.jpg) Beetson in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Arthur Henry Beetson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1945-01-21)21 January 1945 Roma, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 December 2011(2011-12-01) (aged 66) Paradise Point, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 16 st 8 lb (105 kg)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Arthur Henry "Artie" BeetsonOAM (21 January 1945[5] – 1 December 2011[6]) was an Australianrugby league footballer and coach. He representedAustralia,New South Wales andQueensland all between 1964 and 1981. His main position was atprop. Beetson became the firstIndigenous Australian to captain Australia in any sport[6] and is frequently cited as the best post-war forward in Australian rugby league history. He also had an extensive coaching career, spanning the 1970s to the 1990s, coaching Australia, Queensland,Eastern Suburbs,Redcliffe Dolphins and theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
He is also remembered as man of great humility who cared deeply about his people and culture. TheArthur Beetson Foundation was so named to honour Beetson, and theArthur Beetson Medal is awarded to rugby league players who show both outstanding skills and similar personal qualities to Beetson.
Beetson's mother was a member of theStolen Generation.[7] He was born inRoma, Queensland on 21 January 1945.
Beetson's big frame, pure speed and brilliant ball skills won countless games for all his teams. His off-loading and attacking workrate broke the mould for front rowers and changed the way they played the game.
Beetson's rugby league career began withRedcliffe in theBrisbane Rugby League competition between 1964 and 1965. After winning the club's player of the year award in 1965 as well as theBrisbane Rugby League premiership with them, he moved to Sydney to play in theNew South Wales Rugby Football League premiership with theBalmain club. The1966 NSWRFL season was his first and he gained selection for theNew South Wales team and played in that season's grand final against St. George at second-row forward. Beetson was also selected to make his representative début for Australia against England and set up the first two tries. He represented Australia again at the1968 Rugby League World Cup, playing at prop forward in the win against France in thetournament final. Beetson then played with Balmain, with a spell in England withHull Kingston Rovers in 1968.[8]
After the1970 NSWRFL season Beetson leftBalmain to join theEastern Suburbs club where he would stay from 1971 to 1978. He possessed great strength and toughness, a surprising turn of speed for a big man and was unequalled as a ball player. Beetson continued to represent Australia at the1972 Rugby League World Cup, playing againstGreat Britain at prop forward in thetournament final which was drawn. On the1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, he was selected as Australia's vice captain, playing at prop forward in all threeAshestest matches. Beetson then became the first aboriginal player to captain Australia in the second test againstFrance.
His skill as a footballer was matched only by his skill as an eater, earning nicknames such as 'Meat Pie Artie'. He was known and immortalised by his performance of eating 11 hot dogs before a gala dinner for the Australian team in 1973. Beetson captained Eastern Suburbs to the1974 and1975 premierships. During this period Beetson also continued playing with distinction for Australia and in 1974 he was named asRugby League Week's player of the year. During the1976 NSWRFL season, Beetson captained Eastern Suburbs to victory in their unofficial1976 World Club Challenge match against British championsSt Helens in Sydney. This Easts team would go down as one of the greatest club sides in rugby league history. Beetson joined theParramatta Eels in 1979.
While still playing in Sydney for Parramatta, Beetson achieved further immortality as captain of Queensland in the inaugural1980 State of Origin game, won 20–10 by Queensland on 8 July. He capped off that year with a man-of-the-match performance in the Eels' 8-5 Tooth Cup Final win over Balmain. Beetson returned to Queensland for one final year of playing with his old Redcliffe team in 1981, where he also captain-coached theDatsun South Queensland side to a 59-3 victory over Papua New Guinea. He also captained Queensland for the final 'traditional' interstate match in 1981 and at the end of the season the Dolphins were beaten in the final minute of the grand final bySouthern Suburbs.
Beetson's coaching career began while still playing forEasts in 1977. He was captain-coach ofRedcliffe in 1981 and that season was appointed coach of theQueensland State of Origin side, taking them to repeated series victories overNew South Wales from 1981 to 1984. Beetson also coached theBrisbane rugby league team in 1981. He had a brief, but unsuccessful period, coaching Australia in 1983 before returning to coach his former clubEastern Suburbs, from 1985 to 1988, being named Coach of the Year in 1987. Also in 1987 he received the Medal of theOrder of Australia "in recognition of service to the sport of Rugby League".
After stepping down as Queensland coach following the1990 State of Origin series loss to NSW, Beetson became part of theABC's commentary team in 1991 for theirSaturday Afternoon League telecasts alongside chief caller, formerWestern Suburbs wingerWarren Boland, as well as his former Eastern Suburbs and Parramatta teammateJohn Peard andCanterbury-Bankstown media liaisonDebbie Spillane, both of whom worked on the sidelines.
Beetson coached theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks for the 1992 and 1993 seasons, where he enjoyed mixed success. Part-way through the1994 NSWRL season Beetson briefly replaced the sackedMark Murray as coach of theEastern Suburbs Roosters. Beetson has also spent many years as a recruitment officer for both Eastern Suburbs and Queensland.
In the post-1999 NRL season an Aboriginal side managed by Arthur Beetson defeated thePapua New Guinean national team. He then pushed, unsuccessfully, for anAustralia Day match against theAustralian national team.[9]He also appeared at the Beenleigh (QLD) lions JRLFC as an Assistant Coach to the Beenleigh Lions JRLFC under 18s (2009) alongside Michael Hansen (Coach) before his untimely passing.
Beetson is often regarded as Australia's best ever forward, and in 2000 he was awarded theAustralian Sports Medal, then in 2001 theCentenary Medal "for service to Australian society through the sport of rugby league". He was inducted into theAustralian Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2003. In May 2004 his book,Big Artie: The Autobiography was published. Also that year he became the seventh selected post-war "Immortal" of the Australian game withChurchill,Raper,Gasnier,Fulton,Langlands andWally Lewis.
In February 2008, Beetson was named in a list of Australia's100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by theNRL andARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[11][12] Beetson went on to be named in the front-row inAustralian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players.[13][14] Beetson chose to boycott the presentation ceremony, stating that he did not agree with the direction rugby league is taking.[15] In June 2008, he was chosen in theQueensland Rugby League's Team of the Century at second-row.[16]In 2008,rugby league in Australia's centenary year, Beetson was named at second-row forward in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.[17]He was made a life member of theSydney Cricket Ground and a plaque in the Walk of Honour there commemorates his career. He is a recipient of the Medal of theOrder of Australia (OAM).
As part of the Centenary of League celebrations in 2008, Beetson was retrospectively awarded theClive Churchill Medal asMan of the Match in the 1974 Grand final.[18]
In 2009 Beetson was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[19]
In 2010 a program was founded and named in honour of Arthur Beetson, the ARTIE Academy (Achieving Results Through Indigenous Education). An inspiration and role model for his people, Arthur was resolute in his beliefs about the absolute need for young Indigenous Australians to be educated, to finish school and to be employed. The ARTIE Academy operates with an innovative, high expectation, consistent and positive mindset. ARTIE is an academy that students are proud to be a part of. An academy that expects them to achieve to the best of their ability. An academy that will support them in times of need, but not accept excuses for a lack of commitment. ARTIE inspires its participants, encourages and informs them of their progress and celebrates their successes. The program is run by the FOGS (Former Origin Greats) organisation and funded under the "Closing the Gap" initiative. The program continues to operate in schools around Queensland.
Beetson'sQueensland State of Originnumber 11 jersey was "retired" in 2014.
On 1 December 2011, Beetson died following a heart attack while riding his bicycle atParadise Point on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He was 66.[20]
ThePremier of Queensland,Anna Bligh announced that a bronze statue of Beetson was to be situated atLang Park.[21] It was unveiled on 3 July 2012.[22]
The Arthur Beetson Foundation was created to engage the community "to empower Indigenous Australians to better outcomes in health, education, sport, employment and business development", and the Arthur Beetson Medal honours rugby league players who have distinguished themselves who have shown not only skill on the field but some of the qualities embodied by Beetson and cares deeply about their people.[23]
On 16 December 2023, aGoogle Doodle was made to honour Beetson's life and career; the date was chosen because it marked 50 years since his appointment as captain a mainstream Australian sports team.[24]
In February 2022, Beetson's family and supporters expressed their dismay at theSydney Cricket Ground Trust's decision not to nominate Beetson for the honour of having one of four new grandstands at the newSydney Football Stadium being named in his honour, despite overwhelming public support.[25]
While the family congratulated the three sporting identities who were nominated to have grandstands named after them (Ron Coote,Johnny Warren andSir Nicholas Shehadie), they criticised the proposal to name a grandstandGarrison in recognition of locally based British troops from the 1850s.[25]Anthony Mundine andMegan Davis also condemned the decision not to put forward Beetson's name for the honour.[25]
Chairman of the SCG Trust heritage committeeMaurice Newman said that Beetson "didn't make the cut" because he was aQueenslander, rejecting the assertion of it being a "snub" and questioned why there wasn't a grandstand named after Beetson in his home state at a venue such as Lang Park.[26] That reasoning was criticised by NRL historian David Middleton, and former playersPeter Wynn andMick Cronin.[26] Rugby league commentatorRay Hadley also criticised the decision after an attempted compromise with an offer put forward to have Beetson honoured with a statue instead of a grandstand.[27][28]
In March 2022, it was announced that the decision not to name a stand at the new Sydney Football Stadium had been overturned by New South Wales sports ministerStuart Ayres.[29] Beetson's son Mark said the naming of a stand after his father would be a proud moment for his family who described his father as being "up there" with the likes ofCathy Freeman andLionel Rose as one of Australia's indigenous sporting icons.[29] Mark Beetson also thankedThe Daily Telegraph and its readers for lobbying for the change.[29]
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| Preceded by |  Australian national rugby league captain 1973-77 | Succeeded by |
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