Victor John Hey (18 November 1912 in Liverpool, New South Wales – 11 April 1995), also known by the nickname of "The Human Bullet",[3] was an Australian rugby league national and state representative five-eighth 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[4]
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,[5] 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.[6]
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.
[9]
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 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.[11]
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[12] 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.
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.[15]
^AAP (24 October 1954). "R.L. Cup team fit but tired". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. p. 8. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
