Hermann Olaf Frances "Herb" Narvo (19 August 1912 – 28 July 1958) was an Australian

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 and boxer of the 1930s and 1940s. He was a national representative rugby league player and national heavyweight boxing champion. He has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers and sportsman of the 20th century.

Rugby league career

Born in Sydney of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

descent, but raised in Newcastle, Herb Narvo signed with Newtown in 1937 and soon shone as one of the form forwards of the competition. Following an injury to Joe Pearce, Narvo was a late call up to 1937

Kangaroo tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours t ...

where he starred, playing in four Tests, eighteen minor matches and scoring ten tour tries. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 218. He played for Norths Newcastle in 1938 and made state representative appearances for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

from 1938–41 but his national Test career was limited due to the war. Whilst in the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

Narvo helped the Newtown club win the 1943 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership but along with Len Smith missed the final the following year due to his war service. In

1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...

he joined the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

and as captain-coach, steered the club to a

Grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

appearance in which they were defeated by the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful i ...

. He captain-coached

Maher Cup The Maher Cup was an Australian rugby league (originally rugby union) challenge cup contested between towns of the South West Slopes and northern Riverina areas of New South Wales between 1920 and 1971. The main teams involved were Cootamundra, Tum ...

side

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. I ...

in 1947, winning the

Group 9 Group 9 may refer to: * Group 9 element *Group 9 Rugby League Group 9 is a rugby league competition based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, and surrounding areas. The competition is played in five grades, with these being Under 17s, U ...

Premiership. He moved to Camden's team in 1948 before finishing his career in 1949 with Newtown. His son,

Frank Narvo Francis James 'Frank' Narvo (24 April 1933 – 22 July 2015) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. Career Son of the great rugby league player and boxer Herb Narvo, Frank Narvo started his career at St George Drago ...

played for Newtown (1954–1960) and

(1952–1953).

Boxing career

Narvo was also a boxer of note, winning the

Australian Heavyweight Championship The Australian Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was the first Heavyweight professional wrestling championship in Australia. Title history See also *Professional wrestling in Australia Professional wrestling in Australia makes up a sma ...

in 1945. In only his 13th professional fight Narvo defeated Billy "Wocko" Britt in just 23 seconds to claim the Australian title. He lost his boxing title to Jack Johnson in 1946 and captained St George in a club match the very next day.

War service

He was in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was stationed at Richmond, New South Wales and served as a physical training, boxing and paratroop instructor.

Death

Narvo was hospitalized in 1958 at

Royal Newcastle Hospital The Royal Newcastle Hospital was, for nearly 190 years, the main hospital in the Australian city of Newcastle. The hospital stood on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Hunter River port of Newcastle, New South Wales, from 1817 until 200 ...

for several months during which he underwent several operations due to cancer. He died at his home on 28 July 1958, 22 days short of his 46th birthday. He was buried at

Sandgate Cemetery Sandgate Cemetery is a necropolis in the Hunter region near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, and has been continuously operating since 1881. The cemetery caters for all religious, ethnic and cultural requirements. History Sandgate Cemete ...

near

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...

. His son,

, was a first grade footballer for the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

and

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground ...

Accolades

In February 2008, Narvo was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

and

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives com ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Also in 2008, the centenary year of rugby league in Australia, Narvo was named in the

18-man team of the century. He is also recognized the Newcastle Team of the Century in 2008. 1946 stgeorge

References

External links

Herb Narvo stats at rugbyleagueproject.comHerb Narvo at yesterdayshero.com.auHerb Narvo at nrlstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narvo, Herb 1912 births 1958 deaths Royal Australian Air Force airmen Military personnel from New South Wales Burials in New South Wales Australia national rugby league team players Australian male boxers Australian people of German descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Boxers from Sydney New South Wales rugby league team players Newtown Jets players Northern Suburbs Blues players Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows St. George Dragons captains St. George Dragons coaches St. George Dragons players