| Birth name | Arthur John Michael McCabe [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 23 June 1887 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tamworth, New South Wales [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 30 July 1924 (aged 37) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Redfern, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Arthur John Michael "Mackker" McCabe (23 June 1887 – 30 July 1924) was an Australian rugby union and pioneer professional rugby league footballer. He represented for Australian in rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics. [2]
A brilliant fly-half, Mackker McCabe was a member of the Australian rugby union team, which won the gold medal, with McCabe scoring two tries in the gold medal victory.
While he toured the US and England with the Wallabies in the lead-up tour prior to the Olympics, his gold medal match was his sole Australian representative appearance.
On his return to Australia, he joined the fledgling code of rugby league along with 13 of his Olympic teammates. He played for five seasons with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, finishing his career with a premiership win in 1914. Despite representing for New South Wales in rugby league in 1910 he was unsuccessful in his bid to become a dual-code rugby international. [3]
For the season 1910, he was the NSW Rugby Football League's top try scorer. He was so highly praised by the press that they dubbed him The Will-O'-The-Wisp, a phrase that became synonymous with McCabe. [4]
Arthur McCabe died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Morehead Street, Redfern on 30 July 1924, age 37. [5] A large funeral was held for 'Mackker' McCabe and was attended by many ex Wallaby players and South Sydney players. He was buried at Rookwood Cemetery on 31 July 1924. [6] [7]
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Christopher Hobart McKivat was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests and tour matches from 1907 to 1909 and the Kangaroos in 5 Tests from 1910 to 1912. He is unique in Australian rugby history as the only man to captain both the national rugby union and rugby league teams. Following his playing career, he became the most successful coach of North Sydney in the club's history.
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Daniel Brendon Carroll DSC was an Australian national representative rugby union player. He was a dual Olympic gold medalist, winning in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics for Australia and also winning gold for the United States at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Charles Herbert "Jeff" McMurtrie was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who represented his country at both sports. He competed in rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics and was an early dual-code rugby international.
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The 1908–09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against invitational and national teams from England and Wales, as well as several games against sides from North America. This was the first Australian tour of the Northern Hemisphere and the side is sometimes referred to as the "First Wallabies".
Frederick Wood was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back. He was vice-captain of the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908–09 and later captained the side in Test matches in 1910 and 1914. His representative career lasted from 1905 to 1914.
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