Born 17 February, 1932
Died July 2016
Brian was a star player for the legendary Swan Districts teams of the 1950’s. He played for Swan Districts between 1951 and 1957 and was one of the most dominant pitchers throughout this period. He was the starting pitcher in 4 grand final series in which Swan Districts won the premiership.
Along with catcher Roy Gooch, they formed the most formidable battery in all of WA baseball for many years. In this time, Swan Districts won five of their seven consecutive premierships.
Brian was a key member of the winning teams, both as a pitcher and an infielder/hitter.
Brian was the inaugural winner of the first WA Baseball League “Presidents Medal” in 1951 where he polled twenty-three votes.
He made his Claxton Shield debut in Adelaide. In his first game on the mound, he threw a shut-out against Qld to lead WA to a 9-0 victory.
He represented WA in the Claxton Shield between 1951 to 1957 and was a key member of the Inaugural WA 1952 winning Claxton Shield team.
Below is a sample of some of Crutchett’s achievements:
- 1951 – Inaugural winner of the WA Baseball League “Presidents Medal” at the age of 19 years old.
- 1951 – Represented WA in the Claxton Shield for the first time and went on to represent WA a further six times through till 1957.
- 1952 – WA Claxton Shield Champions
- 1954- Claxton Shield All-Star Team (All-Australian Team)
- 1951-1957 Played and pitched in five consecutive A Grade Premierships with Swan Districts.