John Charles "Johnny" Bliss (30 August 1922 – 9 September 1974) 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 11 ...

footballer who played for Balmain, North Sydney and Manly-Warringah in the

NSWRL 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 ...

between

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

Rugby league career

Born in Queensland but raised on the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...

of Sydney, Bliss, nicknamed Blistering for his outstanding speed, was a scrawny Manly district junior who started out as a with the North Narabeen Surf Club. He was shifted to the as 16-year-old after his coach Tom Ballard saw him packing into a scrum and then showing incredible pace in general play. Ballard told him ''"You're too fast for a hooker boy - you're now on the wing"''. As the Manly club wouldn't have a first grade team until 1947, he was graded with Balmain in 1939. He went to North Sydney in 1941 but the Tigers claimed him on residence grounds for the

and

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

seasons (at the time a player was bound to play for the club in whose city zone he lived and a transfer involved proving residence for 12 months prior). Bliss's general play, speed and try scoring ability was first recognized in 1945 when he was chosen for City firsts in the annual

City vs Country A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

match. He would go on to play four games for City (1945, 1947, 1948 and 1951), scoring three tries. In 1947 he moved to Manly and played on the wing in their first ever premiership match against Western Suburbs at

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...

, scoring a try in the teams hard fought 13–15 loss to Wests. Bliss topped the try scoring for the North Sydney club in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

scoring seven tries, including a club record 5 tries in the 51–10 win over Easts in round 9 at

North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rug ...

, and again topped the list in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

, scoring nine tries. He would also top Manly's try scoring list in 1947 and

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, scoring 10 tries in each season. In 1947 he played the first of six games 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 ...

, scoring a total of nine tries between 1947 and his last game in 1951. He was selected to represent Sydney against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

during their 1951 tour of Australasia in a match that ended in a 19-all draw. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo number 281.ARL Annual Report 2005, page 53 Also in 1951, Bliss was selected on the wing for Australia for the first test against the

Puig Aubert Puig Aubert (born Robert Aubert Puig, 24 March 1925 – 3 June 1994), is often considered the best French rugby league footballer of all-time. Over a 16-year professional career he would play for Carcassonne, XIII Catalan, Celtic de Paris and Ca ...

led France at the Sydney Cricket Ground. France ran out easy 26-15 winners in front of 60,160 fans. Following a poor game in which he, along with several teammates were criticized for 'timid tackling' (even though he twice ran down French players saving what looked to be certain tries), Bliss was one of six players dropped for the second test held in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. This was to be the only international match Bliss was selected for in his career. Unfortunately for Bliss, his form dropped off after his one-off test appearance and he was dropped from first grade before the semi-finals. He returned to the side for the final but missed selection in Manly's first ever grand final appearance against South Sydney that year through injury, Manly-Warringah went down 14–42 to Souths at the Sydney Sports Ground. In total Bliss played 121 games and scored 78 tries during his NSWRL career. After his retirement, Bliss was the speed guru to several Manly players, including Bob Fulton,

Graham Eadie Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian ...

, Russell Gartner and fellow beach sprint champion

Nick Yakich Nick Yakich (18 January 1940 – 28 May 2019) was an Australian rugby league footballer for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. His position of choice was on the . Early life Nick Yakich, ...

Beach sprinting

Bliss was also a beach sprint champion. He won 12 Australian championships in a row from 1939 to 1952. He attempted a comeback at the age of 38 to win the 1960 NSW title. Bliss was an exceptionally fast runner. During the 1947 season, decked out in full football gear including heavy leather football boots and carrying a football, Bliss clocked 11.1 seconds over 110 yards and also recorded 9.9 seconds over 100 yards.

Personal life and death

Bliss was also a success in the world of men's toiletries and women's perfumery, working for two of the biggest names in the business, Faberge and Christian Dior. Bliss, who was known as a practical joker and someone who loved life, died from the effects of a brain tumor on 9 September 1974, at the age of 52.

References

;Books * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Johnny 1922 births 1974 deaths Australian rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles captains Australia national rugby league team players North Sydney Bears players Balmain Tigers players City New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league players from Queensland Rugby league wingers Deaths from brain cancer in Australia