Charles William Puckett (21 February 1911 – 21 January 2002) was an Australian sportsman who excelled at both baseball and cricket. Born in Surrey, England, Puckett emigrated with his family to Adelaide, South Australia, and took up playing both sports early in life. Playing baseball as both a catcher and a pitcher, he represented South Australia in the Claxton Shield on several occasions, and was also the winner of the inaugural Capps Medal as the best player in the South Australian Baseball League. He moved to Victoria in 1937, playing a season for the Essendon Baseball Club and also playing state baseball for Victoria, before moving to Western Australia the following year to work in the publishing house of The West Australian. Considered one of the best all-round baseballers in Australia, Puckett subsequently represented Western Australia in the Claxton Shield competition, winning the award for best player on three consecutive occasions, in the 1936, 1937, and 1938 tournaments.
From 1940, he began to also play cricket for Western Australia, as a fast bowler. He enlisted in the Australian Army in 1942, and although not posted overseas, played little sport until the conclusion of the war. On his return to competitive cricket, Puckett became one of Western Australia's leading bowlers. In the state's inaugural season in the first-class Sheffield Shield, he took 35 wickets, which remains a state record. Puckett played his last match for the state in 1953, at the age of 42, finishing his career with 158 wickets from 37 matches. Having returned to South Australia later in life, Puckett died in Adelaide in 2002, and was posthumously named an inaugural inductee in the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame in 2005. His son, Max Puckett, also played representative baseball and cricket for South Australia.
Early life and baseball career Puckett was born in Beddington Corner on 21 February 1911, at the time part of the Croydon Rural District in Surrey.Charlie Puckett – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 November 2012. His father had occasionally served as a groundsman at The Oval.Charlie Puckett profile – ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 17 November 2012. Having emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, with his family, he began playing A-grade baseball in the 1931 season of the South Australian Baseball League, playing alongside his three brothers at the newly formed Prospect Baseball Club. After a poor start, Puckett improved to batting just below .300 by the season's end."BASEBALL SEASON REVIEWED" – Advertiser and Register. Published 18 September 1931. He often formed a successful battery with his older brother, Tom, with the brothers alternating between the roles of pitcher and catcher."Personalities" – Advertiser and Register. Published 22 May 1931."Prospect's Big Hitting Game" – The Advertiser. Published 3 September 1934. After good form pitching in the 1933 season, including a shutout against Sturt,"Prospect Victory" – The Mail. Published 22 July 1933. Puckett was selected as one of two pitchers for the South Australian state team at the interstate carnival held in August 1933 between representative teams from New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria."BASEBALL: Interstate Carnival" – Sydney Morning Herald. Published 1 August 1933. He played in both of the games against Victoria, recording a total of three hits, all singles."INTERSTATE SERIES: SOUTH AUSTRALIA BEATEN" – Sydney Morning Herald. Published 8 August 1933."BASEBALL: SOUTH AUSTRALIA BEATS VICTORIA" – Sydney Morning Herald. Published 11 August 1933. The same month, Puckett was involved in another shutout, in Prospect's defeat of the previous season's minor premiers, Goodwood.Goodwood "Whitewashed" By Prospect – The Advertiser. Published 28 August 1933.
Considered one of the finest players in the state league, Puckett was again named in the South Australian team for the 1934 interstate tournament—the inaugural edition of the Claxton Shield. In the tournament, he partnered with Ron Sharpe, with their partnership playing a key role in the state's three wins from four games."INTERSTATE BASEBALL: S.A. Defeats Victoria; Loses to N.S.W." – The Advertiser. Published 6 August 1934. Puckett finished the 1934 season fourth in the league batting averages, at .357 from 70 at bats."BASEBALL SEMI-FINALS: Fight For A Grade Honours" – The Advertiser. Published 7 September 1934. Having again represented South Australia at the 1935 and 1936 Claxton Shields, Puckett was awarded the inaugural Capps Medal at the end of the 1936 season, as the best player in the league."BASEBALL SEMI-FINALS TOMORROW" – The Advertiser. Published 11 September 1936. Prior to the start of the 1937 season, Puckett transferred to Melbourne to play for the Essendon Baseball Club in the Victorian Baseball Association."S.A. Baseball League" – The Advertiser. Published 23 March 1937. Now playing almost exclusively as a pitcher, he did not debut until several weeks into the season as a result of residency requirements. In his first match, against the Melbourne Baseball Club, he only had one hit recorded against him, with The Daily News reporting that he was "the fastest pitcher seen in Victoria for years"."S.A. PITCHER DOES WELL IN VICTORIA" – The Daily News. Published 1 May 1937. In one early-season match against Fitzroy, he hit a grand slam, allowing Essendon to win the game 4–1."PUCKETT PUTS ESSENDON ON TOP" – The Daily News. Published 29 May 1937. At the season's end, Puckett was awarded the Lansdown Medal as the association's best player, having also represented Victoria at the Claxton Shield.Medal For All-Round Baseballer – The Daily News. Published 6 September 1937. However, Puckett left Victoria at the end of the year for Perth, Western Australia, where he had accepted a position working for the publishing house of The West Australian."Puckett, Baseball Star, for the West" – The Mail. Published 23 October 1937. The Adelaide-based Mail noted "the departure of Puckett will rob Victoria of one of the finest baseballers it has ever had".Puckett, Vict. Baseball Star, for W.A. – The Mail. Published 20 November 1937.
After arriving in Perth, Puckett took up playing baseball for the West Australian Press Club (generally known as simply "Press"), effectively a sporting branch of his employer. The Sunday Times noted prior to the beginning of the season that Press would "have as their pitcher Charlie Puckett, the outstanding baseballer in Australia"."BASEBALL SEASON COMMENCES TODAY" – The Sunday Times. Published 8 May 1938. Puckett was selected to pitch for Western Australia at the 1938 Claxton Shield held in Perth, which marked the first occasion that the state would participate in the tournament."Baseball Carnival In Perth: South Australia's Effort To Recover Shield" – The Advertiser. Published 5 August 1938. Although Western Australia was unsuccessful, he was awarded the Tom Smith Memorial Trophy as the best all-round player at the tournament, the third successive year he had won such an award in interstate competition."Claxton Shield to N.S.W." – The Sunday Times. Published 14 August 1938. Continuing his form in the 1939 season, Puckett pitched a perfect game against Victoria Park, in one instance needing only ten pitched balls to strike out three batters."CENTENARY OF BASEBALL: An Obscure Beginning" – The Western Mail. Published 22 June 1939. He once again was selected for the state team at the 1939 Claxton Shield, and at the tournament's end was selected as part of the reserve battery in an "All-Australian" team—the team was merely symbolic, and did not actually play any games."SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS BY ALEX BARRAS" – The Western Mail. Published 17 August 1939. In the carnival, Puckett played a match against his younger brother, Jim, who was still based in South Australia."BROTHERS PLAY FOR DIFFERENT STATES" – The Daily News. Published 28 June 1939. Local baseball competition was more subdued over the following years, owing to the war, and interstate competition was suspended until 1946. Puckett did not play at interstate level again, although he did play several games for a combined "WA Army" side against a United States Army side in 1942."ALL ABOUT TODAY'S BIG BALL GAME" – Mirror. Published 30 May 1942.
Cricket career and later life Puckett had played cricket in Adelaide for almost as long as he played baseball, beginning with the Prospect North Methodist club in the United Church association."MINOR ASSOCIATIONS: United Church" – Advertiser and Register. Published 21 April 1933. He later progressed to the Goodwood Baseballers in the Adelaide and Suburban Cricket Association, which consisted of a group of baseball players attempting to keep fit over the summer months."OUTSTANDING JUNIOR: Baseballer-Cricketer's Success" – Advertiser and Register. Published 22 February 1935. The staggered nature of the two sports' seasons (baseball during the winter months and cricket during summer months) allowed Puckett to continue to play both sports well into his 40s. After moving to Perth, he took up playing for the West Australian Newspapers side in the Mercantile Cricket Association,"Puckett's Twelve Wickets" – The Sunday Times. Published 13 November 1938. gaining a reputation as a fast opening bowler—indeed, in his first four matches for the team, he had averaged at least ten wickets in every game."Over Ten Wickets A Match?" – The Sunday Times. Published 4 December 1938. Puckett finished the season with 66 wickets at an average of 6.56, easily topping the league's bowling averages, and helping his team win its first premiership.Premiership to W.A. Newspapers" – The Western Mail. Published 30 March 1939. The Western Mail remarked "Puckett keeps an excellent length and swings the ball ably","JUNIOR JOTTINGS" – The Western Mail. Published 12 January 1939. and The Sunday Times said that Puckett had "showed again that he is out of his class in matting cricket"."Dalziell's Brilliant Century" – The Sunday Times. Published 8 January 1939.