GET TO KNOW 11 ICONIC CAPPS WINNERS BEFORE THE EVENING
As we gear up for this year’s Capps Medal Presentation Night, let’s take a trip down memory lane and celebrate some of the most legendary winners to ever grace the South Australian baseball scene. From game-changing performances to unforgettable seasons, these 11 athletes have left their mark on the diamond — and their stories are worth reliving as we count down to the crowning of the next Capps Medalist! Thanks to Greg Bradshaw of the Heritage Committee and excerpts for Rob Laidlaw’s book, we bring you a recap of some of our most iconic medallists…
Charlie Puckett (Prospect) 1936
In the 1936 season Charlie won the inaugural Capps Medal for the fairest and most brilliant player.
Charlie Puckett was born in England (21st February 1911) and came to South Australia as a young boy. In 1931 when baseball became a district competition and Prospect enter the District competition the Puckett brothers – Charlie, Tom, Bert and Jim – were enticed to play baseball, with Charlie and Tom forming a reversible battery in A Grade.
From the start Charlie was identified as a future star of the game and was selected in the South Australian team in his first season. He was chosen to represent the State against a visiting Japanese side in 1932 and again represented SA in 1933 and also the first Claxton Shield series in 1934 & the 1935 series, winning both Claxton Shield series.
In 1937 Charlie moved to Victoria, becoming the best pitcher in the state, culminating in him winning the Lansdown Medal (equivalent to the Capps Medal) and selected in the Victorian Claxton Shield team.
In 1938 Charlie, through his employment moved to Perth, were he represented West Australia in their first Claxton Shield series. In this season Charlie son the President’s Medal (equivalent to the Capps Medal) as the Best and Brilliant Player in the local completion.
In the last 3 series, 1936, 1937 and 1938 Charlie won the Tom smith Memorial Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Claxton Shield series – three major awards for three different states in consecutive series.
He won the Tom Smith Memorial Trophy Claxton Shield Most Valuable Player 3 times, 1936 for South Australia, 1937 for Victoria & 1938 for Western Australia
After winning the inaugural Capps Medal in 1936 he won the Lansdown Medal (Victoria) in 1937 and the President’s Medal (Western Australia) in 1938
Charlie’s other achievements apart from the 1936 Capps Medal are:-
1936, 1937, 1938 Tom Smith Memorial Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Claxton series.
1937 Victorian Lansdown Medal
1938 Western Australian President’s Medal
2000 Awarded the Australian Sports Medal for services to baseball
2005 Inducted into Australian Baseball League Hall of Fame
2021 Inducted into the Baseball WA Hall of Fame
Phil Brideoake (West Torrens/Glenelg) 1939, 1947, 1948 & 1955
Three decades of excellence was rewarded with Capps Medals in three different decades for Phil Brideoake, with 3 Capps Medals with West Torrens in 1939, 1947 & 1948 and finishing his career at Glenelg as Playing Coach which included winning his fourth Capps Medal in 1955.
A regular in interstate competition from 1937-1949, Phil gained recognition as the best catcher in Australia, earning that position in All – Australian teams selected after the Claxton Shield series of 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949, two as the Captain. Phil was Non-Playing Coach of SA in 1951
He was selected in the Diamond All-star 75th Anniversary Team in 2009 as the Catcher.
Phil began playing baseball while attending Thebarton Technical High School, when his brother-in-law Ln Poole enticed him to play with Unley Schoolboys, which saw him follow in the footsteps of his uncles Arthur and Horace Brideoake, who played with Freemason Ramblers before World War I.
After starting in West Torrens lower grades as a short stop, Phil broke through for his first A grade game in 1933, before “filling” in as a catcher in an emergency and adopted the role on a more permanent basis.
In 1937 he won an award as the most improved A grade baseballer in the competition, in the same season he made his interstate debut as second catcher behind Roly Vaughton, who injured his hand in the series and opened the door for Phil.
Demonstrating his power as a leader, Phil was an important cog in West Torrens dynasty from 1938 to 1952, where it only missed out on the 1939 grand final winning 7 premierships.
At his peak in the late 1940’s, Phil led the league in batting with the highest averages with .472 in 1947. Phil contemplated retirement after spending 3 weeks in hospital after a hit on the leg which left him with a permanent “bump” and did stop playing for a short period in 1950, before returning to the game and gravitated away from catching duties.
Phil joined Glenelg in 1954 as captain/coach and took the team to the finals (a 7-6 loss to East Torrens in the knock-out semi-final) in his second year, for only the second time in club history. Phil won his fourth Capps Medal at the age of 39, playing first base.
Phil played in 37 games for Glenelg with a 3 season batting average of 0.355.
Phil was West Torrens Playing Coach in 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 & 1951. He was Premiership Playing Coach in 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950 & 1951.
Phil was awarded Life Membership of West Torrens in 1951 and also was selected in the West Torrens Team of the Century – Catcher.
Night Baseball League – Coach of the West Torrens Eagles in season 1953/1954 and returned as a player with the Sturt Tigers in 1955/1956.
Phil’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 4 Capps Medals are:-
1951 Elected Life Member of West Torrens Baseball Club
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Catcher
2016 Inducted into the Australian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame
2018 Inducted into the West Torrens Baseball Club Hall of Fame
2018 West Torrens Team of the Century – Catcher
2023 Inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame
Fred Catt (East Torrens) 1940
From an early schoolboy baseballer who led the State to playing a big part in the first season of Night Baseball in 1952/53, Fred Catt was also a deserving Capps Medallist in 1940.
The first schoolboys State team was formed in 1933 which Fred played was selected, before he returned the next two seasons to captain the side. In 1939 he was a member of the SA Claxton Shield team and selected in the Australian team.
A second baseman with East Torrens, after returning to the club from University, Fred had a brilliant season in 1940 in leading the league’s batting with a .414 average, amazingly the Redsox finished bottom that year.
An outstanding gloveman, Fred could win a game off his own bat at crucial times, with beautiful anticipation and intelligent hitting while he had speed to burn on the base paths.
After his Capps Medal win Fred enlisted in the RAAF, as a Flight Lieutenant flying in the Pacific where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). In newspaper articles in 1944, Fred was said to be a “Top-Scorer”, after blowing up three Japanese barges (for 22 in 5 months) with less than 300 rounds of machine gun and cannon fire, gaining him the nickname of “One Burst Catt” by his fellow fliers.
On returning to civilian life, Fred transferred to Sturt and soon picked up where he left off as arguably the state’s best second baseman, gaining further Claxton Shield selection in 1946 & 1948 and Head Coach in 1947. In a late career switch, he started playing third base, where he was further selected in 1950 & 1951.
In the first year of night baseball at Norwood Oval in 1952/52 season, Fred finally tasted success when the Sturt Tigers won the inaugural premiership, beating Norwood Redsox in the Grand Final 7-6.
And with the bat, Fred was still a champion through the first night season, finishing the competition with an impressive .588 average.
Fred was also a handy cricketer, playing at district level for University and East Torrens as a batsman/wicketkeeper.
Fred’s other achievements & recognitions apart from the 1940 Capps Medal are:-
Sturt Baseball Club Hall of Fame member – 1940’s – 1950’s era
Sturt Baseball Club Life Member
6 x Claxton Shield representative – 1939, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952
2 Claxton Shield Head Coach – 1947& 1948
Australian representative – 1939
2 x Night Baseball Premiership Player Sturt Tigers – 1952/53 & 1956/57
Night Baseball Advertiser Trophy – Best All-rounder – 1955/56
Don Rice (Glenelg) 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1968
In 1954 Don played his game for Glenelg in the Minor Colts competition, which was the 1st year of underage competition in SA. Glenelg, who finished the minor round undefeated, defeated West Torrens 33-3 in the Grand Final, Don’s batting average .400.
Don made his A Grade debut with Glenelg on 27th July, 1957, at the age of 17, against West Torrens – 1st plate appearance was a safe hit to right field and scored his 1st run. He played last of the 5 games of the season, last 2 at short stop.
In 1960, at the age of 20, started pitching A Grade to catcher Ian Chappell, forming a formidable battery for the next 7 years.
Perhaps the best season of Don’s career was 1962, when he won back-to-back Capps Medals and led the Tigers to their first A Grade flag.
With Don as their key pitcher the Tigers finished the 1962 season in third spot, in spite of having the least runs score against it in the minor round. Glenelg beat East Torrens 6-2 in the first semi-final, Goodwood 3-0 in the preliminary final and West Torrens 5-3 in the Grand Final.
Through the 1960s, Glenelg was a regular finalists but could not win another flag, although losing two grand finals.
In the night baseball league, played in the 1950s and 60s, Don played in another premiership with the Sturt Tigers in 1960/61 and in the 1962/63 season was runner up for the Shipway Medal.
Don represented SA in the Claxton Shield 6 times between 1962 to 1967, being a major reason why the SA team was so successful in the 1960s, where SA won the Claxton Shield in 1964, 1966 and 1967.
Don also represented South Australia in the Chrysler Cup – the Night Baseball Interstate series – in 1965, which SA won.
Don was also picked in four All Australian teams, selected from the Claxton Shield series, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966. In 1967 he represented Australia against a visiting Japanese team.
Don retired in 1968 and during his career with Glenelg, Don played 207 A Grade games, a club record for the next 8 years.
Through the 1970’s Don coached Glenelg junior teams to 4 premierships, was a successful State junior coach, winning 2 national titles. Hed was involved with senior State teams as a pitching and assistant coach as well as pitching coach for youth Australian teams.
In the 1980’s Don coached East Torrens Division 1 team for 9 years, winning the grand final in 1988/89 over Glenelg 3-0.
Don’s other achievements apart from the 5 Capps Medals are:-
1969 Elected Life Member of the Glenelg Baseball Club
1991 Elected Life Member of the SA Baseball League
1996 Elected Life Member of the East Torrens Baseball Club
2000 Awarded the Australian Sports Medal for service to baseball
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Pitcher
2013 Inducted into the Australian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame
2022 Inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame
Kevin Greatrex (Port Adelaide) 1966, 1971, 1973, 1976
Kevin started playing baseball as a 13 year-old high school boy. His father, John (Jack) was President of the Port Adelaide District Baseball Club for a number of years and naturally Kevin began his baseball career here. It soon became evident that Kevin was destined for baseball with his emerging talents in hitting and all-round field skills.
Following his selection in the SA Claxton Shield team and the Australian Baseball team as first baseman in 1963, Kevin showed a desire to excel in all aspects of the game, but was known best for his hitting.
His playing was soon complemented by coaching experience of Claxton Shield teams and Australian touring competitions.
Kevin’s experience in the US with the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Baseball team, as well as his extensive playing experience through touring in Japan, Korea, The Philippines and Europe, allowed him to introduce new concepts to Australian Baseball training and thought.
With a level 3 coaching accreditation, Kevin continues to study the game and pass on his knowledge and experience to both players and coaches of baseball and softball.
Kevin was Port Adelaide Playing Coach for 17 seasons winning 6 Premierships. He also coached at Northern Districts Woodville & Glenelg.
. Kevin won the Major A / Division 1 Best & Fairest on 6 occasions.
He played 544 A Grade games for Port Adelaide.
Kevin was the SA Baseball League President from season 1993-94 to 1995-96 inclusive.
Night Baseball League –. Player between 1962-63 & 1966-67 – Woodville Magpies, Assistant Coach Woodville Magpies in 1966-67. He was Playing Coach Norwood Redsox – 1967-68. Runner Up in Shipway Medal in 1966-67. State representative – Chrysler Cup - season 1966-67.
SABL Claxton Shield Team – represented SA in 18 series from 1963 to 1982 as a player. He was Playing Coach in 1979 & 1980. He was SA Non-Playing Coach in 1981, 1982, 1983. He was the Claxton Shield winning Playing Coach in 1980. Kevin was named in Claxton Shield 75th Anniversary team in 2009 at First Base. He won the Helms Award in 1966 in Adelaide for the Best Player in the Series.
Australian Baseball – represented the Australian Senior Team from 1968 to 1983 – 13 years. Also was selected in the Claxton Shield All Star Team in 1963, 1966, 1967 & 1972. Australian Team Assistant Coach in 1982, Assistant Hitting Coach in 1983.
Kevin’s other achievements apart from the 4 Capps Medals are:-
1966 Helms Award for Best Player in the Australian Claxton Shield series
1978 Elected Life Member of the Port Adelaide Baseball Club
2000 Awarded the Australian Sports Medal for service to baseball
2005 Inducted to the Australian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – 1st Base
2009 Australian Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – 1st Base
2012 Elected Life Member of the SA Baseball League
2022 Inducted to the Baseball SA Hall of Fame
Greg Elkson (Glenelg/Goodwood) 1979, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990
The only player to win multiple Capps Medals at two club, Greg was the dominant pitcher of South Australian baseball in the 1980’s, including at Claxton Shield level and with Australia, where he was named team captain in 1988
Greg started his baseball career with Sturt as a junior in the late 60’s before transferring to Glenelg for the 1977/1978 season.
As a junior Greg was selected in a State Primary School team, and with Sturt won a Little League medal as best player in the 1969 winter competition.
In 1975/1976 Greg won the Ron Sharpe Medal as the best player in Division 3, while he finished third in the Division 2 medal in 1976/1977. Before joining Glenelg, Greg played in three losing grand finals with Sturt, 1975/1976 Division 3 and in 1976/1977 Division 2, then as relief pitcher for the Division 1 grand final loss to Glenelg.
Greg was the second-string pitcher at Sturt to Neil Stewart which prompted his transfer, and ended up being the best possible move for the young pitcher.
With the transfer In 1977/1978 to Glenelg Greg played over nine seasons, 226 Division 1 games winning the Capps Medal in 1978/1979, 1982/1983 & 1983/1984, and playing in seven grand finals, winning 3 Championships in 1978/1979, 1980/1981 & 1982/1983.
Switching to Goodwood in 1986/1987 season as playing coach, Greg won 2 more Capps Medals in 1987/1988 and 1989/1990, while leading Goodwood to finish third in 1988/1989 and runners-up in 1989/1990.
in 1990/1991 Greg returned to Glenelg as Playing/Coach for the next three seasons, making the grand final in each season, but failed on each occasion.
in 1993/1994 season Greg transferred to Southern Districts as Coach for 4 seasons – 1993/1994 to 1996/1997
For South Australia, Greg played in eight Claxton Shield series from 1979 to 1985 and 1987 and representing Australia several occasions including 1980 Amateur World Series, 1982 Amateur World Series and 1985 Intercontinental Cup among other events.
Greg won the Bob Finn Trophy, as South Australia’s best player at a Claxton Shield series, three times, 1981, 1982 & 1983 and in 1982 won the series Golden Arm award.
In 1989/1990 Greg played 1 season for the Adelaide Giants in the inaugural season of the Australian Baseball League.
After retiring from Division 1 Greg continued to play in the minor grades for Glenelg winning another 8 premierships.
He also spent 13 years on Glenelg Management Committee, including 3 years as President, 2 years as Vice-President and 1 year as Secretary.
Greg’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 5 Capps Medals are:-
2000 Elected Life Member of the Glenelg Baseball Club
2000 Awarded the Australian Sports Medal for service to Baseball
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Pitcher
2018 Inducted into the Australian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame
2018 Greg’s uniform number 15 retired at the Glenelg Baseball Club
2022 Inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame
6 x Glenelg Baseball Club President Trophy winner (Most Capps Medal votes) – 1977/1978, 1978/1979, 1982/1983, 1985/1986, 1990/1991, 1992/1993
Glenelg Baseball Club Cooper Trophy winner (Outstanding Club person) – 1981/1982
Phil Alexander (Glenelg) 1982
Although a veteran of the game when Phil won the 1982 Capps Medal Phil proved the “King of the Catchers”.
In a strong year Phil proved he was, even for one shining season, the best catcher in the competition with 29 votes, 7 ahead of Mal Loveday and Phil Burgess,
Phil commenced his Division 1 playing career in 1967 at Glenelg playing 448 Division 1 games,
Phil enjoyed immense success at the club with four flags, three as playing/coach. From 1970 to 1986, the Tigers were in nine grand finals, which had a lot to do with Phil’s leadership capabilities.
With over 30 years at Glenelg Phil was involved as a Player, Senior & Junior Coach and President.
It was obvious early in his formative years Phil was going to be a star , winning the Pomeroy Cup as the most outstanding high school player in 1966 while playing at Brighton High School, then in the final season of Night Baseball League in 1967/68 he shared the Shipway Medal as the competition’s best player with Don Masters.
At Under 16 and Under 18 level Phil made South Australian State teams, which was a precursor to a glittering represtation career in the sport.
He made the first of 12 Claxton Shield teams in 1967 as a teenanger and two years later was runner-up to Ron Chandler for the Capps Medal. In 1971 he played for Australia in the first Asian Series, held in Korea – his second of four selections in the national team.
Although predominantly a catcher, Phil had a unique record for the State, playing all ten positions in his career – a record unlikely to have been matched previously or since his retirement.
When the original Australian Baseball League began in 1989, Phil was appointed the Inaugural Adelaide Giants Coach, amother major honour in an outstanding baseball career.
Phil was involved for 19 seasons as a Claxton Shield as a player & coach & ABL as a coach.
For over 3 decades Phil had a column in the Advertiser as well as a regular radio spot with KG Cunningham on radio.
Phil’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 1982 Capps Medal are:-
1982 Elected Life Member of the Glenelg Baseball Club
2000 Awarded the Australian Sports Medal for services to baseball
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team - Utility
2013 Elected Life Member of the SA Baseball League
2014 Inducted into the Australian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame
2018 Phil’s uniform number 1 retired at the Glenelg Baseball Club
2022 Inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame
Tony Harris (Woodville) 1987
Tony’s baseball career has spanned over 50 years at Club, State, National and International levels.
Tony was only 8 years old when he started his baseball career with Woodville Baseball Club at Under 13 level.
A junior state representative for 5 seasons, from Under 13 to under 18 Tony mad the transition to senior baseball smoothly, making his Division 1 debut in 1978 becoming a regular 2 seasons later and eventually became the Senators number one catcher.
Tony played a single Division 1 game in 2005 to have the distinction of playing in 4 decades at that level.
Tony has had a decorated career at the State level, beginning in 1983 playing 7 series of Claxton Shield to 1989. With the start of Australian Baseball League, Tony was selected as a catcher in 1989/90 for the next 3 series.
In 1992/93 Tony swapped the catcher’s glove to start his coaching career as an Assistant Coach for the Adelaide Giants, and in 1993/94 become Head Coach for the next 6 years.
Between 2001/02 and 2012/13 Tony was Head Coach of the Claxton Shield / Adelaide Bite team 7 series.
Tony was awarded ABL Manager of the Year 5 times, 2 times as ABL All Stars team Head Coach or Assistant Coach and in 2007/08 Australian Coach of the year and in 1989 All Star Team – Outfielder.
Tony’s sportsmanship, knowledge of the game and his demeanor on and off the baseball field as a Player, Coach, Manager and International Baseball Scout has been outstanding.
Tony’s willingness to assist in all levels of baseball in his coaching has shown results as a healthy reward to the State and the Nation in the success as a baseball state during his time. SABL Life Member, John Ryan, described Tony as a “highly motivated team man and a coach’s dream”.
Tony has been in the Major League Baseball system for 30 years, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates as a Coach, Manager, Scout and currently the Pacific Rim Supervisor/Scout.
With the national team. Tony has been a field coordinator, third base coach and catching coach for over 20 years from 1998, which included three of Australia’s finest moments – the 1999 Intercontinental Cup Gold Medal, the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the Silver Medal at the 2004 Athens’ Olympics.
Tony’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 1987 Capps Medal are:-
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Assistant Coach
2021 Elected Life Member of the SA Baseball League
2022 Inducted into Baseball SA Hall of Fame
Darren Fidge (Goodwood) 2003, 2004, 2006
Ageless Darren Fidge is a three-time Capps Medallist, and also played in three reincarnations of the national competition – the original Australian Baseball League for the Adelaide Giants, the Claxton Shield and the rejuvenated ABL with the Adelaide Bite.
For the Giants, Darren was a young rookie with a promising career until an arm injury short-circuited his first ABL stint for three seasons, but he came back to be in the three categories for many of Adelaide’s pitching stats over the decade the competition ran.
He also played in the minor leagues with the Minnesota Twins, and had three seasons of independent ball in the USA, while playing through the final seasons of the initial ABL.
A first-choice selection for SA teams Darren also managed to pitch regularly for his club the Goodwood Indians and helped them to their first premiership since 1957 in 1999/2000, winning a further 4 premierships, 2002/2003, 2005/2006, 2012/2013 & 2017/2018.
In his third Capps Medal win, Darren scored one of the biggest wins in medal history winning by 11 with 40 votes.
When the new ABL started with the Adelaide Bite, Darren was on the pitching staff and through the first five seasons, pitched in 60 games as a reliever, for a 12-10 win-loss record and a 4.37 ERA.
An amazing stat Darren often reached for Goodwood over the 10 years between 2000 & 2010 was the amount of times his ERA was less than two, with one season less than one earned run per nine innings.
Darren has represented:-
6 x Adelaide Giants (ABL) – 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1997/98, 1998/99
10 x Claxton Shield representative – 1999/00, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10
Claxton Shield Pitching Coach – 2006/07
5 x Adelaide Bite (ABL) – 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16
Darren’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 3 Capps Medals:-
Life Member of the Goodwood Baseball Club
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Pitcher
5 x Division 1 Premiership Player – 1999/00, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2012/13, 2017/18
11 x BSA All Star Team – Starting Pitcher 2000/01, 2001/02, 2008/09, 2011/12, 2017/18 – Middle Reliever 2004/05, 2005/06 – Closer 1999/00, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2008/08
2 x Bob Finn Trophy (Best player SA in Claxton Shield series – 2004/05, 2008/09
Andrew Scott (West Torrens) 2007
Andrew Scott finished his career like he started, achieving great next in three different periods of baseball in SA – including pre and post the 1st Australian Baseball League from 1989-99.
His 2007 Capps Medal win was complimented Andrew’s season as coach of West Torrens, winning the grand final 2 games to 1 over Glenelg, with both the Eagles victories extra-innings one run thrillers.
While Andrew played over 400 division games with West Torrens and was a member of 5 premiership sides, with 6 club MVPs and named in the Eagles Team of the Century, it’s what he did at State and International level which made him an Australian Baseball Hall of Famer
He started by winning the Bob Finn Memorial Trophy as SA’s MVP om the final Claxton Shield series in 1989 before he was arguably the best player over the decade of the Adelaide Giants in
the first ABL, where he won three Bob Finn awards and the Helms Award as the competition’s MVP.
Andrew was an ABL All-Star seven times and was the first player in the league to bat .400.
The star second baseman was one of 15 players to participate in all 10 seasons of the ABL and leads the all-time list in games (470), at bats (1,582), runs (343), hits (521), doubles (115), home runs (72), RBI’s (307) and an batting average of .329.
Andrew played many times for Australia, including at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 1997 Intercontinental Cap in Barcelona winning a bronze medal and the 1998 World Cup in Italy
He also played in Japan for Kobe Steel in the Industrial Baseball League for 7 years, 1992-1998.
In 2005 Andrew was named in the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame and in 2007 Made the SA Claxton Shield 75th Anniversary team as a Designated Hitter.
Andrew’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 2007 Capps Medal are:-
1996/97 Helms Award – Best Player in the Australian Baseball League
2000 Awarded the Australian Sports Medal for service to baseball
2005 Inducted into the Australian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame
2009 SA Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Designated Hitter
2009 Australian Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All Star Team – Utility
2013 Elected Life Member of the West Torrens Baseball Club
2019 Inducted into the West Torrens Baseball Club Hall of Fame
2022 Inducted into Baseball SA Hall of Fame
Nick Talbot (Kensington) 2012, 2013 & 2015
Nick original from Goodwood switched to the Cardinals in 2007 and has been a mainstay since, playing 6 premiership, 2 when winning the Capps Medal and played in the last 3 seasons of the Claxton Shield before the current ABL started in 2010 where he was selected with the Adelaide Bite.
Nick has had a decorated career starting at Goodwood playing junior baseball and making 5 State junior teams between 2000 and 2005.
Switching to Kensington in 2007 he made his Division 1 debut the same year playing all but 2 Division 1 for the season including finals.
Nick played 13 Division 1 seasons for Kensington including 12 finals series winning 6 premierships.
Nick played in 423 Division 1 games and as a Starting pitcher 87 games, Relief pitcher 87 games and pitched 750.3 innings, striking out 675 batters with an ERA of 2.10. When not pitching collected 524 hits.
Nick won the Best & Fairest Award 4 times and the Batting Award once.
An amazing statistic is if Nick had polled at least two more votes in the 2013/14 season he would have won an unprecedented four consecutive medals.
While Nick is the seventh player to have won at least three Capps Medals, only Don Rice (1961 to 1963) has achieved a three consecutive wins, which Nick missed out on in 2014 two votes behind winner Andrew Davis from Port Adelaide.
In 2005/06 Nick was selected in the Claxton Shield series which he also played in 2006/07 & 2008/09. With the start of the new ABL series Nick was selected for the Adelaide Bite in 2010/11, 2011/12, 2013/14 & 2015/16
Nick’s other achievements & recognition apart from the 3 Capps Medals are:-
6 x Division 1 Premiership Player – 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2019/20
5 x BSA All Star Team – 2008/09 (OF), 2011/12 (P), 2012/13 (P), 2014/15 (P), 2016/17(P)
2 x BSA Pitching ERA Champion – 2012/13, 2016/17
