Maxwell Henry Norman Walker (12 September 1948 – 28 September 2016) was an Australian sportsman who played both

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 Australian rules football at high levels. After six years of balancing

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

in summer, professional football in winter and study for a degree in architecture, Walker earned a place in the

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) ...

in 1973 and represented his country in the sport until injury ended his career in 1981. Following his retirement, he worked as an architect and also commenced a career in radio and television media. He wrote 14 books over a period of thirty years and became a successful public speaker. His unorthodox cricket bowling action earned him the nickname "Tangles", and his larrikin character made him a much-loved figure with the Australian public. Walker died of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, ane ...

on 28 September 2016 after being diagnosed with the disease three years earlier.

Early life and education

Walker was born in Hobart,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, on 12 September 1948. While in high school he represented Tasmania as an opening batsman in their colts team, scoring a century in one match. After graduating from a Hobart high school in 1967 he relocated to Melbourne to play football and also enrolled in an architecture degree at the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scie ...

. He graduated with a fellowship diploma in 1973.

Football career

In 1966, while still a high school student, Melbourne Football Club coach Norm Smith visited Walker's family home in Hobart to sign him to the Demons. He relocated from Hobart to Melbourne in 1967 and made his

VFL 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). It ...

debut the same year. He spent six seasons with Melbourne, playing 85 games as a ruckman and defender and earning one Brownlow Medal vote in 1968. After returning from the

's 1972–73 tour of the West Indies, Walker informed the club that he would not be joining them for the 1973 VFL season, as the season was about to start and he needed to complete a thesis for his university degree.

Cricket career

Upon moving to Melbourne in 1967, Walker joined the Melbourne Cricket Club. Although he earned a reputation as a batsman as a junior, he was given an opportunity to open the bowling attack for Melbourne, which showed his true cricket potential. His strange bowling action, bowling right arm over his right leg, earned Walker the nickname of "Tanglefoot" which was quickly shortened to "Tangles". He made his first-class debut for Victoria in February 1969 against

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_ ...

, the final match of Victoria's 1968–1969

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Sh ...

season. Despite taking five wickets in the match, he did not get a chance to play in the 1969–1970 season due to the depth in Victoria's bowling. He earned a second match in December 1970 and became a regular in the 1971–72 season, playing a total of 135 matches for Victoria. He made his test debut for Australia in the second Test against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

that commenced on 29 December 1972. He took five wickets in the match and retained his place in the team for the next match, the final of the series. In that match, a final innings performance of 6–15 by Walker prevented Pakistan from winning the match. During the series he was selected for Australia's tour of the West Indies that ran from February to April 1973. Walker played a total of 34 Tests, taking 138 wickets as a medium-fast bowler. He played in 17

ODI ODI may refer to: * Object Design, Incorporated, a defunct database software company * One Day International, cricket match * Open Data Institute, a UK not-for-profit company promoting open data * Open Data-Link Interface, an implementation of th ...

s between 1974 and 1981, as well as playing in the breakaway World Series Cricket from 1977 to 1979. His final match for Australia was the infamous underarm match between Australia and

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 ...

on 1 February 1981. An Achilles tendon injury subsequently forced his retirement from cricket.

Post-retirement from cricket

After retiring from competitive cricket in 1981 Walker practised architecture for 10 years. He also became a highly regarded for his work in the media including television and radio. He was also a successful author and public speaker.

Media career

Once he retired from cricket, Walker first appeared on radio, calling cricket for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) with

Drew Morphett Andrew Kenneth "Drew" Morphett (22 August 1948 – 25 August 2017) was an Australian sports broadcaster. Life Morphett started his career as a sport specialist trainee in Sydney in 1966 at 18 years of age. Over a long career, he worked on b ...

and

Alan McGilvray Alan David McGilvray (6 December 190917 July 1996) was an Australian cricketer who played several first-class seasons for New South Wales in the mid-1930s before becoming the doyen of Australian cricket commentators. He became identified as the ...

for four years from 1981. He was also part of the commercial radio cricket coverage run by 2UE and 3AK. His first television appearances date back to 1982, where he was the cricket expert on Channel 7's ''World of Sport''. After moving to Channel 9 in 1985, he was also part of ''National Nine News Melbourne'' with Brian Naylor, reading sports reports on the nightly news. He also hosted the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

's '' The Sunday Footy Show'' from 1993–1998 and '' Nine's Wide World of Sports'' program until it was cancelled in 1999. He was also a commentator for Channel Nine's cricket matches between 1986 and 1991. In 2005 he appeared on the Nine Network's sports show '' Any Given Sunday'', hosted by James Brayshaw, as well as ABC2's sports program ''Late Night Legends'' featuring highlights of the 1974–75 Ashes series in which Walker had a prominent role. Walker's distinctive broad Australian accent was parodied in several albums by The Twelfth Man ( Billy Birmingham), including being featured as the central character on the 1994 album '' Wired World of Sports II''. It follows Walker through a day at his job at the

in which he assaults co-host Ken Sutcliffe in order to increase his chances of regaining a place on the cricket commentary team. He also appeared in television advertisements throughout his career, commencing with an Aerogard commercial in the mid-1970s.

Writing career

Max Walker was also the author of 14 books, with total sales exceeding one million copies. His first book, ''Tangles'' (written with Neil Phillipson), was an autobiography published in 1976. His subsequent books contained light-hearted anecdotes from his career, with titles such as ''The Wit of Walker'', ''How to Kiss a Crocodile'' and ''How to Puzzle a Python''. His final book ''Caps, Hats and Helmets'' was released in 2006.

Public speaking

Following the cancellation of '' Nine's Wide World of Sports'' in 1999, Walker commenced appearing on the public speaking circuit. He turned it into a successful business and continued speaking until at least 2015. Walker held the designation of Certified Speaking Professional, which is the highest accreditation within Professional Speakers Australia. In 2016, he presented a keynote address at the Professional Speakers Australia annual convention. He received the Educator of the Year award from Professional Speakers Australia at that same convention.

Honours

On 13 June 2011, Walker was named a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for service to cricket at a national and international level as a player and commentator, and to the community through a range of youth and social welfare organisations.

Personal life

Walker was married twice and had five children: three sons from his first marriage, and two daughters with his second wife Kerry. He was an avid collector of fountain pens and featured in one episode of the ABC's '' Collectors''. Walker died from

on 28 September 2016, after being diagnosed in August 2013.

Bibliography

Books authored or co-authored by Walker: * ''Tangles'' (1976), with Neill Phillipson, * ''Cricketer at the Crossroads'' (1978), with Neill Phillipson, * ''Back to Bay 13'' (1980), * ''The Wit of Walker'' (1983), with

Mike Coward Michael John Coward Order of Australia, AM (born 1946) is an Australian cricket writer. Life and career Mike Coward grew up in Adelaide. After leaving school he became a copy boy at the ''The News (Adelaide), Adelaide News'' in December 1963 and ...

, * ''How to Hypnotise Chooks'' (1987), * ''How to Tame Lions'' (1988), * ''How to Kiss a Crocodile'' (1989), * ''How to Puzzle a Python'' (1990), * ''The best of Mr Walker'' (1992), * ''A Chip Off the Old Block'' (1996), * ''Sports Jokes'' (1997), with Brian Doyle, * ''Ladies and Gentlemen'' (1999), with Mike McColl Jones, * ''The Volunteers'' (2001), with Gerry Gleeson, * ''Caps, Hats and Helmets'' (2006),

Notes

References

External links

* *
Walker's football statistics
from AFL Tables

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Max 1948 births 2016 deaths Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Australia One Day International cricketers Australia Test cricketers Australian cricket commentators Melbourne Football Club players Australian television presenters Victoria cricketers World Series Cricket players Cricketers from Hobart Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers RMIT University alumni Members of the Order of Australia Australian cricketers Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) Deaths from multiple myeloma Australian male writers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers