Leo Patrick Joseph O'Brien (2 July 1907 – 13 March 1997) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and sportsman who played in five

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

between 1932 and 1936. He was born in

West Melbourne, Victoria West Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. West Melbourne reco ...

, and later lived in the Melbourne suburb of Mentone.

Early life and education

O'Brien's parents were Luke Joseph O'Brien, a Victorian Police Inspector, and Katherine Josephine Ryan. He was the eldest of four children, having two brothers and one sister and was a second generation Victorian on his father's side. His grandfather, James O'Brien, was a soldier and policeman. James immigrated, with his two brothers, from Kells, Ireland during the 1850s Victorian Gold Rush period. His Catholic education extended across

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. The ...

1914–1919, St. Joseph's CBC North Melbourne 1920 and

St Patrick's College, Ballarat St Patrick's College, sometimes referred to as St Pat's, Paddy's or SPC, is an independent Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in central Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded by the Congregation of Chr ...

. He married Dorothy Gwendoline Rowston in 1940 and settled in

Hampton, Victoria Hampton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside local government area. Hampton recorded a population of 13,518 at the 2021 census. Hampton is loca ...

Sporting career

O'Brien was a very determined left-handed batsman who played for the Richmond Cricket Club, now known as the

Monash Tigers The Richmond Cricket Club is an Australian cricket club based in Glen Waverley, Victoria, Glen Waverley in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Victorian Premier Cricket, Victorian Premier Cricket As ...

before making his debut for Victoria in the 1929–30 season. During the early 1930s he was a member of the Victorian

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

squad along with team members

Bill Ponsford William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bil ...

and

Bill Woodfull William Maldon Woodfull (22 August 1897 – 11 August 1965) was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria and Australian cricket team, Australia, and was best known for his dignified and ...

. In the off-season O'Brien became a capable

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player, an Australian football player, and amateur boxer who won a number of fights. As a cricketer he was well respected, coached in Asia and bred racehorses in his spare time. For more than fifty years he played at least one match a year on the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

. As an all round sportsman, and in a rare coincidence, Mentone's only senior football premiership teams of 1928 and 1956, included Mentone Cricket Club's only two Test cricket players, Leo O’Brien and

Ian Meckiff Ian Meckiff (born 6 January 1935) is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Test matches between 1957 and 1963. A left-arm fast bowler, he is best known for two matters that were unrelated to his skill as a player: he was the batsma ...

. Leo played in the 'full back' position in the 1928 team.

Later life

A large part of his working life was spent as a public servant with the Australian Taxation Office. He was a friendly man and very sociable both on and off the field. His cricket life continued well into his 70s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Leo 1907 births 1997 deaths Australia Test cricketers Victoria cricketers Richmond cricketers People educated at Xavier College Australian cricketers Cricketers from Melbourne People educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat D. G. Bradman's XI cricketers People educated at St Joseph's College, Melbourne Australian people of Irish descent People from Mentone, Victoria People from West Melbourne, Victoria 20th-century Australian sportsmen