Rod Byrne

Rodney Phillip Byrne

• Bats Both

• Died May 8, 2005

Biographical Information

Rod Byrne played for Western Australia for 10 years and coached them for 8. He was offered a contract with the Cincinnati Reds, the first Western Australian to be offered a contract in Organized Baseball. His 14.1 seconds to run the bases was a state record in Western Australia for almost 40 years. He coached the Australian national team to its first win ever against a visiting Japanese squad, in 1979. He coached them on several tours in the 1970s as well. He later was Chairman of the Australian Baseball Federation (1997-1999). His son Clayton Byrne reached AAA in the US and played for Australia in the Olympics. He was an inaugural member of the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame in 2005 and died later that year.

Sources

• Obituary
• Australian Hall of Fame