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| Full name | Thomas Ignatius McMahon | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1883-11-01)1 November 1883 St Leonards, NSW, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 July 1943(1943-07-26) (aged 59) Waverley, NSW, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Thomas Ignatius McMahon (1 November 1883 – 26 July 1943) was a pioneering Australian international, interstate and first–graderugby league referee. His name is often rendered as Tom McMahon senior, to distinguish him from another prominent referee of thesame name, but the two were not related.[1]
Born in the suburb ofSt Leonards on Sydney'sLower North Shore, McMahon played second–grade rugby union forNorth Sydney prior to picking up refereeing. He started out officiating rugby union in theCity and Suburban Association.[2]
McMahon was a referee in over 300 first–grade rugby league matches. He was the first to officiate a match at theSydney Cricket Ground and refereed in the NSWRFL from the inaugural season in 1908 until 1926, including for three premiership deciders. His career as a referee included international fixtures during the historic1910 Great Britain Lions tour. Between 1910 and 1926, McMahon's services were called upon every season an interstate or international series was played. He also had a season as coach of theNorth Sydney Bears in 1928.[3]
McMahon died at the age of 59 in Sydney in 1943. The NSWRFL presidentJersey Flegg paid tribute by describing him as"the greatest referee the game has known".[4]