Lighting the candles on ten years of baseball

For club founder Tucker, his 40th birthday was not just a special day for him. It is also a day that will go down in our club's history.

As Tucker blew out the candles on his 40th birthday, his wish and vision was for a club that would pave a pathway for Townsville’s youth to have a successful career in the sport. It was there in his backyard, surrounded by like-minded mates, that the inaugural committee was formed.

Just four months later, the 2015 Townsville season saw a gold and blue wave hit the competition, the Avengers Baseball Club.

Avengers inaugural team celebrating their first season

Tucker was driven by his own love of the game and the growing interest of his own sons and other like-minded community members. After making his own way up through the league into seniors in 1992 he realised that for kids younger than him, once you reached U14s the jump into seniors was monumental.

The committee set out to lay the foundations for an under 18s side. A side that would bridge the gap from juniors and provide a taster of the senior competition.

“You’ll notice the same gold and blue across our Townsville representative jerseys,” he says. A legacy that he’s proud has remained.

Just nine players were all it needed to get started, full of passionate youngsters and a couple of seasoned players to stabilise the ship.

“We may have only had nine on our roster, but we never missed a game,” Tucker said.

“We won our first game 9-0”

The team went on to win just three games in the B grade competition that year, the most important being the Grand Final!

From one became two.

In just a couple of years, the team broke away from its parent club the Northern Jets and grew to field two teams.

The introduction of the Razorbacks to the competition meant that it was not just about a pathway into seniors. Within the club, there was now a pathway for juniors to pursue the A grade level.

Avengers A and B grade teams, 2017

Over the years as life changed, Tucker made the decision to step back from the helm of President. He was never far away though.

From graphic design, to managing the accounts and even umpiring, Tucker has been there to lend a hand and guide the team when needed.

His legacy of player development is perhaps the strongest.

Ten years on Taipans now has a full junior complement from three years up and a senior pathway across three grades, with its own once juniors holding down positions in the A grade squad. United under one banner and one look, the Townsville Taipans Baseball Club has carried through a philosophy of inclusion and fun - one club, one family.

While he may not be as active in the club today as he was 10 years ago, every birthday that passes is a moment to sit back and reflect on chasing after that birthday wish.