BQ’s Annual Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner

The recent Annual Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner was a night to remember, bringing together over 150 members of the Queensland baseball community to celebrate an outstanding year in our sport.

The evening commenced with an official welcome from BQ Commissioner Chris Norrie, followed by our talented MC, Trent Cosh.

We were privileged to welcome nine esteemed Hall of Famers, including Grant McDonald, Greg Wade, Kevin Cantwell, Neville Brockie, Peter Gahan, Robert Moden, Steven Gilmore, Tony Thomson, and Trent Durrington.

Shayne Watson introduced the Queensland Program Awards, recognising the notable achievements throughout the year in the Baseball Queensland performance pathways. Head coaches were invited to present awards to their players, adding a personal touch to the recognition of excellence in pitching, hitting, team culture, and overall MVP across various age groups.

David Badke and Daniel White presented the Queensland State Awards, recognising the notable achievements of Administrator, Coach, Scorer, Umpire and Volunteer of the year.  Next, four individuals were honoured with the Distinguished Service Award, acknowledging their exceptional contributions to baseball in Queensland.

As a highlight of the evening, we reflected on the 1994 Championship-winning Brisbane Bandits team, with insights from Robert Moden and Tony Thomson, who reminisced about the 1993/1994 PEPSI CUP ABL match against the Sydney Blues at Parramatta Stadium.

Thanks to the generous contributions from our sponsors, including Brisbane Bandits, Leading Edge Sport, and The Ballpark Portside, our raffle raised over $2,000 for the Heritage Preservation Fund. These vital funds will support the Baseball Queensland Heritage Advisory Panel in preserving our rich history, maintaining the Hall of Fame, and expanding our memorabilia collection to honour the legends of our sport.

We appreciate the participation and contributions of all attendees, which made this event a memorable celebration of baseball in Queensland. 

A big thank you to the BQ staff for their hard work in putting together such a memorable event and a shoutout to BQ Media Volunteer, Hazel Napier for creating a great photo slideshow!   We sincerely thank Greg Barnett for not only jumping in last minute, but volunteering his time as our official photographer, capturing all the special moments of the evening.