Nox Bailey Shield


The Nox Bailey Shield is a trophy awarded yearly to the Under 19 Men's Champion team of the Australian Softball Federation. It is named after a famous Australian softball organiser.

About Nox Bailey

Nox Bailey's interest in softball grew from conversations he held with a work-mate in the 1960s and led him to set up a competition for local boys and girls in Bayswater, Western Australia.
Successfully negotiating with his local council, Bailey acquired space for four softball diamonds and began taking his teams across the city to compete in a Scarborough competition, which his kids quickly outgrew.
Elected to the Western Australia Softball Association Board as Secretary, Bailey began inquiring about the inclusion of a men's social competition at the next major tournament. By 1976 he had successfully helped to establish the Western Australia Men's Softball League.
Little support was given from the Western Australia Softball Association and the men were restricted to playing on Sunday on sub-standard grounds. As he had done over a decade before, Bailey approached his local council and secured space at Morely and Cooke's reserve to establish appropriate playing diamonds.
In 1978, the first Men's Softball State Championships were held.
Bailey at their urging collaborated with John Reid and Edna Nash of the New South Wales Softball Association in establishing an interstate competition for men in 1983. He joined forces with the eastern state duo again only a few years later as they attempted to introduce an Australian Men's Softball team in the next major international tournament under the ASF banner.
In 1988, Australia debuted in the ISF men's Softball World Championship.
A powerful force behind the development of men's softball in WA and ultimately Australia, and a member of the Bayswater Morley Softball Club for 25 years, Bailey was made a Life Member of the Western Australia Softball Association in 1976. A decade later he received Life Membership of the Western Australia Men's Softball League, to this date he is the only person to have this honour bestowed upon him.
As Reid was immortalized in the national men's competition, it was only fitting that Nox Bailey's contribution to softball shall be remembered as the national's best under 19 men come together for the Nox Bailey Shield year after year.

Previous Individual Award Winners