Brisbane South Baseball — Our History

1990–1992 | The Beginning

Brisbane South Baseball was established in the early 1990s, following the transition from the former South Brisbane region. The region was formally established around 1992.

The original clubs within the region included:

• Beenleigh Hawks
• Southside Indians
• Mount Gravatt Eagles
• Logan Sharks
• Redlands — which was later formed following the division of Southside Indians

The formation of Brisbane South marked the beginning of a new regional identity and a strong focus on junior baseball development.

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Early 1990s | Creating the Brisbane South Identity

When Brisbane South Baseball Association was established, the clubs adopted bottle green, gold and white as the region’s colours.

Greg Morriss played a significant role in creating the identity of the new region.

At the time, Greg was managing a baseball sporting uniform business that supplied uniforms to approximately 85% of Australia. He designed the original STH logo, drawing inspiration from the Chicago White Sox logo of the 1930s/40s while creating a distinct Brisbane South design.

The original uniforms featured:

• Bottle green playing tops
• Gold and white STH logo
• Gold undershirts
• Bottle green caps with gold peaks

The original logo even earned the affectionate nickname “fried eggs” because of its gold-on-white appearance! 😀

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Early 1990s | Building a Development Culture

Greg Morriss was appointed Brisbane South’s first Regional Director of Coaching and Player Development (RDC)and was also the first person to hold this type of regional role in Queensland.

Greg worked with Baseball Queensland to develop the role and establish a formal position description.

Over approximately 15 years as Brisbane South RDC, Greg helped establish a coaching and player development philosophy that became synonymous with Brisbane South:

SIMPLE BASIC SKILLS

This philosophy was later replaced on training shirts with:

DEVELOPMENT IS WINNING

The focus was on developing fundamental skills, developing coaches and creating opportunities for players to improve — with development placed at the centre of the program.

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1990s | A Strong Regional Junior Competition

Brisbane South developed a substantial regional junior competition that became a major part of the region’s development pathway.

At its peak, the region had approximately:

25 T-Ball teams

Teams from across the region played Saturday morning competitions, rotating between clubs throughout the season.

The region also held T-Ball carnivals, inviting clubs from outside Brisbane South to participate.

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Rookie Ball

Rookie Ball also developed into a strong regional competition, with clubs playing against each other as part of the Brisbane South pathway.

This provided young players with regular competition while allowing clubs and coaches to work within the same development philosophy.

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Under 12s

The Under 12 competition grew to approximately:

18 teams across the region

Games were played on Saturday mornings at clubs throughout Brisbane South.

Together, the T-Ball, Rookie Ball and Under 12 competitions created a strong development pathway from the earliest stages of junior baseball.

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Around 1995 | Redlands Rays Established

Southside Indians had become one of the largest baseball clubs in Australia, with teams and players based across the Runcorn and Redlands areas.

Around 1995, Southside Indians made the decision to divide the club.

This resulted in the creation of the Redlands Rays.

The Rays began with a strong number of junior teams before quickly establishing senior teams as well.

This became an important part of the ongoing growth of baseball across the Brisbane South region.

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Around 1997 | “Junior Baseball Keeps Parents Off the Streets!”

Greg also helped promote junior baseball across Brisbane South and Queensland.

Around 1997, a new shirt was created featuring the now-famous message:

“JUNIOR BASEBALL — KEEPS PARENTS OFF THE STREETS!”

The shirt became hugely popular, with approximately 500 shirts sold in just three weeks.

The design helped promote junior baseball while capturing the enthusiasm and humour of the baseball community at the time.

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The Brisbane South Development Pathway

The strength of the Brisbane South model was not simply the number of teams.

It was the development pathway created for players and coaches.

Young players could progress through:

T-Ball → Rookie Ball → Under 12 → Under 14 → Under 16 → Under 18 → Senior Baseball

Clubs were encouraged to build strong junior programs alongside their senior teams.

The development of junior baseball helped create a strong base of players who could progress into representative baseball, senior baseball and higher levels of the game.

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Success on the Field

The Brisbane South development program produced remarkable results.

During Greg’s time as Regional Director of Coaching and Player Development, Brisbane South recorded:

🏆 22 State Championships

🇦🇺 98 Queensland Representatives

🇦🇺 23 Australian Representatives

⚾ 15 Professional Players

This included players who went on to Major League Baseball.

The success was a reflection of the work undertaken by players, coaches, clubs, families and volunteers across the region.

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Brisbane South Players & Coaches Who Reached Professional Baseball

A number of players and coaches who came through Brisbane South went on to professional baseball.

Major League Baseball

• Chris Oxspring — Southside Indians — San Diego Padres
• Phil Stockman — Beenleigh Hawks — Atlanta Braves

Professional Baseball

• David Hyslop — Southside Indians — Boston Red Sox
• Hayden Kluver — Southside Indians — Los Angeles Dodgers
• Connor MacDonald — Redlands — Houston Astros
• Todd McDonald — Redlands — Texas Rangers
• James Albury — Redlands — Boston Red Sox
• Trystan Crawford — Southside Indians — Minnesota Twins
• Nathan Crawford — Southside Indians — Minnesota Twins
• PJ Bevis — Redlands — Arizona Diamondbacks
• Mitchell Evans — Beenleigh Hawks — New York Yankees

Professional Baseball Beyond Playing

• Peter Gahan — Professional Scout, Cleveland Indians
• Jason Morriss — Strength & Conditioning Coach, Chicago Cubs; later Supervisor across the Milwaukee Brewers organisation
• Greg Morriss — Professional Scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and Houston Astros

Greg’s professional scouting career also included organisations that went on to win the World Series:

• Arizona Diamondbacks — 2001
• Houston Astros — 2017

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Brisbane South Representatives

The region has also produced numerous Queensland and Australian representatives.

Australian Representatives

David Badke, Hayden Kluver, Jason Morriss, Ben Pressick, Brad Wallace, Mitch Thomson, David Bylett, Drew Naylor, Daniel Thomson, Matthew Timms and Greg Morriss.

Queensland Representatives

The Brisbane South list includes:

James Albury, Jacob Briggs, David Bylett, Matthew Bates, Simon Morriss, Todd Pocklington, Greg Morriss, Dylan Ross, Aiken Setiawan, Scott Reeve, Chris Grossman, Robert Bates, Dale Watts, Ryan Ross, Tim Shaw, Ian Thomson, Jason Morriss, Mitch Thomson, Brad Wallace, Luke Vine, Martin Percy, Sam Pocklington, Hayden Kluver, Ben Street, Jarrod Ketter, Tim Stapleton, Tate Hardy, Kieran Bradford, Matthew Chapman, Cooper Cronk, Adam Wood, Tony Lynch, Travis White, Phil Stockman, Matthew Timms, Scott Browning, Daniel Thomson, Jeremy Hargreaves, Peter Sharps, Josh Lawler, Steven Salmon and Rhett Rhoweder.

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Greg Morriss — A Lasting Legacy

Greg Morriss’ contribution to Brisbane South extends well beyond the results recorded on the field.

As the region’s first Regional Director of Coaching and Player Development, Greg spent approximately 15 years developing players, coaches and the culture of Brisbane South Baseball.

His philosophy was built around:

Developing fundamental skills.
Developing coaches.
Developing players.
Creating opportunities.
Building a strong baseball culture.

His influence also extended beyond Brisbane South, with approximately 23 years of service across two regions in regional coaching and player development.

Greg also represented Australian baseball as a National Team hitting coach, worked as a professional scout and served on the Baseball Queensland Board as Deputy Commissioner.

He has received numerous honours for his contribution to baseball, including the Australian Sports Medal.

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Number 14 — A Lasting Tribute

Greg’s connection with Brisbane South is also represented by Number 14.

His number was unanimously retired by Brisbane South in recognition of his contribution to the region.

It recognised the role he played in establishing and developing the region’s junior baseball culture, the success achieved during his time as RDC and the foundations he helped create for future generations.

Number 14 remains the only number retired by Brisbane South Baseball Association, although individual clubs have also retired numbers in recognition of their own players and contributors.

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The Legacy Continues

The history of Brisbane South Baseball is much bigger than championships and representative selections.

It is the story of clubs, players, coaches, volunteers and families who helped build baseball across the region.

From the early days of Southside Indians, Beenleigh Hawks, Mount Gravatt Eagles and Logan Sharks, through to the establishment of Redlands Rays and the development of Brisbane South’s regional competitions, the region has continued to evolve.

Greg Morriss played a significant role during one of the most influential periods of that development.

His legacy can still be seen today in the players who came through the program, the coaches he mentored, the clubs that developed strong junior pathways and the continued emphasis on player development.

“Simple Basic Skills.”

“Development is Winning.”

Two simple philosophies that became part of the Brisbane South story and continue to reflect the importance of developing the game from the grassroots up.

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