Sunshine Baseball Club was founded in 1938 and is the oldest sporting club in Sunshine. The fact our club holds this status is testament to the many dedicated and committed people that have been involved over the years. There have been many local legends, not all necessarily baseballers, who have put their heart and soul into our club and have done so for many years.
George Kirby, the clubs inaugural President, held the position for over 25 years. George operated the only picture theatre in Sunshine from 1930 – 1980. The Kirby family have continued to support Sunshine Baseball Club to the present day through son Roc Kirby (life member and patron of Village Roadshow fame) and Grandson John Kirby (life member and also of Village Roadshow). The club is indebted to the Kirby family for their goodwill and generosity over many years.
The club’s second longest serving president was Pat Dalling, President for 17 years and for many years had the only proper full-time sports store in the 1950s-1980s in Sunshine.
The club has had many Australian and Victorian representatives over the years, the notables including present Clubman John Galloway (Helm’s Award Winner with South Australia -the top Australian player award), Jon Deeble, (Australian Coach and the holder of 3 Gold Rings for World Series wins with the Boston Redsox) and Graeme Lloyd (Australian Coach and the holder of 2 Gold Rings playing for the New York Yankees). John Galloway was recently inducted into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame and joins the great Don Deeble and Graeme Lloyd, both Sunshine players who were also inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame, this is absolutely world class!
On field success at the club over the years has resulted in many premierships, including 3 men’s Division One Premierships and Division One Premierships to our first Women’s team in the 1994-95 & 1995-96 seasons.
Baseball is a wonderful participant sport, which offers a great opportunity for people of all abilities to participate and for parents, it gives them the opportunity to be actively involved in supporting their children and to become a part of our great club. We have been fielding senior teams now for over 84 years and junior teams for over 70 years and we plan to be doing it for many more years to follow.
