North Shore is saddened to learn of the recent passing of Lionel Byrne.
Lionel was a long-time player and coach at North Shore. Joining the Bears (as we were then known) in the mid-1950s, he leapt to prominence when he took out the Best & Fairest award in 1958. An outstanding player, often in the midfield, he would represent the Sydney league and New South Wales in numerous representative fixtures.
But his finest moment would come in 1961. Appointed as captain-coach for the first time that year, he would go on to lead North Shore to just their second premiership in 40 years; breaking a long premiership drought.
Lionel’s playing career appears to have come to an end around 1964, but his influence at North Shore would continue for a long time to come. In the 1970s he returned as senior coach, laying some of the foundations for an era of success for North Shore that was to come.
The Byrne name would have a long association with North Shore, as his sons would represent the club in subsequent years. One of his sons, Michael Byrne, would go on to become a premiership player at Hawthorn in the 1980s, polling 5th in the Brownlow Medal in 1983.
Lionel was a proud Life Member at North Shore, and continued to follow the fortunes of the club. In 2011, to celebrate 50 years of the 1961 premiership, Lionel returned to Gore Hill on that year’s Back to Bears Day; and addressed the 2011 Bombers before the match. Attached are some photos of Lionel on that Back to Bears Day.
A celebration of Lionel’s life will be at St Josephs Cobram 11am on the 1st August followed by a drink at the Sporties club Barooga.
Our 1961 Premiership
in 1961 the Sydney Competition played 16-man sides leaving out the wings in an experiment similar to that tried by the VFA at that time – similar to what our women’s teams play today.
North Shore 11.15 (81) def Sydney Naval 4.5 (29)
Playing of the Grand Final was delayed for two weeks by a draw in one final and a ground closure for another final due to wet weather. As a result Trumper Park was not available for the big game and it was played on the old Sydney Showground (now part of Fox Studios)
The final siren at the Grand Final was sounded several minutes before full time but the captain of Sydney Naval, Ralph Turner declined to protest saying that the early finish saved his team from further embarrassment.
| B | Dave Kitchen | Reg Robinson | Peter Croft |
| HB | Scobie O’Brien | Bill Croft | Ian Sharp |
| C | Frank Oliver | ||
| HF | Stuart Whitlaw | Peter Barber | Bob Jenkins |
| F | Ray Chadwick | Phil Prosser | Lionel Byrne (c/c) |
| Ruck | Ron Biok | John Margetts | Barry Woods |
| Res | Jim Thomas | Dave Hicks |
Graeme Parker was unavailable due to incarceration. Graeme’s contribution played a major part in us reaching the finals.
