Likely Herman "Like" McBrien (7 December 1892 – 22 December 1956) was a leading

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

administrator in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(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, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

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 (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' newspaper.

Public life

McBrien served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in a clerical capacity while based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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 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 ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, and later

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

and

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

, and was a prominent

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. However,

was the passion of McBrien's life. From 1909 to 1911 he was a player and treasurer of the Leopold Football 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 title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 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 (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

branch of the

Returned Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia, also known as RSL, RSL Australia and the RSLA, is an independent support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. History The League was formed in ...

Political career

McBrien was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

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

Commissioner of Public Works The Walsh Act is a piece of legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits local government, municipalities to adopt a non-partisan City commission government, commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New ...

and

Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works The Board of Land and Works was a government authority in Victoria, Australia. It was established by an act of parliament in 1857, with the aim of consolidating and coordinating the administration of public lands and public works. Consequently, ...

in Ian MacFarlan'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 Melbourne central business district, 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 Governmen ...

, 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 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 ...

(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 competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

. McBrien recruited other key administrators of the VFL, including

Eric McCutchan Eric Oswald McCutchan OBE (1913 – 22 November 1991) was a leading Australian rules football administrator in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Beginning his administrative career with the VFL in 1932, McCutchan gave 44 years service to the ...

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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician based in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1950. He was inducted to the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

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) Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria