Peter Gallagher (rugby league, born 1937)

Peter "Pedro" Gallagher (1937–2003) was an Australian rugby league footballer. He was a front-row forward for the Australian national team. He played in 17 Tests between 1963 and 1968 as captain on 1 occasion. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.[2]

For the former Easts and Manly player, see Peter Gallagher (rugby league, born 1941).

Peter Gallagher
Life-size bronze of Gallagher outside Gold Coast Turf Club by sculptor Linda Klarfeld
Personal information
Full namePeter Michael Gallagher
Born(1937-01-21)21 January 1937
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Died11 November 2003(2003-11-11) (aged 66)[1]
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1957–67 Brothers (Brisbane) 209 47 137
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1962–67 Queensland 18 0 0 0 0
1963–68 Australia 17 1 0 0 3

Early life

Hickey was born in Townsville, Australia. He was educated at St Edmund's College, Ipswich from 1950 to 1955.

Playing career

Born in Townsville, Queensland Gallagher played his entire Brisbane Rugby League premiership first grade career of 11 seasons with the Brothers club. He first represented Queensland at age 25 in 1962 and then regularly over the next 5 years making 12 appearances against New South Wales as well as 5 appearances against touring international sides. Gallagher made his Test debut against New Zealand in the first Test of the 1963 series in Sydney and played in all five domestic Tests that year against New Zealand and South Africa. At the end of that year he was selected for the 1963 Kangaroo Tour of England and France.[3] He played in 3 Tests and 18 minor tour matches.

In 1967 after recovering from a knee injury he returned to the national side for all three Tests against New Zealand. He made his 2nd Kangaroo Tour of England in 1967-68 and played in 10 tour matches and 6 Tests. He made his sole appearance as captain of the Kangaroos in the 2nd Test in London in November 1967.

After football

In retirement he was heavily involved in the Queensland Racing Industry. He was Vice Chairman of the Gold Coast Turf Club for ten years and then chairman for a further five years. He was a driving force behind the Magic Millions Racing Carnival. He succumbed to cancer aged 66.

In February 2008, Gallagher 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.[4]

References
  1. "Sporting great Gallagher dies, aged 66". ABC News. 12 November 2003.
  2. Century's Top 100 Players Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. sahof.org.au. "1963 Kangaroos Team". Team Sport Australia Award. Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  4. "Centenary of Rugby League – The Players". NRL & ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.

Sources
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