History

The Canterbury Bankstown District Baseball Club Inc was formed in 1946 and initially played out of Petersham Oval which was shared with other inner-city clubs. In 1980 the Vikings moved to McLaughlin Oval where it remained for the next 30 years.  In 2010 Vikings moved to its present ground at Riverside Baseball Park. Vikings has had several successes in all grades including 9 first grade premierships and 21 players signed professional contracts overseas.  An early president was Roland (Pop) Pearce who was succeeded by his son Albert Pearce and between them they held the position for over 30 years. The position was then held by Col Martin who was treasurer for 19 years before being elected president in 1981. He held this position until his retirement in 1989.  Our current president, John Kalaf, has been serving on the committee for over 30 years.  Barry O’Connor has been a committee member for 40+ years and continues as the club’s registrar.  In the early years the club had little success and it was not until 1968 that the Little League team coached by Barry Holland won the state championship.  Peter Worboys joined our coaching team in 1980, followed by Tony Booth in 2006 and Lionel Harris in 2008. Steven Neville and Craig Jolly came on board in 2010, and Scott Podmore as 1st grade coach in 2018. In 2019, we welcomed Robert Cook (3rd grade), Doug Rouse (1st grade), and Andrew Cooke (pitching coach).  In 2023, Zac Moran and Claude Bova were appointed as the new Under 18’s coaches, succeeding Fady Karam.