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 diamonds and began taking his teams across the city to compete in a Scarborough competition, which his kids quickly outgrew.

Elected to the Western Australian Softball Association Board in the role of 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 Australian Men’s Softball League.

Little support was given from the WASA and the men were restricted to playing on a Sunday on sub-standard grounds. As he had done over a decade before, Bailey approached the local council and secured space at Morely and Cooke’s reserve to establish appropriate playing diamonds. In 1978, the first Men’s Softball State Championship was held.

Bailey at their urging collaborated with John Reid and Edna Nash of NSW in establishing an interstate competition for men in 1983. He joined forces with the eastern coast 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 (Softball Australia) 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 Australian Softball Association in 1976. A decade later he received Life Membership of the Western Australian Men’s Softball League. To this date, he is the only person ever to have that honour bestowed upon him.

In 2020 the Championship transitioned to the age group of U18, due to the WBSC changing the age group of the Junior Men’s World Cup from U19 to U18. Whilst the age group for this Championship changed, the Nox Bailey Shield has not lost its cultural significance in the sport.  As Reid was immortalized in the National Men’s Competition, it was only fitting that Nox Bailey’s contribution to Softball shall forever be remembered as the nation’s best U18 boys come together for the Nox Bailey Shield year after year.