Kelvin Joseph "Kel" O'Shea (13 July 1933 – 22 January 2015) was an Australian representative rugby league footballer, a second-rower from Queensland whose club career was played with the Western Suburbs Magpies in Sydney. He is rated among the nation's best players of the 20th century.[2]
O'Shea first came to prominence from Queensland in 1954 when while playing for Ayr Colts he was selected for Australia. He remained in Queensland for the 1955 season but in 1956 accepted an offer to move to Sydney to join the Western Suburbs Magpies who at that time were buying up a talent roster including Arthur Summons, Harry Wells, Dick Poole and Ian Moir in their pursuit of an elusive premiership title - an approach which earned the club their tag as "the Millionaires".[3][4]
O'Shea left Wests for Newcastle at the end of 1963 and came out of retirement in 1965 to captain-coach Maitland in 1965. Playing in the Newcastle Grand final he converted his club's winning try after the bell as spectators invaded the field.
Representative career
He debuted for Australia in 1954 called into the forward pack to partner Norm Provan against the touring British Lions. Over the next four years O'Shea and Provan formed a solid partnership that saw them represent against all of the rugby league playing nations.
O'Shea first represented for New South Wales in 1956 after moving to Wests. He played against New Zealand in 1956 Trans-Tasman series and at the end of that year was selected for the Kangaroos playing in all six Tests and eight minor matches of the 1956-57 Kangaroo tour.
He played against Great Britain in the 1954 World Cup campaign and in 1957 was a member of Australia's victorious World Cup squad. All up O'Shea made fifteen Test and five World Cup appearances for his country.
In 2007 O'Shea was selected by a panel of experts at second-row in an Australian 'Team of the 50s'.[6]
In February 2008, O'Shea 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.[7][8] In 2009, he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame for his achievements in Rugby League.
^"Western Suburbs Magpies First Grade Players". Wests Magpies.
^westsmagpies.net (2008). . Wests Archives. Western Suburbs Magpies R.L.F.C. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
shea, kelvin, joseph, shea, july, 1933, january, 2015, australian, representative, rugby, league, footballer, second, rower, from, queensland, whose, club, career, played, with, western, suburbs, magpies, sydney, rated, among, nation, best, players, 20th, cent. Kelvin Joseph Kel O Shea 13 July 1933 22 January 2015 was an Australian representative rugby league footballer a second rower from Queensland whose club career was played with the Western Suburbs Magpies in Sydney He is rated among the nation s best players of the 20th century 2 Kel O SheaPersonal informationFull nameKelvin Joseph O SheaBorn13 July 1933Ayr Queensland AustraliaDied22 January 2015 2015 01 22 aged 81 Redland Bay Queensland AustraliaPlaying informationPositionSecond rowClubYears Team Pld T G FG P1953 55 Colts Ayr 1955 1 Souths Brisbane 1956 63 Western Suburbs 111 30 0 0 901965 MaitlandTotal 111 30 0 0 90RepresentativeYears Team Pld T G FG P1953 55 Queensland 8 0 0 0 01956 58 New South Wales 8 0 0 0 01954 58 Australia 20 7 0 0 211956 61 NSW City 3 0 0 0 0Coaching informationClubYears Team Gms W D L W 1965 Maitland Contents 1 Club career 2 Representative career 3 Accolades 4 Death 5 Sources 6 FootnotesClub career EditO Shea first came to prominence from Queensland in 1954 when while playing for Ayr Colts he was selected for Australia He remained in Queensland for the 1955 season but in 1956 accepted an offer to move to Sydney to join the Western Suburbs Magpies who at that time were buying up a talent roster including Arthur Summons Harry Wells Dick Poole and Ian Moir in their pursuit of an elusive premiership title an approach which earned the club their tag as the Millionaires 3 4 He played in three of the Magpies four Grand final losses to St George 1958 1961 and 1963 O Shea left Wests for Newcastle at the end of 1963 and came out of retirement in 1965 to captain coach Maitland in 1965 Playing in the Newcastle Grand final he converted his club s winning try after the bell as spectators invaded the field Representative career EditHe debuted for Australia in 1954 called into the forward pack to partner Norm Provan against the touring British Lions Over the next four years O Shea and Provan formed a solid partnership that saw them represent against all of the rugby league playing nations O Shea first represented for New South Wales in 1956 after moving to Wests He played against New Zealand in 1956 Trans Tasman series and at the end of that year was selected for the Kangaroos playing in all six Tests and eight minor matches of the 1956 57 Kangaroo tour He played against Great Britain in the 1954 World Cup campaign and in 1957 was a member of Australia s victorious World Cup squad All up O Shea made fifteen Test and five World Cup appearances for his country Accolades EditIn 2004 O Shea was named at second row in the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century 5 In 2007 O Shea was selected by a panel of experts at second row in an Australian Team of the 50s 6 In February 2008 O Shea 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 7 8 In 2009 he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame for his achievements in Rugby League Death EditKel O Shea died on 22 January 2015 aged 81 9 Sources EditAndrews Malcolm 2006 The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corporation Sydney AUS Whiticker Alan amp Hudson Glen 2006 The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players Gavin Allen Publishing Sydney AUS Kelvin O Shea profile nqsports com au accessed 10 September 2014 Footnotes Edit Kel O Shea at the SportingPulse Homepage for Northern Division Century s Top 100 Players Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine livenews com au accessed 10 September 2014 VALE Nev Charlton Noel Kelly s Kids Western Suburbs Magpies First Grade Players Wests Magpies westsmagpies net 2008 Western Suburbs Team of the Century Wests Archives Western Suburbs Magpies R L F C Archived from the original on 21 October 2008 Retrieved 28 November 2009 AAP 1 August 2007 Team of the 50s named The Daily Telegraph Australia News Limited Retrieved 6 October 2010 Peter Cassidy 23 February 2008 Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players Macquarie National News Archived from the original on 25 February 2008 Retrieved 23 February 2008 Centenary of Rugby League The Players NRL amp ARL 23 February 2008 Archived from the original on 26 February 2008 Retrieved 23 February 2008 http www couriermail com au sport nrl kangaroos great kel oshea who linked with norm provan is mourned story fniabjcr 1227195046095 bare URL Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kel O 27Shea amp oldid 1104240919, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
