Ballarat’s most influential sportspeople revealed with some surprises
With the help of experts in the city, we’ve compiled a list of those people who have influenced sport in Ballarat over the past 100 years. This is part three of a five-part series.
Ballarat
Don't miss out on the headlines from Ballarat. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There are few, if any, regional cities in Australia which have produced the same calibre of sporting pedigree as Ballarat.
The names of the city‘s sporting alumni roll off the tongue and represent some of the biggest names in Australian sport … Moneghetti, Lockett, Malthouse, Payne.
In an effort to celebrate this extraordinary legacy, the Herald Sun has tapped into the minds of Ballarat‘s best sporting brains in an effort to compile the complete list of the most influential people in Ballarat sports of the past 100 years.
You can read part one and all about the process to identify the top-200 here with part two here.
Here is part three of the list, which features the final 50 who did not quite make the top 50.
Next week, we’ll reveal the top 50.
Emily Martin, rowing
The former Ballarat Grammar student is a three time world champion, winning gold in the women’s eights in 2001 before winning the same event again in 2005 and adding the women’s fours title. She is also a world champion in under-23 at the 1998 championships in the women’s fours. Martin also competed at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000, finishing fifth in the women’s eights. For Victoria, she is a nine time interstate champion in the women’s eights. Martin is a two-time sportsperson of the year as well.
Alan Widmer, tennis
A handy tennis player who is a part of the Ballarat Tennis Hall of Fame. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Ballarat Sportsmen’s Club, which recognises sports people around Ballarat. He was commissioner for more than 30 years of a subcommittee which decided all the awards on the night for the club, including the sportsperson of the year. Widmer also provided backdrops for each night at the venue that hosted the event from the 1960s until the 2000s. The Widmer Award, first awarded in 2016, recognises the best trainer or coach in the region each year.
Bill McKenzie, football
The former centre half back and ruck rover played four games with Richmond in 1958 but had a longer history with Redan in the Ballarat Football League. McKenzie played more than 120 games with the club from 1954 to 1957 and won the competition best and fairest, the Henderson Medal, in 1957. He also played rep footy for Ballarat in 1956 and 1957. A talented football who had his life cut short with cancer. He died at the age of 40.
Gerrard Keating, athletics
At one stage in his career, Keating was the fastest Australian ever to run the 100m. The Ballarat sprinter held the national record in 1985 and has a personal best of 10.22 seconds. Keating competed in two Commonwealth Games, finishing 9th in 1982 and 7th in 1986. The runner also competed at the 1983 World Championships and won silver in the sprint relay for Australia in the 4x100m at the 1981 Pacific Conference Games.
Bruce Tozer, cricket
Tozer played one match for Victoria in 1959 after playing for Richmond in Premier Cricket. He also played for Melbourne University and also represented Australia University against the West Indies University team and the New Zealand University team. Born in Hopetoun, Tozer moved to Ballarat in 1940 to go to Ballarat High School before moving to Warragul to teach in 1948. He represented Country Victoria in 1954 before playing in Melbourne. He died in 2021 at the age of 95.
Don Hirth, shooting
One of Ballarat’s best shooters. Hirth represented Victoria for more than two decades and was a member of seven Australian shooting teams. During his career he won 23 Queen’s badges, including badges won overseas in England, New Zealand and Canada. Hirth was part of Ballarat for more than a decade, joining the Ballarat East Rifle Club in 1981. He was either a shooter or coach at the Ballarat Rifle Association for the next decade and also shot a perfect score once at his home club in Ballarat. A shooter at the top of his game for decades.
Jim Coughlan, horse racing
Coughlan was influential in horse racing for a couple of decades in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. He would also play a major part in Ballarat’s television coverage of race day events on BTV-6, Channel 6, in the 1980s.
Graeme Gellie, football
Gellie is a former St Kilda player and coach who is also part of the Redan team of the century. The rover first started playing for the Saints in 1978 and won the best and fairest that season. Injuries prevented him from playing many more games and he retired in 1983 with just 32 games played. He then took over as coach of the Saints in 1984, coaching 62 games and winning just 10 in his career. Gellie moved to Geelong to become an assistant coach under Malcolm Blight. For Redan, Gellie is a three-time premiership player, winning titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977. He is named in the centre in their team of the century even though he played just 44 games for the club. The midfielder left a valuable mark on the club.
Stuart Hunter, athletics/football umpiring
Hunter was first a football umpire, umpiring in the Ballarat Football League in 1935 before joining the BFL umpires association in 1941 as a secretary. In the 1950s he became involved in athletics and was influential in multiple clubs and left a legacy to this day. In 1958 he was a founding member of the Ballarat Youth Athletics Association before becoming a foundation member of the Sebastopol club in 1967. For more than 30 years he was a part of the BYAA and with Sebastopol he became president in 1980. Hunter would also join the Eureka club and become president of the Ballarat Regional Athletics Centre from 1964 to 1977. He was involved everywhere with athletics in Ballarat. Hunter was also a referee, a walk judge with Athletics Australia and was part of the Victoria Country athletics committee for two decades. In 1996 he was inducted into the Ballarat Sports Hall of Fame and the Stuart Hunter building at the Llanberris Athletics Track is named after him.
Jack Hill, cricket
One of only three St Patrick’s College students to play test cricket for Australia. A talented junior in both cricket and football, he excelled at the College, taking 118 wickets with his spin bowling in cricket and playing at half forward for the school in footy. While serving for the Royal Air Force from 1942 to 1946 he was playing for Richmond in the VFL but was unable to get a game for their first team. Instead, he played for Belgrave and dominated, kicking 152 goals in one season. After concussion during a finals match he retired and focused on cricket. He made his debut for Victoria in 1946 and played 69 matches for the state, taking 218 wickets and scoring 867 runs. In 1953, he was selected to play against England in England and played two matches for Australia at Trent Bridge and Old Trafford, taking seven wickets. Hill played one more test for Australia in 1955, against the West Indies, before not being selected again. The sports star is part of the Ballarat Sports Hall of Fame and is also a club legend for St Kilda in Premier Cricket, taking more than 500 wickets, including 68 in one season, which is a record still standing to this day.
John James, football
A legend of the Carlton Football Club. James played 195 games for the club from 1953 to 1963 and was the best and fairest at the club in 1955, 1960 and 1961. In 1961, he won the Brownlow Medal, claiming the medal by two votes. A half back flanker, James also represented Victoria more than a dozen times. The former St Patrick’s College student is part of Carlton’s team of the century and is part of their Hall of Fame.
Keith Bray, racing
Was the president of the Ballarat District Trotting Club, which is now the Ballarat Trotting Club, for 15 years from 1959 to 1973. He was instrumental in getting the club to the venue it is at today, Morshead Park, to provide a world-class facility with the best lighting in the country. In 1966 the venue opened and was called Bray Raceway, in honour of Keith, which still remains in his name to the day.
Keith Rawle, football/cricket
Another Ballarat talent who played VFL football and represented Victoria in cricket. Rawle played one match in 1948 for the state, playing against Tasmania and making 10 runs. In the VFL he played for Essendon with Rawle making 111 appearances and kicking 98 goals during his career from 1942 to 1949. The forward pocket also played in the Bombers premierships wins in 1946 and 1949. After his career in the VFL ended, he played for Redan as a player and coach from 1950 to 1956. He won a premiership with the team in 1952 and also won the Henderson Medal, Ballarat’s best and fairest, in 1951. Rawle is vice-captain in Redan’s team of the century for his achievements.
Lorna Lucas, lawn bowls
A champion lawn bowler who won three gold medals at two World Championships. In 1973 she won the pairs gold medal with Dot Jenkinson before winning two gold in 1977. She won the fours event and the teams event to cement her name as one of the greats in the sport. At home, she is a 23 time club title winner at Avenue Bowls in Bacchus Marsh and is in the Ballarat Sports Hall of Fame for her achievements.
Margaret McIver, equestrian
A pioneer not only in equestrian in Ballarat, but also Australia. Born in Gordon and living in Ballarat all her life, McIver was the first Australian to compete at an Olympic Games in dressage, riding in the 1984 event in Los Angeles. She finished 42nd but her efforts to get there were incredible, spending six months away from her family overseas to qualify. In later years she would be a coach and a judge at dressage around the world. McIver was also an accomplished showjumper and eventer, competing at the Melbourne Royal Show and other events before her Olympics debut. She is a life member of Equestrian Australia and has received an Australian Sports Medal for her achievements in the sport.
Morgan Murphy, swimming
Chances are if you dominated in swimming in Ballarat, you got coaching from Morgan Murphy. Murphy founded the Ballarat Swimming Club in 1969 and for the next 50 years provided coaching to all types of swimmers in Ballarat – social, juniors and high performance. He left the role in 2019 but his legacy was created. He’s also been an advocate for swimming and swimming venues in the area during the time. Murphy is also a physiotherapist and has been in the role for more than 50 years.
Neil Thompson, badminton/rope quoits
Have you ever heard of rope quoits? Well Neil Thompson has dominated in it in recent years after first playing badminton in the 1960s. Thompson is a seven-time rope quoits champion in veterans, in singles, after winning in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. The sport is like a game of ring or horseshoe toss but with garden quoits that competitors use to throw on to a wooden pin or as close to it. Thompson was also instrumental in the Ballarat Sportsmen’s club and served on the committee from 1974 to 2010.
Neil Trezise, football
A champion footballer and politician, who was born and raised in Redan. Trezise played 185 games for Geelong and kicked 272 as a forward during his career. He won the 1951 and 1952 VFL premierships with the club before retiring in 1959 but remaining at the club. He became club president in 1974 and also coached the reserves during his time at the Cats. After leaving Geelong, he became a politician, winning his seat in Geelong West in 1964 and then holding it until 1992 as it changed to Geelong North. In his 28 years as a politician he served the last 10 as the minister for youth, sport and recreation. He oversaw the National Tennis Centre being built, which kept the Australian Open in Melbourne and also fought hard to make sure the MCG continued to host the VFL grand final as Waverley Park was being looked at as a permanent option. Without both areas being funded, Melbourne might not have those two events anymore. Trezise died in 2006 at the age of 75.
Peter Eddy, basketball
An influential person in the rise of basketball in the region. Eddy was the CEO of Ballarat Basketball from 1990 to 2020, overseeing a period of dominance of the team in the South East Australia Basketball League in the 1990s and the upgrades to Selkirk Stadium, to what it is today, in the 2010s as basketball, under him, grew in the region. He is part of the Basketball Ballarat Hall of Fame and the Ballarat Sports Hall of Fame.
Peter O’Dwyer, athletics
Originally from Western Australia, Dwyer since he moved to Ballarat has become a sprinting star and a coach of those who have gone on to great things. He’s a two-time winner in the Ballarat Gift, winning his second title in 2012 as a 44-year-old. At the Stawell Gift, he made the final twice and the semi’s an incredible 14 times. O’Dwyer also finished second in the Botany Bay Gift. Since moving on from racing, he has coached four Stawell Gift winners including Matt Wiltshire in 2012 and his daughter Grace in 2015. O’Dwyer is currently the business manager at Ballarat Grammar.
Sean Simpson, football
The former East Ballarat player played more than 120 games in the AFL for St Kilda and Geelong and was unlucky not to win a grand final. Starting his career with the Saints he was delisted in 1990 after just seven matches before Geelong picked him up. He played 114 games for the club and was involved in their 1992 grand final loss to West Coast. He played until the end of the 1998 season. His son Sam is currently at the Cats and was recruited under the father-son rule in 2017.
Shane McInerney, football umpire
One of the best AFL umpires this millennium. McInerney holds the record for the most games umpired in the competition, officiating in 502 games between 1994 and 2019. Among the games, he coached 26 finals and two grand finals in 2004 and 2007. He retired in 2019 as one of the great umpires in the game.
Tamsin Barnett, volleyball/beach volleyball
Barnett’s sporting career might not have taken off if it wasn’t for Ballarat. At Ballarat Grammar, competing in rowing, she was discovered by the Australian Institute of Sport but not to compete in rowing, but volleyball. A career change saw her compete at the Olympic Games in 2000 before a knee injury ruled her out of the 2004 games. She then changed to beach volleyball and struck a partnership with Olympic Games gold medallist Natalie Cook, which led to success. Barnett, now Hinchley, competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and also won the most improved player in the Beach Volleyball world tour in 2007. Both combined to also win bronze at the Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in 2011 as well as win on the tour a few times.
Tom Simpson, football
Simpson played more than 120 games for Richmond from 1956 to 1963 and played in Richmond’s night premiership in 1962. The winger was third and second respectively in the 1958 and 1959 best and fairest at the club. Before and after his time at the Tigers, he played for East Ballarat. In 1965 he finished second in the Henderson Medal, Ballarat’s best and fairest, losing on countback. He coached and captained their 1964 Ballarat Football League premiership team before moving to North Ballarat as coach in 1969. The following year he won the premiership with them before ending his career at Springbank as a coach in the 1980s. He is a life member at Richmond.
Trevor McCann, cricket
The former St Patrick’s College student is one of the best players to ever play in Ballarat. He is a three-time player of the year in the top division in Ballarat and helped Brown Hill to win their first ever premiership in First XI in 1968/69. He is a life member of the Ballarat Cricket Association.
Val Stewart, football and athletics
Stewart is a Redan legend and part of their Hall of Fame after being a trainer at the club for almost four decades. He was also a junior player and premiership coach in juniors. Stewart was also involved in athletics and helped during the 1956 Olympic Games.
Adam Goodes, football
One of the best AFL players to ever play the game. Goodes played for Sydney for almost two decades and played 372 games with the club. The ultimate utility player, Goodes was able to play everywhere and dominated the competition, winning two Brownlow Medals in 2003 and 2006. He also won two AFL premierships in 2005 and 2012 and is a three-time best and fairest winner. Goodes is part of the Indigenous Team of the Century and was the Australian of the Year in 2014. Part of the North Ballarat Rebel’s 1997 premiership win in the TAC Cup, kicking six goals and being the best on ground, that was the only time Goodes was involved with Ballarat. From Horsham, he would be higher on the list if his connection to the region was greater.
Arthur Smerdon, horse racing
A leading trainer in Victoria for two decades in the 1950s and 1960s. Smerdon took over from his uncle Herbert and trained winners with his brother Bob. The Smerdon’s were known, with their horses, to create massive betting plunges during race events. His nephew Robert Smerdon was also a leading trainer.
Barry Richardson, football
The former St Patrick’s College student is a club legend at Richmond and is part of their Hall of Fame. He played 125 games for the club, kicking 134 goals and was part of their premiership wins in 1967, 1969 and 1974. Richardson was able to play in multiple positions, including half forward, full forward and full back. In later years he coached the club, and was the president in 1985. His services to the club were rewarded in 2003 with induction into the Hall of Fame.
Bob Whitcher, cricket and bowls
Whitcher will go down in history as winning the first ever best and fairest in First XI cricket in Ballarat. He won the award in 1963/64 before winning it again later in his career. The Brown Hill cricketer was also part of the first ever premiership for the team in First XI in 1968/69. A talented cricket who in later years has been a great lawn bowler. Part of the Victoria Bowls Club, Whitcher is a life member and is still playing to this day.
Brett Prebble, horse racing
One of Ballarat’s best jockeys. Born in Ballarat but now living in Melbourne, Prebble has ridden more than 2100 winners, including a Melbourne Cup win in 2012 on Green Moon. He has also won a Caulfield Cup, Golden Slipper, Australian Guineas and the Caulfield Stakes. All up, he’s ridden 37 group 1 winners. He also spent time in Hong Kong racing there and left an impression as well. A star.
Bud Annard, football
Part of Redan’s team of the century. Annard is a two-time best and fairest at the club and coached the team from 1963 to 1966. He is part of the team of the century as a ruckman. Previous to Redan he played for St Kilda in the VFL, making more than 100 appearances from 1956 to 1962. He later coached in the Hampden Football League and the Western District Football League after moving down there for work.
Chris Grant, football
One of the best ever players to play for the Western Bulldogs. Taken late in the 1988 draft, Grant would play 341 games and kick 554 goals as a forward throughout his career. He won the best and fairest at the club in 1994 and 1996 and was part of the All-Australia team in 1997, 1998 and 1999. He would have also won the Brownlow Medal, with the most votes, in 1997 but got suspended during the season. Grant retired in 2007 and was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2012. A forward who knew how to move around the ground, he is regarded as one of the best in the game in those positions. Grant would be higher in the list but he has no connection to Ballarat as he comes from nearby Daylesford. He is still with the Bulldogs to this day as the director of the football department.
Dennis Foley, horse racing
A long-time administrator at the Ballarat and District Trotting Club, who was instrumental in helping the club to grow over four decades. He was club treasurer from 1982 until he retired in 2017. Foley also helped grow the Ballarat Cup harness race during the time he was involved at the club.
Des Tuddenham, football
One of Collingwood’s greatest players. The midfielder played 182 games for the club while also playing for Essendon, in 69 games, later in his career. A tough player known for being fearless and up for the contest he was the best and fairest at the club in 1963 and the captain from 1966 to 1969 and again in 1976. Tuddenham also played for Victoria and captained the side in 1971. He would later coach Essendon while playing for the club before also coaching South Melbourne in 1978. His record as a coach is 50 per cent. Tuddenham was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and also into Collingwood’s team of the century as ruck-rover.
Evan Hicks, football
Hick is a Redan club great. He played for the team in the 1940s and was also an umpire in the Ballarat league. After his career ended he served as the club secretary and was also the president at the club. He’s in Redan’s Hall of Fame and has also received Life Membership. His wife, Joyce, who was also involved in the club is also a part of the Hall of Fame.
Garry Fenton, football
Fenton played six games for Essendon in 1963 and 1964 after a distinguished career with Golden Point. In 1962 he won the Henderson Medal as the best in the competition in the Ballarat league. He played for Golden Point again, from 1965, after playing for the Bombers. In 1968 and 1969 he coached and captained the club before doing the same at Clunes from 1970 to 1972. Fenton later coached Keith, in South Australia, to two premierships in 1981 and 1982. In his later years Fenton has written multiple books about anything and everything.
Geoff Cunningham, football
The former Golden Point winger played more than 220 games for St Kilda during his career. From 1977 to 1989 he played for the club and was unlucky not to win a best and fairest. A winger/half back flanker, Cunningham was one of the best players for the Saints in an era where the club struggled. He played for Victoria eight times in the 1980s during his career.
Geoff Torney, horse racing
Torney was influential to horse racing in not just Ballarat but the whole state. He joined the Ballarat Turf Club in 1966 and on two occasions was the president of the association. In 1988 he joined the Moonee Valley Racing Committee and served as chairman from 1997 to 2002. In 2001 he helped form the Racing Victoria board, which is now the leading body of racing in the state. Torney was an administrator for four decades before his death in 2017. The Torney Night Cup, held a Moonee Valley racecourse in February, is named in his honour.
Grace O’Dwyer, athletics
O’Dwyer is one of the youngest ever female Stawell Gift winners, claiming the title at the age of 15 in 2015. From a 10.25m handicap she was able to pass those in front of her and hold off the challenge from others. Currently a physiotherapist, the 23-year-old this year won the Keilor Gift to add to her Stawell Gift win.
Greg Packham, tennis/football
Another Redan legend who is part of their team of the century. In 1981 he won the Henderson Medal, as the best and fairest in the Ballarat league, before he was recruited to St Kilda in the VFL. The forward picked played 17 games and kicked a goal in each game. He went back to Redan to play after his career ended at St Kilda and is named in the forward pocket in their team of the century and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2015.
Greg Wood, football
Wood only played 42 games for Redan but it was enough for him to be recognised as one of their best in the clubs team of the century. He is a runner-up in the under-16 best and fairest as well for the Lions. After playing for Redan he played for Wallan in the Riddell District league and kicked 130 and 179 goals in two seasons to attract the interest of Melbourne in the VFL. Wood played 11 games for the Demons before retiring. He then moved to Ballarat to open and run a successful record and coffee/food shop in Sturt Street.
Howard Clark, football
A lot of St Patrick’s College’s dominance in the Herald Sun Shield can be put down to one person, Howard Clark. Clark for almost two decades led the school to become not only Ballarat’s best school in football but one of the best in the state. From 2002 to 2018 he won 14 premierships in the Ballarat Associated School Sports competition and from 2010 t0 2015 the team won six Herald Sun Shield’s. Overall, he won seven as a coach. Under his guidance, Clark has seen more than a dozen of his students play AFL football. Clark is still at St Pat’s to this day, he is a director of football at the school.
James McDonald, football
McDonald played more than 250 games for Melbourne and GWS in the AFL and is regarded as one of the best players to play for the Demons. The former North Ballarat Rebel and St Patrick’s College student joined the Demons in 1997 and played 251 games for the club in the midfielder, predominantly as a tagger, during his career. He added 13 games with GWS in 2012 after helping the club when it entered the AFL. McDonald won two best and fairests at the Demons during his career and was also in the All-Australian team in 2006. One of Ballarat’s finest footballers this millennium.
Jeff Dunne, football
Dunne is a two-time best and fairest at St Kilda after playing for the club from 1977 to 1983. Recruited from North Ballarat, Dunne played 101 games for the Saints before adding one more game for Richmond in 1984. A back pocket player, Dunne won two best and fairests in 1979 and 1980 and also represented Victoria during his career. Dunne was a talented athlete who also excelled in basketball and high jump in his junior years.
Jodi Willis Roberts, athletics
Born in Ballarat, Willis-Roberts is one of Australia’s best ever Paralympians. Competing in two sports, she represented her country at five Paralympics, including the 2000 games in Sydney. In 1988 she played goalball for Australia, finishing seventh at the games. She then turned her attention to athletics and dominated. In 1992 she won gold in the shot put in her class before achieving the feat again in 2000 in Sydney. Willis-Roberts also won five other medals, in shot put and discus, at the Games during her career. The Order of Australia medal recipient is also a two-time World Champion in her class in shot put. Willis-Roberts is now based in Bundaberg after ending her career in the 2010s.
John Wiltshire, athletics
Wiltshire was one of the founders of the Wendouree Athletics Club and was the first secretary of the club, in 1949. He was the most successful athlete for the club in the early year. In 1958 he was the raging favourite for the Stawell Gift but tore his hamstring the day before the race to end any chance he had of winning. 44 years later his grandson, Matt, would win the Stawell Gift in his honour.
Peter Wilson, football
Wilson was the chairman during North Ballarat’s successful era of dominance in the VFL in the 2000s and 2010s. He held the role for more than a decade and was key in the club making five grand finals and winning three premierships in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He is a life member of both the Ballarat Football League and the VFL.
Ray Thomas, football
Thomas was involved with East Ballarat in the 1960s and 1970s as the president during those two decades. He was a Ballarat businessman who loved his country footy. In 1979, East Ballarat, honoured him with the Ray Thomas Memorial, given to the best clubman.
Richard Tann, athletics
Almost four decades ago, Tann went for a run around Lake Wendouree and history changed for him. The run started an institution called the Tann Clan, which sees a group of runners follow Tann in morning runs. The group has not only done runs around Ballarat but it’s also raised important funds for charities. In 2016, Tann received an Order of Australia Merit for his services to running and charity.
What the future looks like for Ballarat league
With Melton South departing, the Ballarat league has been left with 10 teams for the 2025 season but “future planning” means a replacement could be found for the Panthers.
Jamarra’s next move? Dog star’s surprise Mad Monday outfit
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan might have found his new favourite local footy club after revealing his Mad Monday costume. It’s all in Quick Kicks which has some baby news to share with you.