Rex Peers "Moose" Mossop (18 February 1928 – 17 June 2011) was an Australian

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

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 in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 until 1991.

Rugby union career

Mossop played rugby union for the Manly club and played eight tests for the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

from 1948 to 1951. His international rugby union career was played at

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

. In 1950 he was chosen in the All-Australian team for that season selected by the magazine '' Sporting Life''.

Rugby league career

Switching to rugby league in England in 1951, he played with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

. He returned to Australia and Sydney's

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 ...

in 1956, joining the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 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 sea ...

who played in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

Premiership and became the cornerstone of their forward pack in the late 1950s. Ever an aggressive front-row forward, Mossop played in the Manly sides that lost to the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons are an Australian rugby league, rugby league football club from the St George, Sydney, St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales Rugby League, New South Wales competition ...

in grand finals in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. In the lead up to the 1959 Grand Final, rumours were circulating that Mossop was carrying a broken cheekbone. From the kick off, Saints' forwards took turns at testing Mossop's injury with opposing prop Harry Bath giving him particular attention. For most of the match the Manly forward copped a hammering until in frustration, Mossop retaliated by standing on Bath's head. A brawl broke out between the two and the referee Darcy Lawler sent both off. Mossop later recalled how after both he and Bath had left the league judiciary the following week, that they got talking and both got a laugh about being told off like naughty school boys. A mutual respect for each other had developed into what would be a lifelong friendship between the pair. Notwithstanding his uncompromising playing style, Mossop won a newspaper's "best and fairest" award for the 1958 season. He first represented

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 ...

in rugby league at age 30 in 1958 in the first Test against the touring

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

side 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 ...

, an appearance in which he became Australia's 25th dual code rugby international, following Ken Kearney (a teammate that day playing hooker) and preceding Arthur Summons. He scored a try on début as the Australian's defeated the tourists 25–8. Mossop then played in the remaining Ashes Tests though the Lions would go on to win the remaining games and the series 2–1. He then toured with the Kangaroos to Great Britain in 1959-60 as vice-captain. Mossop played a total of nine Tests for Australia. In 1959, Mossop played in the

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 ...

loss to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

that attracted 35,261 spectators to the

Brisbane Exhibition Ground The Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is a multi-purpose venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia. Established in 1875, it hosts more than 250 events each year, the largest being the Royal Queen ...

, smashing Brisbane's previous record for an interstate match of 22,817. Queensland won the game 17–15. He played 136 games for Manly, retiring in 1963 at age 35. Rex Mossop is listed on the Australian Rugby League Players Register as Kangaroo No. 336.

Commentator

As was normal for professional rugby league players of the time, Mossop had a full-time job: as a car salesman for one of Sydney's largest car dealers, Stacks Holden. In 1963, he heard that Channel 7 were advertising for a sports director. Despite not having any television or broadcasting experience, Mossop won the position over sixty applicants for the job, many of whom possessed better television credentials than he did. Mossop first appeared on air in 1964 and called his first game in 1965, only four years after former player Ray Stehr had carried out the first ever commercial telecast on Channel 9 in 1961. He spent 20 years as host of a rugby league preview show including the Controversy Corner discussion segment. From the early 1970s till 1990 on Sydney channels Seven and then Ten he was the voice of rugby league and the pre-eminent TV match broadcast caller. His criticism of players and referees was blunt and uncompromising and his calling style was seen by opposing fans as parochially favouring Manly. His match commentaries and indeed his other forays into the public domain were often filled with tautological descriptors that in eastern state Australian vernacular became known as "Mossopisms": These mistakes also led to his nickname, "Rox Messup". * "if I keep getting Boyd and

O'Grady ''O'Grady'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Tom Snyder, Carl W. Adams, and Holly Schlesinger for Noggin's teen programming block, The N. The show features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin, Melissa Bardin Galsky, P ...

mixed up, it's because they look alike, especially around the head" * "tiny, diminutive, little Mark Shulman" * "he seems to be favouring a groin injury at the top of his leg" * "now the referee's giving him a verbal tongue lashing" * "I don't think the male genitals or the female genitals should be rammed down people's throats … to use a colloquialism." * "He's made a great yardage of 25 metres." * "There's too many backs in the three quarter line". * "He's making good forward progress". He also recorded such classics as: * "Son of a very famous father" * "A little bit marginal" * "Very mobile running" The perceived

parochialism Parochialism is the state of mind whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of " provincialism". It may, pa ...

towards Manly - and a gruff style that bordered on arrogance - often alienated him with league supporters, so much so that he was once famously hit in the side of the head with a piece of fruit thrown at him while giving a live post-match summary. With his long association with Channel 7 many celebrities and media still refer to ATN Channel 7 as Channel REX. As a commentator, Mossop also covered the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Kangaroo Tours for Australian television. Never one to hold back his comments, when describing the Australians 34-4 demolition of Great Britain in the second test at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

during the undefeated 1986 tour, Mossop said as

Brett Kenny Brett "Bert" Edward Kenny (born 16 March 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a and for the Australian national team and New South Wales Blues representative sides, and ...

crossed for the Kangaroos 6th try (pushing the score at that stage to 32-0) ''"Australia carved them up. They've decimated, dissected and absolutely diabolically destroyed this Great Britain side today"'.'' Through his work with Channel 7 during the 1960s, Mossop also became a commentator at the Sydney Showground Speedway during the summer months. He would also commentate on other

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

events during his career including working with ATN's motorsports director and Liverpool City Raceway promoter Mike Raymond on televised events from Liverpool such as the 1982 Speedway World Pairs Championship Final.

Other television work

From 1970 to 1971, Mossop was the "Beast" on the television talk show ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''. From 1991 to 1995, he was a regular panel member on Andrew Denton's sport-themed comedy talk show, '' Live and Sweaty'', on the ABC alongside others including actor Lex "The Swine" Marinos, former

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 ...

er Peter "Crackers" Keenan, Karen Tighe, Debbie "Skull of Rust" Spillane and Elle McFeast ( Libbi Gorr). He made an appearance on ''

Tonight Live with Steve Vizard ''Tonight Live with Steve Vizard'' was a nightly Australian comedy chat show broadcast on Seven Network in Australia, featuring live musical performances. Synopsis ''Tonight Live'' was an hourlong studio-based programme broadcast nationally fi ...

'' in 1992 alongside openly gay comedian

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...

in which Mossop refused to shake Clary's hand and espoused homophobic opinions towards Clary.

Honours

Mossop became a life member of the

(NSWRL) in 1999 in recognition of services to the game. In 2006, Mossop was named in both the Manly Rugby League and Manly Rugby Union "best ever" sides, highlighting his enormous contribution to both codes. Rex Mossop was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

on 24 October 2000 for services to Rugby League.

Personal

Mossop was the younger son of Norman Mossop, a

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 ...

veteran of English descent who had been wounded in battle at Passchendale, and Nellie Mossop (née Kirkpatrick) who was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent. Born in Five Dock, New South Wales, he had an elder brother, Kirk, who later became a noted artist. The family lived in Five Dock but moved to Balgowlah by the time he was five. He attended Manly Boys High School, leaving in 1943 to become initially an apprentice fitter and turner, and later a sales representative for a variety of businesses prior to his career in television. Mossop married Joan Mildred Bell on 26 October 1951 at St Matthew's Church, Manly. The couple had two sons, Kirk (1952) and Gregory (1956). In 1976, Mossop made a

citizen's arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – a person who is not acting as a sworn Police officer, law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in wh ...

of a nudist at Balgowlah Beach later stating "I don't need the male genitalia rammed down my throat". In his final years, Mossop suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. He died aged 83 on 17 June 2011 at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney surrounded by family and friends. His funeral was held on 24 June 2011 at St Matthews Church, Manly. As a mark of respect for Mossop, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players wore black armbands for their round 15 clash with traditional rivals

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

on 20 June 2011 at Manly's home ground,

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 ...

, and a minute's silence was observed before kick off."Vale Rex Mossop"