The first instalment in our new “From The Spartan Archives” series features something truly incredible – our first ever premiership trophy!

During our Annual General Meeting last Sunday, we were delighted to receive the Club’s first ever premiership memorabilia from Brian Waterer, who incredibly and unexpectedly brought it along, and it will now sit in prime position in our trophy cabinet!

Amazingly, the trophy is only five years younger than the Club itself!

They were awarded to the premiership side during the years of the Churches Cricket Association, between 1918 and 1929, and the Spartans are the only side to have ever won two.

This particular trophy comes from the 1922/23 season, a remarkable premiership victory in itself as we outline below.

Also described below is how the trophy itself came to light thanks to Brian’s efforts, it having been in storage at the Church of Christ in Fremantle for over fifty years!

Be sure to view the photos of the 1922/23 Premiership Trophy – our first ever – below, along with the original photo of that Premiership. Even more remarkable is the fact that you can see the exact trophy in the photo!


The 1922/23 Premiership Trophy as it exists today – the wooden base was added at a later date.


The original 1922/23 Premiership photo of the Spartan Cricket Club. The trophy is visible in the centre, held by our captain at the time Reg Prince. President Stuart Thomson sits to his right.



View Full Resolution Images Of The Trophy


A Rediscovered History:

The story of how Brian was able to recover our first premiership trophy is interesting in itself, with the artefact having been in storage for more than five decades.

The Club had originally utilised the Church of Christ on High Street in Fremantle as its quarters, particularly for social events and housing a small number of items.

It is here in the seventies that Brian Waterer, in the process of piecing together the Club’s pre-war history, rediscovered the trophy by chance.

Having all but completed his search for memorabilia of the period, Brian managed to see “something shiny” poking out from deep inside a cabinet.

With that, our first premiership trophy, clearly baring the Spartan Club on its front was found!

The inscription on the trophy reads as follows;

Church Cricket Association

– Season 1922-23 –

–> won by <–

Spartan Club


Our First Premiership:

The story of the Club’s first flag is nothing short of amazing!

As outlined in the first chapter of our history pages, we defeated the Brighton Cricket Club by a solitary run, taking revenge for the previous season’s grand final defeat.

It gets even better, because, with Brighton needing just three runs to win in the final over, captain Reg Prince produced a masterstroke by deciding that everyone had bowled – bar wicketkeeper Eddie Saggers – and promptly threw him the ball. 

Saggers produced the goods, claiming a hat-trick and conceding just the solitary run, thereby handing the Spartans victory!

Reg Prince the captain was still boasting about his clever piece of “strategy” at the club reunion held in 1974!

“The Spartans won their first Premiership by one run, on the back of Wicketkeeper Eddie Saggers’ hat-trick in the final over!”

The side in batting order: J. Whittome, E. Saggers, J. Brooke, T. Constantine, C. Jarvis J. Groves, R. Pepworth, W. Meyer, R. Prince (Captain), R. Kirk, B. Brooke

Sadly, Saggers (third from the left in the front row in the above photo) was killed during World War Two in 1941 at the battle of Tobruk.


We’re not entirely sure of what the bird symbolises at the top of the trophy – however it is speculated it may have something to do with the Holy Spirit, being that the Club originated from the Church of Christ in Fremantle.


So – that is the story of our first premiership and the remarkable trophy that will now be found in our clubhouse on prime display!

An enormous thank you to Brian Waterer for bringing our First Premiership Trophy along on Sunday, it is an amazing piece of Spartan history and we are extremely grateful to have it on display!

No doubt it will play a key part of our centenary celebrations in November 2018!

This is the first instalment in our “From The Spartan Archives” series, which we hope to bring to you at least once a week during the off season. A big thank you in advance to Brian and Graeme Ashley, who will be helping with the research and compilation of the stories. Should anyone wish to aid with the development of the series, please feel free to Email me!

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