#aflposting

man. i love footy.

Arthur Streeton, The National Game (1889)

call him Tarrare the way I would have him swallowing kids

afl gesture-y doodle dump #gosports

An AFL game between clubs Amata v Pipalyatjara held in front of Uluru, Northern Territory. Photographed by Colin Uren, 2019.

Overcoming the racial prejudices of the era combined with the task of umpiring in front of baying spectators would seem a herculean task, but across 166 games James became perhaps football’s most loved umpire of all-time. James credits his outgoing personality, fostered by a childhood competing with 12 siblings to get a word in, with breaking down barriers. “I spoke to players more than any other umpire did. And I’d be first into the aftermatch to mingle and have a drink with all the players. I’d kick-on to 8pm.” Those at the launch can attest to that charisma. He had a pack of journalists in stitches after telling one of them he looked like Dermott Brereton. “I reported you!” James even achieved the ultimate in 1980s football, receiving a nickname from legendary commentator Lou Richards to rival ‘Lethal’ Leigh Mathews and ‘The Incredible Hulk’ Rene Kink. He was ‘Jesse’ James, with ‘the fastest book in the west’, a nod to his propensity to pull out his notebook and report someone to defuse a hostile situation. (x)