Baseball historians continue to argue over whether Roy Gooch was better as player or as a manager. His record proves that, without a doubt, he was proficient at both.
Roy joined South Perth Baseball Club in 1946 where he won 4 Premierships as a player before joining the Swan Districts Baseball Club in 1951 as player/coach. Under Roy’s leadership, Swan Districts went from the “wooden spoon” to the top of the ladder in less than 3 years. Swans won seven consecutive A Grade Premierships between 1953 and 1959 with Roy as the team catcher and Manager.
Roy guided and helped produce talent such as Kaye Greenham, Brian Crutchett, Des Ward, Alf Bryan, Tony Mateljan, Kevin Gartrell, Mel O’Hern, Rod Byrne, Howard Walker, Peter Colquhoun who have all represented W.A.
Below is a sample of some of Gooch’s achievements:
- Represented Western Australia in every state team (Claxton Shield) between 1946 to 1957. (12 years)
- Won the Claxton Shield with WA in 1952 (WA’s first Claxton Shield)
- Selected in the Claxton Shield All-Star Team in 1954 (All-Australian)
- Coach of the WA Claxton Shield in 1960