I WAS A PRETTY GOOD CRICKETER YOU SEE” SAYS PAUL TIERNEY “AND WE NEEDED SOMETHING TO DO TO KEEP OUR ARMS AND EYES IN OVER WINTER WHEN THERE WAS NO CRICKET“

SO A BUNCH OF SCHOOL KIDS FROM BLACKBURN HIGH SCHOOL ASKED THEIR TEACHER, KEN RIGBY, to set UP A BASEBALL TEAM FOR THEM. AND IN 1963 BLACKBURN ORIOLES BASEBALL CLUB WAS FORMED.

WE STARTED WITH 4 TEAMS FULL OF SCHOOL MATES WHO PLAYED THEIR FIRST EVER BASEBALL GAME AGAINST RINGWOOD CRICKET CLUB AT THE OLD MAROONDAH HOSPITAL SITE. IAN “BURGE” BURGELL tells us he got 7 hits that day and they won by 20 runs, followed quickly by “who else is alive to prove me wrong? only bluey and he got 15 hits”

60 YEARS LATER, MEMBERS OF OUR FIRST EVER BASEBALL TEAM, IAN BURGELL & PAUL TIERNEY ARE STILL ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE BASEBALL CLUB, LEADING THE ‘POO PATROL’ TEAM WHO CLEAN THE ROOMS EACH WEEK (AND EAT THE BISCUITS, TALK RUBBISH AND DRINK COFFEE)