TOCUMWAL'S TWO STAWELL GIFT WINNERS
With Easter just gone and the Stawell Gift completed, it is of interest that Tocumwal Football Club can lay claim to having two players from the club win the famous Stawell Gift in consecutive years, with Lynch Cooper winning in 1928 and Clarrie Hearn in 1929.
LYNCH COOPER
Lynch Cooper was born at Moira Lakes, near Tocumwal, in 1905, the son of a prominent Yorta Yorta man and aboriginal activist, William Cooper.
His father William, a man of strong principles, formed the Victorian Aboriginal Society, which was the forerunner of the Aboriginal Advancement League, and was involved in trying to improve the welfare of Aboriginal people throughout his life. The teen-aged Lynch acted as his secretary, and tried his hand at many other things, including fishing.
But he had a passion for running. "As a young boy I always wanted to race someone, no matter how big they were. I was a little crank. While other boys preferred to fight, I wanted to race," he once reflected. "I won all my events at school and can remember my father telling me after watching me run that I would one day win the great Stawell Gift."
Despite Lynch's eagerness to test himself, William Cooper wouldn't let his son concentrate on running until he turned 21.
1925, Lynch(for reasons unknown), arrived in Toc and played for the Bloods that season-13 games in total. He reportedly lived under the old railway bridge. No money, no accommodation.
So his entry to pro-running came in 1926, and on his debut at the Deniliquin Carnival he took out every sprint race on the program. Excited that they had a champion on their hands, his joint-trainers set him for Stawell and wagered on him accordingly. They were devastated when Lynch lost his heat by inches to the eventual Gift runner-up.
He made 13 finals the following year and was placed in each. This included the Wangaratta Gift, in which he finished a close second to a Queensland policeman, George Bouer.
"I was really disappointed not to have won Wang. It was about the only major Gift in Victoria that I didn't take out," he said.
And again Stawell eluded him, even though he was now ranked amond the most consistent and successful pro runners in the land.
He set himself to conquer the famous Easter Gift in 1928, gave up his occupation and sold his boat. He had decided that if he wasn't successful this time he'd hand up his spikes.
Lynch had been in red-hot form that summer and tallied up a list of major Gift wins and placings throughout the country.
He decided to back himself with all the money he could muster. Starting off 8 yards in the final, he ran 4 yards inside evens to pip 'Peggy' O'Neill on the line.
He collected 250 pounds and a sash for the win and cleaned out the bookies to the tune of 3000 pounds. "The money didn't matter at the time. On that day I felt like I owned the world. It will always live long in my memory", he said years later.
But the money from the bookmakers and the prize-money had certainly changed his financial situation. He had moved to Wangaratta in the late twenties and was in demand from near and far, as he was a charismatic figure in the athletic community.
Lynch's successful 1928 saw him win 10 other Gifts and finals besides Stawell and he was selected to contest the world professional sprint championships in Melbourne the following year.
It was a classy field which included Tommy Miles, Tim Banner, Austin Robertson, L.C. Parker and Frank Spurral, all stars in their own right.
The championship was held over four distances, from 75 yards to 220 yards. When it came to the final race, the experts were predicting that the brilliant Robertson would win the title.
But Cooper held off a strong challenge from the South Melbourne footballer to take the crown and become the first Aboriginal to win a world sporting title.
He received 150 pounds for the win, but it earned him a trip to New Zealand, to represent Australia in a rich international series of races in 1930. Amidst the publicity surrounding the event, he was asked the secret of his success:
"My diet is mainly plain, hard food. I steer clear of the sloppy stuff. My usual training practice is to train twice a day, running three or four distances, finishing with a flat-out sprint over the last 30 yards. In addition, I believe in plenty of sun-baking in the morning."
Lynch Cooper admitted that he never made a fortune as a pro runner, but was successful enough for it to sustain him during the tough times of the 1930's.
Running mostly a a back-marker for the remainder of his career curtailed some success, but he kept consistently making finals and winning major events. Appearance money and the occasional collect from the bookies kept food on the table.
He was a member of Wangaratta's 1933 O & M premiership team playing on a wing and gave Wang good service, after previously starting at Tocumwal and also playing with Wimmera League sides Jeparit and Stawell.
Towards the end of the war, after a long break, Lynch made a comeback to running, but 21 years after his first race he called it a day. He concentrated instead on looking after a small stable of athletes and was always sought after for his manipulative skills as a football trainer.
He was rewarded for his contributions to athletics by being named as an original inductee to the Aboriginal Sporting Hall of Fame.
At the time of his death, in 1971, he remained vitally involved in representing his people in the Murray-Goulburn area and was a member of the Aboriginal Affairs Council.
The strength of the Cooper sporting genes was emphasised in 2014 when Murray Bushranger Nathan Drummond was drafted by Richmond and Joel Hamling found his way onto the Western Bulldogs list, chosen at pick 19.
Both are great-nephews of the legendary Lynch.
CLARRIE HEARN
Clarence "Clarrie" Hearn (13 November 1905 - 1 April 1981) won the Stawell Gift in 1929 after playing football for Tocumwal during the 1920's, being a member of Tocumwal's team that lost the 1922 Southern Riverina Football Association Grand Final to Finley.
Clarrie won the Gift in 11 15/16ths of a second, running off a handicap of 10 yards. He was coached by Bill Betts at Tocumwal. Betts was the Murray League's first secretary when the league was formed in 1931 and was Tocumwal president from 1948 to 1951.
Hearn went on the play VFL football with Essendon.
Hearn spent his early career at Essendon as a defender, mostly at half-back. Despite having managed just two goals from his 31 appearances coming into the 1931 VFL season Hearn was given a role up forward and kicked 31 goals for the year, 24 of them over five consecutive games.
The Tocumwal recruit was used both forward and back for the rest of his time at the club and twice kicked seven goal hauls as a full-forward, against Fitzroy in 1932 and Hawthorn in 1935.
Although he never experienced finals football with Essendon, Hearn played for the league in a representative match against the VFA in 1934.
Hearn played for Sandringham in the VFA as captain-coach in 1936.He was a boundary umpire for 12VFL games in 1937.
