Keith Victor Holman,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(11 September 1927 – 11 October 2011) was an

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

footballer, a

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and

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

representative whose club career was played with Western Suburbs from 1949 to 1961. He has since been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century. After retiring as player, Holman was coach of Wests and later became one of the game's top-level

referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in 1977.

Background

Holman was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, Australia.

Early years and war service

Holman had an impoverished childhood during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In his earliest years he was raised in a shanty at Yarra Bay in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

by a man named Holman who may have been his father. He was taken in by a local family named Schofield who enabled him to be schooled by the De La Salle Brothers at

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

. There he met and befriended

Bernie Purcell Bernie Purcell (1928–2001) was an Australian rugby league premiership winning footballer and coach. He was a goal-kicking second-row forward of the 1950s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Australian national representative and the New S ...

whom he would later play against and alongside in state and Kangaroo touring sides.1980 Holman Interview
Toward the end of the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Holman joined the

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

as a

Leading Aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a junior rank in some air forces. It sits between aircraftman and senior aircraftman, and has a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller. The ra ...

. He was a chef with 82 Wing, 23 Squadron and was posted to bases in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is a city in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River, it is approximately west of the Brisbane central business district. The city is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage. Ipswich pre ...

and later after the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, at Morakai and

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. The Squadron flew

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

s in a transport role, flying ex-

Prisoners of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and other Australian personnel back to Australia.

Club career

After the war he trialled for a contract with South Sydney but was turned away due to his small stature. An approach to Manly was also unsuccessful so he headed to

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

and befriended former Wests Eric Bennett. With Bennett's help, he landed a contract with the Magpies in 1948 and quickly rose through the ranks, playing with the Magpies until

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. In thirteen seasons at Wests he never played in a premiership-winning team at club level. He missed Wests' premiership victory in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

because he was selected for that year's

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 to ...

. He was captain-coach at Wests for seasons 1954 and 1955.

Representative career

Holman started his representative career with selection 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 ...

in 1950 and continued to represent the Blues until 1958. Also in 1950, Holman made his test debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, figuring prominently in Australia's first Ashes conquest in 30 years. He was selected to represent

against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during their 1951 tour of Australasia in a match that ended in a 19-all draw. He made both the 1952

(5 Tests and 5 tour matches) and the 1956–57 tour (all 6 Tests plus 11 tour matches). Holman was the Australian selectors preferred halfback choice and regular in Test sides and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

squads from 1950 to 1958. By the end of his representative career he had amassed the then record of 32 Tests and a then record of 14

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term '' Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...

-Australian international appearances, beating

Clive Churchill Clive Bernard Churchill AM (21 January 1927 – 9 August 1985) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach in the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative ...

and

Sandy Pearce :''Sid Pearce directs here, for his son, the rugby league footballer of the same name, see Joe Pearce'' Sidney Charles Pearce (born 30 May 1883 and died 14 November 1930 Double Bay, New South Wales), better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Austral ...

. He made 12 Test appearances against

and 6 appearances against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He was named New South Wales Player of the Year three times – 1951, 1956 and 1958.

Referee & coach

When his playing days were over he turned to refereeing. In a 1971 game between

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

, Holman sent off three players. Holman controlled the 1971 Grand Final and went on to referee the Tests of New Zealand's tour of Australia in 1972.Whiticker p 244 He was consistent first grade referee in 155 games from 1965 till 1974. He coached a

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

side in 1975 and 1976 and then Western Suburbs in the NSWRFL. His final year active year in rugby league was 1977 when he coached his beloved Wests to victory in the 1977 Amco Cup.

Accolades

He had the rare honour of being made a life member of Western Suburbs while still playing. Keith Holman was awarded Life Membership of the

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 ...

in 1983. He was later selected in the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

Team of the Century and the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

Team of the Century. In 2003 he was admitted into the

Hall of Fame. In 2007 Holman was selected by a panel of experts at halfback in an Australian 'Team of the 50s'. In February 2008, Holman 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 compan ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Also in 2008 the Western Suburbs Magpies celebrated their centenary by inducting six inaugural members into the club's Hall of Fame. These six included Holman.

Footnotes

References

* Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) ''The History of Rugby League Clubs'', New Holland, Sydney * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * Haddan, Steve (2007) ''The Finals – 100 Years of National Rugby League Finals'', Steve Haddan Publishing, Brisbane * Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) ''A Centenary of Rugby League'', MacMillan Sydney

External links

*
archive

Keith Holman at yesterdayshero.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Keith 1927 births 2011 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league referees City New South Wales rugby league team players Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire New South Wales rugby league team players Royal Australian Air Force airmen Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Sydney Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Western Suburbs Magpies coaches Western Suburbs Magpies players