If you have not been to Albert Park Baseball facilities in Lismore recently, I urge a drive beyond the southern side of the CBD to view something very special that is happening. You do not have to be involved in baseball, but Far North Coast Baseball is much more than simply a domestic sporting organisation.

The development of a former rubbish tip from decades ago, is now something to behold - a diamond in the rough even - and one man continues to “live and breathe” a vision born through his passion for baseball that will provide a legacy for the region for a lifetime.

Albert Park Baseball will bring in millions of dollars to Lismore in time and be a community asset for decades to come. Photo: Steve Mackney.

Bill O’Sullivan has been central to much that Far North Coast Baseball has achieved in the past four decades. Although Bill is quick to reject being credited in this way, the records show that it would be difficult to ignore the contribution he has made to the creation of a marvellous community asset. Bill is adamant that the facility’s existence is the product of the amazing generosity of countless volunteers and families, who have given (and continue to give) time and energy in a manner that is unparalleled.

“My involvement in the game has been as a player, local administrator and working in various roles with Baseball Australia” he tells me and almost reluctantly concedes more information by saying, “I started playing back in the early 70’s and I served on the FNC Baseball Executive for 30 years, so yeah, I guess I’ve been around baseball for a while.”

Having known Bill personally for many years, I am not going to let him deflect me so easily. Perhaps I need to phrase my questions with more purpose if I am going to extract enough information to validate what I instinctively know about perhaps our most competent local sporting administrator.

A young Bill O’Sullivan attended school in Lismore and while he graduated as a primary school teacher from 1968, he would return to Lismore in the early 70’s and teach at a range of schools through his career. Bill would meet and eventually marry Pam Mumford and the couple continue to live in Lismore (strategically, I sense, within close proximity to the baseball fields and the golf course).

Baseball has been central to much of the O’Sullivan life for more than 50 years. Their son Danny has also forged a strong career in local baseball as a solid catcher for Norths and Bill offers an apparent tone of sincerity recalling how Pam found her own “enthusiastic interest early in our relationship” in how to use the scorer’s pen and book, clearly with a desire to spend quality time at baseball (year after year).

Despite being an ex-student of Marist Brothers and having played cricket for Brothers, O’Sullivan signed with Norths Baseball Club upon returning to Lismore after Teachers College, for the reason that Norths needed more players. The former nuggety league player would subsequently become a reliable A-Grade infielder and see several decades of dominance ebb and flow between Brothers, Workers, Redbirds and his beloved Norths.

A highlight of his time in the game saw him appointed as the Executive Officer for the Australian Team from 1997-2001 and as Section Manager (Baseball) for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. O’Sullivan has been honoured with Life Membership to Far North Coast Baseball and Norths Baseball Club. His contribution to the game also saw him inducted into the Baseball Queensland Hall of Fame. Away from the Diamond, O’Sullivan would become a tenacious lobbyist

for the game and most notably, the potential for the Albert Park precinct to become a high-class baseball facility.

A man who “calls a spade a spade”, O’Sullivan is respected at every tier of the sport and broadly in political circles. O’Sullivan has a clear conviction about what is needed to achieve outcomes that match the objectives.

Far North Coast Baseball is much more than simply a domestic sporting organisation. I have considered that baseball is a sport that you either “love or hate”, but when you love it, it becomes an obsession. Whether it is the technical components of baseball, or the strategy required to navigate through each pitch (and play), aficionados of the game wax lyrical about this ball sport akin to a master chess player scheming his next move?

This region has provided perhaps 100 plus players who have played senior baseball at either State or National level over the past eight decades, with many more also representing at junior level. The A-grade competition has substantially consisted of four teams (never exceeding six in any season) putting these numbers into context.

Marist Brothers' Michael Gahan who has played for Australian National Teams (U13, U17, U19, U23) and is playing professionally in the Australian Baseball League for the Adelaide Giants.

The significant depth of talent identified year after year, albeit from within a small competition, has seen Far North Coast Baseball establish a reputation as arguably the finest regional nursery in Australia. Multiple ball players from families including Wappett, Pratt, Gahan, McClelland, Youngberry and Buckley, have worn Australia’s green and gold at International level, played Claxton Shield, or starred at national championships. Many fine baseballers from this region have graced diamonds around the world and whether the conversation is about former brilliant pitchers Alan Smith, Adrian Meagher and Matt Gahan, infielders Peter Gahan and Peter Buttrum or the late Harold Crozier, the list of quality players who once proudly donned the FNC uniform, is very long and impossible to rank in order of ability or delivery of

individual talent.

SUNDAY PROFILE: Australian baseballer Michael Gahan

Baseball has been played locally since 1937, with the initial diamonds being located where Crozier Field and Blair Oval, (formerly “Recs 2 and 3”) are now situated. The late Laurie Thew is acknowledged as the pioneer of Far North Coast Baseball from those initial days that saw the “ball game” come to Lismore. The sport moved base to Albert Park in the sixties and as the precinct was developed from humble surrounds consisting of two playing fields, Thew’s legacy to the game saw Field 2 named in his honour along with Field 1 being named after the legendary Reg Baxter. These tributes to two individuals are appropriately etched in the proud history of Far North Coast Baseball and reflect their respective contributions to the game Extraordinary individuals like Laurie Thew and Reg Baxter had a vision to evolve local baseball on several levels and more than 80 years from the

day the first pitch was thrown, Far North Coast Baseball has hit quite a few balls “out of the park”.

FNC Baseball only side to beat eventual NSW Country Champions

The seeds planted back in 1937 that were underpinned by a love of the game have grown and grown and been driven by an amazing history of committed volunteers who have progressed the facilities at Albert Park Lismore to the cusp of something very special. Like a good red wine, the baseball vine has matured through care, belief, persistence and critically, a vision cast by various individuals to see Albert Park become a High Class Tournament and Training hub for baseball, nationally and internationally. The opportunity for Lismore to host the Asian Youth Championships at Oakes Oval back in 1994, was a pinnacle moment as local administrators (none more prominent than John McKee and Bill O’Sullivan) were able to highlight Far North Coast Baseball and this region, as having a sound capacity to deliver World Class events. The State Government at that time responded favourably to requests for funding that provided impetus for material investment at Albert Park.

The year 2014 proved a watershed moment when Lismore hosted the National Little League Tournament and as a consequence of the outstanding success of that event, a five year contract was negotiated for the tournament to be played at Albert Park annually until (and including) 2020. A working group, also formed in 2014 that included Justin Drew (Baseball Australia), Mitch Lowe (Lismore City Council) and Bill O’Sullivan (FNC Baseball) was able to secure a commitment from each tier of government and baseball itself. Four years of determined lobbying culminated in the announcement in 2018 of a total grant of $6.95 million.

Work on the restructure of Albert Park is well advanced and O’Sullivan believes that the complex will be the “best training and tournament venue for baseball in Australia”.

O’Sullivan is a pragmatist and speaks of a facility that is “fit for purpose”, meaning that the facility is not intended to host Major League (like the transformation of the SCG in 2014 to host the LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks), but is perfect for events like the National Little League Tournaments that bring significant dollars and visitors to the region. The facility has brought (and will continue to bring) significant investment to Lismore and the region and is consistent with the strategic motivation of Lismore City Council to be a major regional Sporting Hub in Australia.

Baseball Australia has fallen in love with Albert Park and it looks no short-term affair. Photo: Steve Mackney

The year 2020 is already shaping as a boom year for Albert Park. Baseball Australia has placed the Senior League (U17 May) and Little League (U13 June) Championships here, Australian Combined High Schools Championships will stage their nationals here in April/May and there have been inquiries from Korean Major League Clubs about the facility’s availability for their Spring Training in 2021.

Many sporting facilities are, quite naturally, financial burdens which the community willingly carries. Albert Park and its baseball and softball diamonds on the other hand, return an easily measured and

significant economic dividend to Lismore’s ratepayers and business community.

Every project has a beginning and most have a conclusion, but Far North Coast baseball has a “Fields of Dreams” and a culture that is predicted to have a long line-up of volunteers ready for the call “batter up”…… many years into the future. Bill O’Sullivan tells me that he is now retired, but far from doing less, he just does it differently? I am unsure how we adequately applaud Bill O’Sullivan for his extensive list of achievements, but BRAVO Bill for stepping up to the plate with such conviction and for rounding Home Base countless times. We tip our cap in admiration. 

 ARTICLE BY STEVE MACKNEY