The1939 Claxton Shield was the sixth annualClaxton Shield, anAustralian nationalbaseball tournament. It was held atRichmond Cricket Ground,Albert Ground,[1]South Melbourne Cricket Ground[2] ,andNational Park[3] inMelbourne from 29 July to 5 August,[4] the second time Melbourne had hosted the Shield.New South Wales won the Shield for the third time, successfully defending their title from the previous two years.Queensland joined the other four states for the first time in the tournament. The other participating teams wereVictoria,Western Australia ,andSouth Australia.[5] It was also the first year anAustralia national team was picked primarily based on the Championships.[6]
As had been the case in the1937 tournament, the four teams played around-robin schedule, meeting each other team once, with two competition points on offer in each game. The points were awarded as follows:
- Win – two points
- Tie – one point
- Loss – no points
At the end of these preliminary games, the top two teams played each other to determine the champions, while the remaining two teams faced each other to determine third place. In the event of a tie between teams in terms of points, thetiebreaker used would have been the net runsfor and against, with the team achieving the greater value and placing in the higher position.
All-Australian team
[edit]At the conclusion of the tournament, representatives from theAustralian Baseball Council selected an All-Australian team. Though the selected team did not actually play together, it was the first time anAustralian team had been selected.[7]
| Position | Player |
|---|
| Pitcher |  J. Lanfear |
|---|
 C. Puckett |
| Catcher | L. Miller |
|---|
| A. Goodwin |
| First Base | A. Barras |
|---|
| Second Base |  F. Catt |
|---|
| Third Base | W. Rankin |
|---|
| Short Stop |  R. Corby |
|---|
| Outfield | N. Blanche |
|---|
| S. Yum |
| J. Denison |
| Utility | G. Borwick |
|---|
|
| Manager | D. Mould |
|---|
Queensland