Vic Hey

{{Short description|Australian RL coach and former Australia international rugby league footballer}}

{{Infobox rugby league biography

|name = Vic Hey

|fullname = Victor John Hey

|image = Vic Hey c1930.jpg

|caption =

|birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1912|11|18}}

|birth_place = Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia

|death_date = {{death date and age|1995|04|11|1912|11|18|df=y}}

|height = {{convert|173|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}

|weight = {{convert|75|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}

|position = {{Rlp|FE}}

|club1 = {{nowrap|Western Suburbs}}

|year1start = 1929

|year1end = 35

|appearances1 = 27

|tries1 = 18

|goals1 = 1

|fieldgoals1 = 0

|points1 = 56

|club2 = Toowoomba

|year2start = 1935

|year2end = 36

|appearances2 =

|tries2 =

|goals2 =

|fieldgoals2 =

|points2 =

|club3 = Ipswich

|year3start = 1937

|year3end =

|appearances3 =

|tries3 =

|goals3 =

|fieldgoals3 =

|points3 =

|club4 = Leeds

|year4start = 1937

|year4end = 44

|appearances4 = 145

|tries4 = 73

|goals4 = 2

|fieldgoals4 = 0

|points4 = 223

|club5 = Dewsbury

|year5start = 1944

|year5end = 47

|appearances5 = 69

|tries5 = 16

|goals5 = 2

|fieldgoals5 = 0

|points5 = 52

|club6 = Hunslet

|year6start = 1947

|year6end =

|appearances6 = 9

|tries6 = 4

|goals6 = 0

|fieldgoals6 = 0

|points6 = 12

|club7 = Parramatta

|year7start = 1948

|year7end = 49

|appearances7 = 10

|tries7 = 3

|goals7 = 0

|fieldgoals7 = 0

|points7 = 9

|retired = yes

|teamA = {{nowrap|New South Wales}}

|yearAstart = 1933

|yearAend = 35

|appearancesA = 12

|triesA = 9

|goalsA = 0

|fieldgoalsA = 0

|pointsA = 27

|teamB = Australia

|yearBstart = 1933

|yearBend = 36

|appearancesB = 6

|triesB = 2

|goalsB = 0

|fieldgoalsB = 0

|pointsB = 6

|teamC = Queensland

|yearCstart = 1936

|yearCend =

|appearancesC = 4

|triesC = 0

|goalsC = 0

|fieldgoalsC = 0

|pointsC = 0

|teamD = British Empire

|yearDstart = 1937

|yearDend =

|appearancesD = 1

|triesD = 1

|goalsD = 0

|fieldgoalsD = 0

|pointsD = 3

| coachteam1 = Dewsbury RLFC

| coachyear1start = 1944

| coachyear1end = 47

| coachgames1 = 0

| coachwins1 = 0

| coachdraws1 = 0

| coachlosses1 = 0

|coachteam2 = Parramatta

|coachyear2start = 1948

|coachyear2end = 53

|coachgames2 = 108

|coachwins2 = 36

|coachdraws2 = 9

|coachlosses2 = 63

|coachteam3 = {{nowrap|Canterbury-Bankstown}}

|coachyear3start = 1955

|coachyear3end = 56

|coachgames3 = 36

|coachwins3 = 10

|coachdraws3 = 0

|coachlosses3 = 26

|coachteam4 = Western Suburbs

|coachyear4start = 1958

|coachyear4end = 59

|coachgames4 = 40

|coachwins4 = 26

|coachdraws4 = 1

|coachlosses4 = 13

|coachteamA = Australia

|coachyearAstart = 1950

|coachyearAend = 55

|coachgamesA = 16

|coachwinsA = 8

|coachdrawsA = 0

|coachlossesA = 8

|updated = 17 April 2012

|source = [http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/vic-hey/summary.html Player statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org][http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/coaches/Vic_Hey/summary.html Coach statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org]

|new = yes

| module = {{infobox person

| embed = yes

| father =

| mother =

| spouse =

| education =

| alma_mater =

| relatives = Dave Hey (brother)

}}

Victor John Hey (18 November 1912 in Liverpool, New South Wales – 11 April 1995), also known by the nickname of "The Human Bullet",[http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/league_of_legends/100_years_of_the_game/slideshow_4_2.html 1933: The Human Bullet] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706121724/http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/league_of_legends/100_years_of_the_game/slideshow_4_2.html|date=6 July 2011}} at nma.gov.au was an Australian rugby league national and state representative {{rlp|fe}} and later a successful first-grade and national coach. His Australian club playing career commenced with the Western Suburbs Magpies, and concluded with the Parramatta Eels. In between he played for a number of clubs in the English first division. He is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century[http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players Century's Top 100 Players] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225164807/http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|date=25 February 2008}}

Playing career

=Sydney=

After starring as a schoolboy and playing his junior football with Guildford in western Sydney, Vic Hey was graded with the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1933. In a spectacular rookie season he cemented a first grade club spot and made both his state and national representative débuts. Hey was a late selection for the 1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain replacing Ernie Norman who had failed a fitness test. On that tour he played in 23 tour matches and in all three Test matches of the Ashes series against England, partnering his Western Suburbs teammate Les Mead in the halves. On the tour he scored fourteen tries. In his second NSWRL season 1934, Hey was a member of Wests' premiership winning side. In September 2004 Hey was named at five-eighth in the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century.

=Queensland=

Moving to Queensland in 1936, Vic Hey briefly played a season for Toowoomba before moving to Ipswich. While living in Toowoomba and playing for Ipswich in 1936 Hey represented Queensland in all three matches of that year's interstate representative series. In 1936, from Queensland he was again selected for all three Test matches of the domestic Ashes series against England. Despite formal protests from the Queensland Rugby League,{{cite news|title=VIC HEY – Alleged Agreements|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17367892|access-date=1 January 2014|newspaper= The Sydney Morning Herald|date=14 May 1937}} he was paid 1,400 pounds sterling to sign on with English club Leeds, at the time a higher amount than the rugby league world record transfer fee.{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Tony|title=Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain: A Social and Cultural History|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|location= United Kingdom|page=24|isbn=9780203088357|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J6nXcpxXzWsC}}

=England=

At the end of the Australian 1936 season Hey left for Britain to play club football for Leeds, making his début against Hunslet on Saturday 21 August 1937. He was paid a then record signing fee of £1,400 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £218,100 in 2013).{{cite web|url=http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare|title=Measuring Worth – Relative Value of UK Pounds|publisher=Measuring Worth|date=31 December 2014|access-date=1 January 2015}} Vic Hey played {{rlp|so}} in Leeds' 14–8 victory over Huddersfield in the 1937–38 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield on Saturday 30 October 1937, and played {{rlp|so}} in the 2–8 defeat by Hunslet in the Championship Final during the 1937–38 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 30 April 1938, played at {{rlp|ce}} in the 19–2 victory over Halifax in the 1940–41 Challenge Cup Final during the 1940–41 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, in front of a crowd of 28,500, and played at {{rlp|ce}} in the 15–10 victory over Halifax in the 1941–42 Challenge Cup Final during the 1941–42 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, in front of a crowd of 15,250.{{cite web|url=http://britishrugbyleague.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/history-of-leeds-rugby-league-club.html|title=History of Leeds Rugby League Club|publisher=britishrugbyleague.blogspot.co.uk|date=31 December 2012|access-date=1 January 2013}}

Hey played in the 1938 Christmas Eve fixture between Leeds and Salford at Headingley Stadium. Headingley’s rugby pitch was frozen solid, but the cricket ground wasn’t so the goal posts were moved and 12,000 fans saw the Leeds win 5-0. Hey became the only player to score a try on Headingley’s cricket field.

{{cite web|url= https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/five-historic-occasions-when-leeds-rhinos-and-rugby-league-have-been-beaten-and-battered-by-adverse-weather-conditions-1425715|title=Five historic occasions when Leeds Rhinos and Rugby League have been beaten and battered by adverse weather conditions|publisher= www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk}}

Hey was player-coach at Dewsbury from 1944 to 1947, before playing nine times for Hunslet after his ship back to Australia was delayed.

Vic Hey played {{rlp|so}} in Dewsbury's 14-25 aggregate defeat by Wigan in the Championship Final during the 1943–44 season; the 9-13 first-leg defeat at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 13 May 1944, and the 5-12 second-leg defeat at Crown Flatt, Dewsbury on Saturday 20 May 1944.{{cite web|url=http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=869|title=1943–1944 War Emergency League Championship Final|publisher=wigan.rlfans.com|date=31 December 2011|access-date=1 January 2012}}

=Return to Sydney=

Vic Hey signed for Parramatta in 1948 in that club's second season in the top grade. He was appointed as the club's captain-coach. He played two seasons 1948 and 1949 before retiring from first grade rugby league at age 37.

Following his retirement, Hey wrote rugby league's first memoir: A Man's Game which was released in 1950.{{cite book

|title= Testosterone Overdose: Popular culture and Historical Memory

|last= Moore

|first= Andrew

|author-link= Andrew Moore (historian)

|year= 1993

|location= Australia

|page= 4

|url= http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingTraditions/1993/st1001/st1001c.pdf

|access-date= 19 February 2011}}

Coaching career

Vic Hey coached Parramatta between 1948 and 1953. He went on to coach Canterbury in 1955 and 1956 and later Western Suburbs in 1958 and 1959. He was appointed coach of the Australia national rugby league team in 1950 and coached his country to their first Ashes victory in thirty years. The following year the French national side embarked on its first ever tour of Australasia, and defeated Hey's Australian team in a three Test domestic series. Hey also coached Australia in the 1954 World Cup{{cite news

|last = AAP

|title = R.L. Cup team fit but tired

|work = The Sydney Morning Herald

|place =Australia

|pages = 8

|date = 1954-10-24

|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YqsUAAAAIBAJ&pg=5750,5585407

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130124152052/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YqsUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hbIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5750,5585407

|url-status = dead

|archive-date = 2013-01-24

|access-date = 2009-12-25}} as well as the Ashes series which Australia again won. The following year his side lost again to the French and afterwards he decided to resign as the coach of Australia.

Accolades

For his achievements in rugby league, Vic Hey was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2004.[http://rl1908.com/Hoffame/index.htm Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518042953/http://rl1908.com/Hoffame/index.htm|date=18 May 2008}} Also in 2004 he was named at five-eighth for the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century.{{cite web

|last = westsmagpies.net

|title = Western Suburbs Team of the Century

|work = Wests Archives

|publisher = Western Suburbs Magpies R.L.F.C

|year = 2008

|url = http://www.westsmagpies.net/archives/2008/php/wests_totc.php

|access-date = 2009-11-28

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081021024335/http://www.westsmagpies.net/archives/2008/php/wests_totc.php

|archive-date = 21 October 2008

|url-status = dead

}}

In February 2008, Hey was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to

celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.{{cite web

|publisher= National Rugby League & Australian Rugby League

|title=Centenary of Rugby League – The Players

|url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080226180521/http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2008-02-26

|access-date=2008-02-23

|date=2008-02-23

}}

Footnotes

References

Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney
Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney