizen | |
  
  ### Australian Baseball League (2010–present)
  
  | Season | Champion Team | Games | Runner Up | Team Titles | State Titles | Helms Award Winner |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 2010–11 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Adelaide Bite | $01^†$ | 12 | James McOwen (ADE) |
  | 2011–12 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Melbourne Aces | $02^†$ | 13 | Tim Kennelly (PER) |
  | 2012–13 | Canberra Cavalry | 2–0 | Perth Heat | 01 | 01 | Adam Buschini (CAN) |
  | 2013–14 | Perth Heat | 2–0 | Canberra Cavalry | $03^†$ | 14 | Ryan Casteel (MEL) |
  | 2014–15 | Perth Heat | 2–1 | Adelaide Bite | $04^†$ | 15 | Aaron Miller (ADE) |
  | 2015–16 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Adelaide Bite | 01 | 10 | Justin Williams (BRI) |
  | 2016–17 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Melbourne Aces | 02 | 11 | Aaron Whitefield (BRI) |
  | 2017–18 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–1 | Canberra Cavalry | 03 | 12 | Jake Fraley (PER) |
  | 2018–19 | Brisbane Bandits | 2–0 | Perth Heat | 04 | 13 | Tim Kennelly (PER) Marcus Solbach (ADE) |
  | 2019–20 | Melbourne Aces | 2–0 | Adelaide Bite | 01 | 23 | |
  | 2020–21 | Melbourne Aces | 1–0 | Perth Heat | 02 | 24 | |
  | 2021–22 | Season cancelled due to COVID | |
  | 2022–23 | Adelaide Bite | 2–1 | Perth Heat | 01 | 16 | Jordan McArdle (ADE) |
  
  ### Championships by state
  
  | Rank | State | Titles | Most Recent | Tournaments Contested |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1st | Victoria | 24 | 2019–20 | 78 |
  | 2nd | South Australia | 16 | 2023 | 78 |
  | 3rd | Western Australia | 15 | 2014–15 | 73 |
  | =4th | Queensland | 13 | 2018-19 | 68 |
  | =4th | New South Wales | 13 | 2005 | 75 |
  | 6th | Australian Capital Territory | 1 | 2012–13 | 18 |
  | =7th | Northern Territory | 0 | | 8 |
  | =7th | New Zealand | 0 | | 2 |
  | "Titles" includes seasons of the ABL & IBLA. |||||
  