John Spencer (rugby league, born 1946)
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 10 August 1946 Wyong, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Spencer (10 August 1946 – 18 February 2021) was an Australian professional
Playing career
Spencer made his debut for Balmain in 1966 but was not a member of the side which reached the grand final that year. In 1969, Spencer was a part of the Balmain side which defeated Souths 11–2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match is still considered to this day to be one of the greatest grand final upsets in history. This would prove to be the last premiership Balmain would win as a stand-alone entity before merging with the Western Suburbs Magpies to form the Wests Tigers at the end of 1999.
After some of the Balmain stars had retired or moved on, Spencer stayed with the club and captained the side during the early 1970s. He retired at the end of the 1975 season. At representative level he played for New South Wales on one occasion.[2][3][4]
John Spencer died on 18 February 2021, aged 74.[5] He had two children Kristi and Jarryd.
References
- ^ "John Spencer - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.
- ^ "Tigers, Souths love a ruckus". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ "1969 rugby league grand final, Balmain v Rabbitohs, did Balmain cheat?". news.com.au. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Old Tigers greats gather to farewell their spiritual leader Peter Provan". smh.com.au. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Vale | John Spencer". 19 February 2021.
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