Keith Victor Holman, MBE (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

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

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 ...

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 tit ...

. 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 ...

(MBE) in 1977.

Background

Holman was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

, Australia.

Early years and war service

Holman had an impoverished childhood during the Great Depression. In his earliest years he was raised in a shanty at Yarra Bay in Sydney 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 sur ...

. 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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 ran ...

. He was a chef with 82 Wing,

23 Squadron 23 Squadron or 23rd Squadron may refer to: Aviation squadrons * No. 23 Squadron PAF, a unit of the Pakistan Air Force * No. 23 Squadron RAAF, a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force * 23rd Squadron (Iraq), a unit of the Iraqi Air Force * No. 2 ...

and was posted to bases in Ipswich, Queensland 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 ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, 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 Isl ...

. 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 d ...

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 G ...

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 – Cairo Fire, 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 ...

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, figuring prominently in Australia's first

Ashes Ashes may refer to: *Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), a ...

conquest in 30 years. 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 ar ...

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 peop ...

-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 representati ...

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. 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 law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

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 The 1977 Amco Cup was the 4th edition of the NSWRFL Midweek Cup, a NSWRFL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRFL, the BRL, the CRL, the QRL, the NZRL, Western Austr ...

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 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 joint-venture ...

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