The veteran sports journalist, who played over 200 games of both cricket and football for Melbourne, and nearly played cricket for Australia, died at age 92 last weekend.
I remember him most as the deadpan-straight 'elder statesman' (he was old even in those days) on Harry Beitzel's 'Focus On Football' ABC panel in the 60s, alongside Doug Heywood, Doug Bigelow, Roy Wright, Tony Ongarello, Thorold Merritt, Ted Rippon and (in a move considered very radical at the time) Ron Barassi, then coaching Carlton. Give me half an hour to work it out and I could very likely still tell you who sat next to who.
Time marches on. Now only about half those blokes are still around.
― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Thursday, 1 April 2004 23:58 (twenty-one years ago)