Likely Herman "Like" McBrien (7 December 1892 – 22 December 1956) was a leading Australian rules football administrator in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL) and a Victorian politician.

Early life

Likely McBrien was born on 7 December 1892 in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government ...

and educated at Middle Park Central School. In 1906, he commenced work as a messenger for ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...

'' newspaper.

Public life

McBrien served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in a clerical capacity while based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Following his discharge from the services in 1917, he resumed work at ''The Age'', becoming assistant circulation manager and advertising manager. In 1922, McBrien became secretary of the Authorised News Agents' Association of Victoria, a position he held for seven years. McBrien was an avid sportsman with a variety of interests. He played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

, and later

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-g ...

, and was a prominent rower. However, Australian rules football was the passion of McBrien's life. From 1909 to 1911 he was a player and treasurer of the

Leopold Football Club The Leopold Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in junior competitions in Melbourne from the late 1890s until 1924. The club was affiliated with Victorian Football League senior club . Despite its name, the club ...

, which later became the South Melbourne Football Club's second eighteen.

Roles and positions

McBrien was a qualified accountant, and a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the International Institute of Accountants and of the Institute of Commerce in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In addition, he was a director of Disher & McBrien Pty Ltd. McBrien held many public posts: chairman of the Edith Cavell Fund Trust, the Homes for Aged and Infirm Society, and the Yarra Bend National Park Trust; honorary treasurer of the

Travellers' Aid Society The Travelers Aid movement began in St. Louis, Missouri, under the leadership of Mayor Bryan Mullanphy. Its purpose was to provide assistance to American pioneers and new immigrants who became stranded on their journeys. At his death in 1851, Mul ...

and of the Victorian Anti-Sweating and Industrial Improvement League; executive-member of the Playgrounds and Recreation Association of Victoria; and trustee of the

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

branch of the Returned Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia.

Political career

McBrien was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

in 1943 as an independent member for the province of Melbourne North. He served as

Commissioner of Public Works The Walsh Act is a legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The co ...

and Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works in

Ian MacFarlan Ian Macfarlan (born John Robert Macfarlan; 21 November 1881 – 19 March 1964) was the Deputy Leader of the Australian Liberal Party in the Australian state of Victoria during 1945. He was briefly commissioned as the 35th Premier of Vict ...

's short-lived ministry in 1945. One of his chief commitments was to campaign for the rehabilitation of returned servicemen. In 1949, McBrien was defeated in the elections for the Legislative Council.

Football administration

McBrien was a committee member of South Melbourne Football Club from 1912 and secretary from 1922 to 1928. He then became secretary of the VFL in 1929, holding the position for more than a quarter-century until his death in 1956. McBrien was instrumental in the VFL buying its first head office, Harrison House, in

Spring Street, Melbourne Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. It runs roughly north-south and is the easternmost street in the original 1837 Hoddle Grid. Spring Street is famous as the traditional seat of the Gover ...

, in 1929. He played a leading role in negotiations with the

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

(MCG) Trustees, which led to finals being played at the MCG. He also campaigned strongly (but unsuccessfully) for the amalgamation of the VFL and the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

. McBrien recruited other key administrators of the VFL, including Eric McCutchan and Jack Hamilton.

Personal life

On 16 July 1919, McBrien married Madge Margaret Summers at St Luke's Anglican Church, South Melbourne. His peculiar first name was inspired by Sir John Likely, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician based in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...

Death

McBrien died of cerebral thrombosis on 22 December 1956 and was survived by his wife, daughter and son.

Honours

McBrien was appointed

OBE 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 ...

in 1950. He was inducted to the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, co ...

in 1996.

References

*
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition

Australian Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBrien, Likely Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Victoria (state) state politicians VFL/AFL administrators Leopold Football Club (MJFA) players Sydney Swans administrators 1892 births 1956 deaths Deaths from cerebral thrombosis 20th-century Australian politicians People from South Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne Australian accountants Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Ministers for Public Works (Victoria)