Maurie Kirby

This Sandown when it was a grass track. The person in the middle is the late Maurie Kirby. Referred to in previous post media icon Cycling, Boxing, TV GTV-9, and called the dogs on 3XY. Lovely bloke, father of Wayne media personality and Steward. He also launched the career of the one and only Ted Ryan, a great bloke and top dog man.

 

Doug Scott – Can you remember who call, Ed the dogs on opening night at Sandown it wasn’t Maurice as he called the basketball at the games that night. I picked up the caller from Sydney as was prob Essendon airport and took him to sandown but can’t remember his name after 64 years…Doug

I am 86 and probably wouldn’t remember the callers name even if I heard it jack McKenna asked me to pick him up and bring him to sandown…Opening Night we think it’s Frank Kennedy.

Kyle Galley – Maurie’s other son Leigh was in the mounted police and had Samson and Black Knight among others in his line of work. Also dabbled in the trots with Treble Cash perhaps his best horse, she won at the Showgrounds, MV and HP. He was also a trots steward.

David Gleeson – Neil I think the other man is Tommy Johnson with Zephyr Prince Tommy was tragically knocked over by a car and killed while out walking his dogs near Springvale road.

Des Dooley – I can remember Maurie training dogs, probably in the 60’s. Had dogs named after some passenger boats that came to Melb. Names like Oriana? Fairsky? Somebody out there will remember.

The boats bought migrants to Australia and docked in Sydney. One was Castel Felice ( Maurie trained a dog with that name).