Almanac Baseball: Woomera and Australian Baseball

 

WOOMERA AND AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL

 

Perhaps some readers from ‘Footy Almanac Land’ might like to read the following piece about baseball in Woomera by David ‘Dick’ Turpin. There might even be some who have lived in Woomera during the times Dick has covered.

Dick, who now resides in Maroochydore, Qld, is an old friend and colleague of mine from my early Darwin days. Before Darwin, Dick worked for several years in Woomera when the town was much larger and more vibrant than it is today. When it was heavily populated by South Australian and Commonwealth public sector employees and a private sector reliant on government contracts, especially in the defence space.

In the last few years Dick has been busily researching and writing on the history of various sports in Woomera.

Allan Barden

 

The Footy Almanac recently serialised Dick’s history of football in Woomera Almanac Footy: A History of Australian Rules in Woomera 1948 to 1992.’ A great read for those who love their football history. Dick has also written on the history of Woomera cricket and water polo.

 

 

 

 

You might ask what a picture of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games – Australian Exhibition Baseball Team has to do with Woomera? Well, if you look closely, two members of this team later lived and worked in Woomera. Third from left on the back row is Peter Box (pitcher), and far right on the centre row is Max Puckett (3rd baseman).

 

Peter Box was a Goodwood Indians, South Australia, and Australia baseball pitcher throughout the 1950s. He twice won the Capps Medal for the best player in the South Australian League in 1957 and 1958. Peter arrived in Woomera around 1960 and played Aussie Rules football for the Village Club and cricket for the Jazza (Junior Staff Mess) and later the Staff Mess. He was a member of the Staff Mess 1965-66 Premiership team and, not surprisingly, won the trophy for best fielder in the cricket competition. His throwing arm was deadly.

 

Max Puckett played baseball and cricket at 17 for the Nedlands Baseball Club and West Perth Cricket Club and, two years later, Claxton Shield baseball for West Australia. Max then returned to South Australia and played baseball for West Torrens, South Australia, and Australia (1957 – 1965). He also played district cricket in Adelaide and played one Sheffield Shield game for South Australia. Max arrived in Woomera in 1958 and initially played cricket for the Koolymilka Club in the 1958-59 season. He then transferred to Works and was a member of the Works cricket team that won the 1959-1960 Premiership. He also won the Association Bowling Average for that season. He played Aussie Rules football for the Works Club in 1959 and 1960.

 

A friend of mine, John Henderson, who passed away in 2020, offered these comments about Max, ‘A bit more about Max Puckett. His father Charlie Puckett was also a kick-arse baseballer and cricketer. He played for WA in their early Sheffield Shield years after World War 2 as an opening bowler and did very well. Max played against my team St Barbara’s in Woomera in 1958-59 in my team’s first ever match (minus me) and took 10 for 4 as St Barbara’s was all out for 11. St Barbara’s did much better in their 2nd innings and made a total of 31! St Barbara’s lost that one (really!!!). The next time we played against Koolymilka was at McCallum Oval later in that season, and I faced Max for the first time. The ball swung a mile and I was given out lbw first ball! We lost again. Bugger of a life, isn’t it!?!?!’

 

Peter Box is also a good example of not always believing what appears on some websites. During the 1950s, there was also a Peter Box who played centre-half forward for the Footscray VFL Club in their 1st premiership in 1954 and who also won the 1956 Brownlow Medal for the Best and Fairest (B&F) in the VFL. Some sites attribute this Peter Box with playing baseball in the 1956 Olympic Exhibition Baseball games. As the names are identical and not very common, it is an easy mistake to make; one was playing baseball in Adelaide and the other was playing VFL in Melbourne. It is a bit hard to be in both Adelaide and Melbourne at the same time, playing different sports.

 

In 2023, Max Puckett was inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame. His citation read ‘For continuous and passionate impact on South Australian Baseball through excellence in Playing & Managing/Coaching.’ Max died in Adelaide, SA, in 1991. He was 65 years old. In 2024, Peter Box was inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame. His citation read, ‘For continuous and passionate impact on South Australian Baseball through excellence in Playing.’ Peter died in Adelaide, SA, in 2014. He was 85 years old.

 

D Turpin
2025

 

To read David’s extensive history of Australian Rules football in Woomera click HERE.

 

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