John Charles "Johnny" Bliss (30 August 1922 – 9 September 1974) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played for Balmain,

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

and

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

in the

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

between

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

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 Uni ...

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 ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 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 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

, he was graded with Balmain in

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. He went to North Sydney in

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

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 match. He would go on to play four games for City (1945, 1947, 1948 and 1951), scoring three tries. In

he moved to Manly and played on the wing in their first ever premiership match against Western Suburbs at

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval, currently known as 4 Pines Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Brookvale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by the M ...

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

club in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

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 (Also known as “Bear Park” by North Sydney Bears fans) is a multi-use sporting facility in Miller Street, North Sydney, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is ...

, and again topped the list in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, 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 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

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

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 AS Carcassonne, Carcassonne, XIII Catalan, Celtic ...

led France at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

. 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 List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. 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 The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a stadium and dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was sur ...

. 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 Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and commentated on the game with great success at the highest ...

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 Australia ...

, 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 Yakic ...

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. Johnny 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 (as a comparison, the Men's 100m Final at the 1948 Olympics was won in 10.3 seconds). Bliss 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 Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

. 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 People from Chinchilla, Queensland 20th-century Australian sportsmen