Robert William "Bob" Mara (1940–2014) was an Australian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played as a winger for Balmain and was the father of the late

Gary Mara Gary Robert Mara (9 August 1962 – 21 August 2012) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. The son of Bob Mara, he played for Balmain Tigers in the 1982 NSWRL season, and for Parramatta Eels in the 1984 ...

Playing career

Mara made his debut for Balmain in 1959 scoring 9 tries in his first season. Mara went on to play for Balmain in the 1964 and 1966

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

grand finals against

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

losing on both occasions. In 1968, Mara moved to the newly admitted side

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

where he played for two seasons before retiring at the end of 1969. After retirement, Mara was inducted into the Balmain Tigers hall of fame and is considered as one of the club's greatest wingers.

References

1940 births 2014 deaths Balmain Tigers players Penrith Panthers players Australian rugby league players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1940s-stub