I can’t quite remember my first memory of rugby league. I’m guessing it’s sometime in the early years of colour television in Australia, which would be 1975. I have more vivid memories of rugby league through listening to Frank Hyde on 2UE, and reading through the Big League programmes. I do know by 1976 I was hooked. And that in 1976 my mother took me to Church Street, Parramatta to watch the parade of the Eels down the main street - before their Grand Final loss to Manly.
I bought my first pair of shoulder pads from John Peard’s sports shop in Parramatta. Not that I could tackle worth a damn anyway! All the kids in my town loved the Eels, and as one of the youngest, I always had to be some other team. Often times it was Wests or Manly. I liked how the Sea Eagles had the exotic English players like Steve Norton and Gary Stephens. My Dad worked for Auburn Council, and got me a meeting with Tom Raudonikis, John Donnelly, John Dorahy and others; back in the day when footy players had real jobs.
In 1978, I attended a football coaching clinic at the old Cumberland Oval in the school holidays. Much of it is a bit fuzzy now, but I do remember Steve Mortimer taking the time to teach me how to pass both sides; Graham Eadie how to catch a bomb; and Steve Rogers how to swerve. All of it served me well in a modest high school football career. All three remain among my favourite players; not just for their skill, but for the time they took to nurture a seven year old kid back in the day. I wonder why that’s not still a thing?
Anyway, in 1978 my Mum bought me a magazine from the paper boy (remember them?) about Grand Finals. It had all the history of every finals match from 1954 to 1977. I started to match the names in the magazine against my footy card collection. Sure, I knew Langlands, Beetson, Coote, O’Neill, Fulton etc. But suddenly names like Fred Jones, Kevin Junee, Paul Sait, Bill Mullins, Garry Leo and others started to make sense. It was time to find out more….
So in the school holidays in 1978, my Mum (yep, her again - the true champion of nurturing my love of history) arranged for me to visit what was then the NSWRL headquarters in Phillip Street, Sydney. They took us into a room that held every copy ever of Big League and its predecessor, Rugby League News. I was in Heaven. I took a big exercise book and started to jot down results and scorers of each and every game from before the time that I got hooked. The early 1970s; all of the 1960s. Some of the test matches and interstate matches in the pre-Origin period.
As we were leaving, Bill Mordey was introduced to us. Bill was working with the NSWRL at the time, and presented me with a Kangaroos pin; the very same that the 1978 touring squad was given. I was gobsmacked. What a gift for a seven year old kid!
As a teenager, I started to collect more info on the history of rugby league. Some from Phillip Street, and some from the NSW State Library. All of it eventually formed the basis of what is now the history of each club and each decade that I’m happy to have put together.
History is a wonderful thing. It shapes us, guides us; and often leads us to places more interesting than we ever would have thought possible. I hope the next seven year old kid looking for history has the same opportunities at NRL headquarters that I was given back in the day.