A club, any club, with a sporting celebrity is often a source of satisfaction.
On Saturday afternoons, I often watch AFL TV with friends, hosted by a West Coast Eagles tragedy.
Whenever the Eagles’ loss to the Sydney Swans in the 2005 Grand Final is discussed, I say, “Leo Barry was born in Deniliquin.”
A number of AFL/VFL players hail from the Deniliquin district but Leo’s brand, deep in the back line within seconds of the final whistle, secured a four-point win and the Swans’ first Premiership in 72 years major Deniliquin contributions count in AFL history.
“Leaping Leo” played a total of 237 games for the Swans from 1995 to 2009.
He was joint captain from 2006 to 2008 and was selected to the All-Australian team in 2004 and 2005.
Cyril Gove (1890-1973) of Kinloch on Colligen Creek also had an impressive career playing 28 games for Essendon and Victoria at the 1914 Interstate Carnival.
Cyril was also a gifted jockey, riding five winners at a Deniliquin meeting in 1914.
However, Cyril is best remembered for a notable trifecta on May 29, 1915.
He drove third-placed Menthe in the Springbank Corinthian Handicap at Moonee Valley and then was one of the best players for Essendon against South Melbourne in a game that started at 3pm.
He reportedly fought an amateur bout at West Melbourne Stadium that night.
I say allegedly because contemporary newspaper reports refer only to horse racing and football and he has never discussed it with his sons David and Philip.
But a contemporary of Cyril informed David of the surprising third leg of the Trifecta. (See ‘Marathon Not Included: Cyril Gove’s Incredible Athletic Trifecta’ on afl.com.au).
The funeral for champion jockey Roy Higgins at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne, Thursday March 13, 2014. Photo by AAP Image/David Crosling. Photo by AAP Image/David Crosling
Deniliquin’s most famous jockey was Roy Higgins (1938-2014) with a total of 2312 winners including two Melbourne Cups (1965 and 1967) alongside numerous other major races in Melbourne and Sydney.
He won the Melbourne Jockeys Premiership eleven times.
Roy’s family moved to Deniliquin when he was five years old.
His experience with horses began with his father’s Clydesdales team, but he learned to ride at the age of ten while hunting rabbits on Frank Barnes’ property.
When Roy was 12 years old, racehorse trainer Jim Watters hired him on Victoria Street as a groom for $5.50 a week at today’s prices.
This was an after-school job, but Roy soon lost interest in the school.
His father was strongly opposed to Roy becoming a jockey, but when he was away for several months on a contract, the trainer caught Roy’s mother in a ‘weak phase’.
She signed the registration papers for Roy to apprentice with Jim Watters.
Mary Loy was a once Australian women’s captain and is one of three notable cricketers from the area.
There are three notable Deniliquin cricketers – an Australian captain, Mary Loy (née Allitt) (1925-2013), Simon O’Donnell and Adam Gilchrist.
Mary was born into a cricket-sized family of three sisters and seven brothers.
She made her tour debut for Australia in 1951 against England.
She made 11 Test appearances in all, including as vice-captain in the 1957–58 home series and captain for the three games of the 1963 Tour of England.
After that tour, she retired and married champion horseman Tommy Loy.
They established a riding school on their Sandy Court property in Pretty Pine. (pastoral timesDecember 13, 2013).
Simon O’Donnell’s father Kevin was appointed captain-coach of the Deniliquin football team in 1950 after 49 games for St Kilda.
Simon played 24 games for St Kilda in 1982 and 1983 but focused on cricket.
He played six tests. In Australia’s one-day team, however, he excelled as both a bowler and a medium-pace batsman, capturing a total of 87 caps, scoring 1,242 runs and winning 108 wickets.
He was a member of the Australia team that won the 1987 World Cup.
The O’Donnells lived across from John and Shirley Hay on the corner of Russell Street and Charlotte Street.
Shirley claims something for Simon’s cricket success because she would tolerate backyard cricket in her home.
Adam Gilchrist played over 90 Tests and almost 280 one-day internationals.
A wicketkeeper and explosive batsman, he caught 379 and averaged 48 runs in Test games.
He was regularly the vice-captain in both the Test and the one-day teams.
His father’s career as a science teacher and school inspector involved frequent relocations, to the point that several cities claim Adam is a famous son.
He attended Deniliquin South Primary School from 1979 to 1983 and played a key role when the school took part for the first time and won the Brian Taber Cup – the NSW primary school competition.
He was “shattered” when the family left Deniliquin.
A nurse in Deniliquin made perhaps the greatest contribution to Adam’s eventual success.
His first wicket gloves were bought from Kmart Shepparton, but soon after he found himself demoralized in hospital for a night with a broken nose.
A reassuring nurse informed him that his hero, Rod Marsh, had experienced the same misfortune as a child.
Years later, Gilchrist asked Marsh about it, and Rod said, “It never happened.”
Most of these sports stars performed in front of huge crowds, often over 50,000.
More than 74,000 witnessed Roy Higgins’ maiden Melbourne Cup win and almost 92,000 were in attendance when Leo reached that mark.
The exception would have been Mary Loy.
Imagine the excitement in Deniliquin if she had led the team to defeat India and win the Women’s World T20 Finals on March 8, 2020 at the MCG with a crowd of 86,174.
Instead, she will be remembered as the captain of a team of “pioneers” who “paved the way for today’s elite players.”
Comments are closed.