ABF announces 2012 Baseball Australia Hall of Fame Inductees

Induction into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame is the highest honour in Australian Baseball.

Baseball Australia Hall of Fame membership is divided into two categories of excellence; 1.) Playing and 2.) Managing / Coaching. All members are inducted in one of eight eras and nominations adhere to strict standards of criteria for selection, with the primary criteria being that a nominee must have had a prolonged impact on the game of Baseball at the highest level available at that time and not be deemed to have brought the game of Baseball into disrepute.

The Australian Baseball Federation is pleased to announce that the 2012 inductees into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame are Richard (Dick) Shirt (NSW), Glenn Williams (NSW) and Simone Wearne (VIC).

Richard, Glenn and Simone will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony that will take place on Saturday 25 February 2012 at the Baseball Australia Diamond Awards, which will be held at the Stamford Plaza in Sydney.

Outlined below is a very brief summary of the outstanding careers and achievements of our 2012 Hall of Fame inductees.

RICHARD (DICK) SHIRT: Dick was involved in State representative baseball as a player and coach for almost 3 decades. He represented NSW as a player at the 1958 Schoolboys Competition, 1964 & 1966-1970 & 1972-75 Claxton Shield team selection, (SA reps), 1966-68 South Australia Chrysler Cup selection. Dick was also the Manager/Coach for the NSW team in 1976-1982 and the Assistant Manager 1975, 1983-1984, 1986. Dick donned the bagging greens for Australia as a player 5 times between 1964-1974 and was the national team coach in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983. In the 1968 Australia vs. Champion Japanese ‘Shakaijin’ Team Redfern Oval 6th Test, bottom 9th and scores at 0-0, Dick smashed a winning home run for Australia’s only win in the Series. Internationally, Dick played for MLB Tampa Tarpons and Wytheville Reds in 1965-66 and the MLB Cincinnati Reds Minor League affiliate in 1967. He is regarded as one of the most colourful figures in Australian Baseball; was selected to the NSW 75th Anniversary Claxton Shield All Star team – pitcher; and the Australian 75th Anniversary Claxton Shield All Star team – pitcher. He is a highly regarded member of the NSW baseball fraternity and a welcomed addition to the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame.

GLENN WILLIAMS: Glenn Williams boasts a 20-year state representative career for New South Wales spanning across 1986-2006. During this time Glenn represented NSW 21 times; including 7 seasons in the former ABL for the Blues and Storm, 5 Claxton Shields with the New South Wales Patriots where he consistently hit above .300. A stalwart on the Australian National Team for the better part of the last decade, Glenn was a member of the 2004 Olympic silver medal winning team, Gold medal winning Intercontinental Cup team in 1999, and represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2006 World Baseball Classic, as well as the World Cup, and Olympic qualifying events. Internationally, Glenn boasts a 15 year MLB career; commencing his MiLB campaign in 1993 through 2008. Glenn made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2005; with his 13-game MLB hitting streak; he hit in every game whilst in MLB, tying an MLB record. He was an AA & AAA All star, and is a part time scout with the Detroit Tigers. In 2009, Glenn became the Manager of the NSW Patriots, and continued his own ABL story when he led the Sydney Blue Sox to the ABL Playoffs in the 2010 Inaugural season. Today, he is the High Performance Manager for Baseball NSW, and a key member of the Australian National Team coaching staff. Glenn Williams is not only considered to be one of the ‘gentlemen’ of our game, but an outstanding ambassador of our sport, and a worthy addition to the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame.

SIMONE WEARNE:  Simone Wearne’s induction into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame marks the first induction of a female athlete into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 2005. Simone is also the youngest athlete to ever be inducted in the Hall of Fame. A highly regarded leader in women’s baseball; Simone has paved the way for many young female athletes and continues to be a shining source of inspiration to baseball players around the nation. In addition to her 10 state representative stints for Victoria throughout 1999-2008, in which she was a 6-time National Championship winning team member , and 5-time winner with 3 complete games;Simone has donned the green and gold for Australia a staggering eight times; including 4 representations at the Women’s World Series (2001-2004), 2 Women’s World Cups (2006 & 2008), & the Women’s International tournament (2002). Simone holds the record in Australia for the most awards by a female athlete (domestically and internationally); her CV including: Tournament Co-MVP at the Women’s World Series (2002), ABF Female winner of the Year (2008 & 2009), tournament Pitching award Women’s International Tournament – Geelong – Tournament Pitching Award winner (2002), IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup All World Team – starting pitcher (2006), Women’s Nationals Pitching Award Winner (2004, 2007, 2008), Victorian State Team MVP (2004, 2005, 2008), Victorian Division one Women’s State League – Pitching ERA Champion (2006, 2008), 6 time Springvale Baseball club – Women’s Division One: Best & Fairest Winner, and Dandenong Baseball Association, Women’s League MVP. She was the Team Australia Captain at the 2008 Women’s Baseball World Cup in Japan. In 2011, Simone was the first female ever to be appointed to the role of Assistant Coach for an official national team tour when she travelled with the Women’s National Team to the 2011 IBAF Women’s World Cup.

The Australian Baseball Federation would like to congratulate Richard, Glenn and Simone on the Hall of Fame selection. We look forward to celebrating their achievements with them at the 2012 Baseball Australia Diamond Awards on 25 February 2012 at the Stamford Plaza.