Vikings Baseball

The Canterbury Bankstown District Baseball Club Ltd was formed in 1946 and competed in the first district baseball competition in the Major League competition conducted by Baseball NSW. It initially played out of Petersham Oval which was shared with other inner city clubs. In 1980 the club moved to McLaughlin Oval where it remained for some 30 years. It moved to it’s present ground at Riverside Baseball Complex at the start of the 2010/2011 season. An early president was Roland (Pop) Pearce who was succeeded by his son Albert Pearce and between them they held the position for over 30 years. The position was then held by Col Martin who was treasurer for 19 years before being elected president in 1981. He held this position until his retirement in 1989. John Kalaf, who served on the committee for a number of years, then became president. Secretary Barry O’Connor has been a committee member for 40+ years whilst treasurer Rod McLellan is in his initial year in this position. In the early years the club had little success and it was not until 1968 that the Little League team coached by Barry Holland won the state championship. Since then the club has had a number of successes in all grades including 9 first grade premierships which is the highest among current active clubs. The club’s current first grade and club coach, Barry Holland, has been part of the coaching staff since 1967. Peter Worboys joined the coaching ranks in 1980 with more recent appointments being Tony Booth in 2006, Lionel Harris and Doug Rouse in 2008 and Steven Neville and Craig Jolly in 2010. In 2011 the Club established a Womens side which competes in the NSW Womens Baseball League and provides a succession pathway for females also involved in baseball. Their Inaugural Season Coaches were Rhys Callaghan, Mal Green, Phil Clucus, fady Karam and former Rookie of the Year (1984) Brett (Shuz) Fitzgerald.