Ken Arthurson

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Ken Arthurson
Personal information
Full name	Kenneth Richard Arthurson
Nickname	Arko^[1]
Born	(1929-10-01) 1 October 1929 Glebe, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Position	Halfback
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1950–52	Manly-Warringah	41	14	0	0	42
Coaching information
Club
Years	Team	Gms	W	D	L	W%
1957–61	Manly-Warringah	98	56	2	40	57
Source: Yesterday's Hero

Kenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM (born 1 October 1929 in Glebe, New South Wales) is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly",^[2] he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. Later he ran the NSWRL, and then the Australian Rugby League during the 1990s' Super League war, resigning in 1997 as part of the peace process for creating the unified National Rugby League.

Playing career

Ken Arthurson was a product of the Freshwater Surf Club, playing in their 1945 D-Grade premiership win alongside another future Sea Eagle legend in Roy Bull. He made his first grade debut for Manly in 1950 under the coaching of former Kangaroo tourist and Australian test captain Wally O'Connell.

Arko played at Halfback in the Manly-Warringah club's first Grand Final appearance in the 1951 NSWRFL Grand Final against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Sports Ground. The day didn't go as planned for the Sea Eagles though as Souths ran out easy 42-14 winners. He then played another full season in 1952, before accepting a coaching role with Parkes' club.

In a match between Northern and Southern NSW Zones in April 1953, Ken was badly injured. The 27 April edition of the Parkes Champion Post reported that it 'was early in the game when Ken fell over the goal line and another player, who was following him, fell on top of him, striking ken's head with his knee'. He was rushed to Parkes District Hospital in a serious condition with a fractured skull. Ken had taken part in only two other matches since his arrival. He was later to spend three months in hospital recuperating from his injury and never played Rugby League again.

Coaching career

Arthurson returned to Sydney and coached Manly's third grade team in 1954 and reserve grade in 1955-56. He was first grade coach from 1957 to 1961, making the semi finals every year and the 1957 Grand Final as a 27-year-old. His side made another Grand Final appearance in 1959. Unfortunately for Arthurson and Manly, both Grand Finals were played against a St George side in the middle of their record run of 11 straight premierships.

Administration

Following his coaching stint at Manly, Arthurson became the club's secretary, taking over from Jack Munro after Munro's passing in 1963. Arthurson held this post for 20 years, during which time he helped build the Sea Eagles into one of the most successful clubs in the league by use of his negotiating skills and the club's finances, something which made Manly the team others loved to hate. During his time as club secretary, Arko signed players who went on to become legends not only at Manly but also in rugby league. His list of players includes Graham Eadie, Bob Fulton, Ken Irvine, Terry Randall, Mal Reilly, John O'Neill, Phil Lowe, Paul Vautin, Les Boyd and Kerry Boustead.

In 1984 he became the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and in 1986 took over from Tom Bellew OAM as Chairman of the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988 "in recognition of (his) service to Rugby League football".^[3]

In the mid-1990s Arthurson led the ARL's fight against Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd in the Super League war.^[4] On 28 February 1997, in order to improve the chances of a peace deal with Super League being reached, Arthurson resigned as ARL chairman. Also in 1997, Arthurson released his book, Arko, My Game.

On 24 October 2000, Arthurson was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his fourteen years presiding over the NSWRL and ARL.^[5]

The Ken Arthurson Stand at Brookvale Oval is named after him and was officially opened on Sunday 14 June 1995.

During his time as head of the ARL, Arthurson also served as President of the Manly Leagues Club until retiring in October 2004. He then retired with his wife to the Gold Coast where he continues to support the Sea Eagles to this day.

Honours

In November 2009, Arthurson was awarded the 'Spirit of Rugby League Award' by the Rugby League International Federation,^[6] in their inaugural awards presentation. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2010.^[7]

References

↑ Chesterton, Ray (19 November 2007). "Use ballot box, Arko tells Manly fans". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
↑ Riccio, David (15 February 2009). "Arko offers to broker ceasefire". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
↑ "Kenneth Richard Arthurson AM". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
↑ Westfield, Mark (2000). The gatekeepers: the global media battle to control Australia's pay TV. Australia: Pluto Press. pp. xv. ISBN 978-1-871204-19-3.
↑ "Kenneth Arthurson". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
↑ "Awards". rlif.com. Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
↑ "Kenneth Arthurson AM". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 September 2013.

External links

Ken Arthurson at Unofficial Manly Club Website

v t e Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

Est. 1947 in Sydney, New South Wales

The Club	History (Northern Eagles) Records Players Coaches Rivalry with Melbourne Storm

Home Grounds	Brookvale Oval

Important Figures	Roy Bull Ken Arthurson Rex Mossop Frank Stanton Fred Jones Bob Fulton Ron Willey Graham Eadie Max Krilich Terry Randall Paul Vautin Des Hasler Geoff Toovey Steve Menzies Stewart brothers

League	NSWRL ARL NRL

Titles	Premierships (8) 1972 1973 1976 1978 1987 1996 2008 2011 World Club Challenges (1) 2009

Seasons (62)	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Other Competitions	Current National Youth Competition S. G. Ball Cup Harold Matthews Cup New South Wales Cup Past Amco Cup Jersey Flegg Cup

Affiliations	Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles coaches

Harold Johnston (1947)
Ray Stehr (1947–48)
George Mullins (1949)
Wally O'Connell (1950–52)
Roy Bull (1953)
Ray Norman (1954)
Pat Devery (1955–56)
Ken Arthurson (1957–61)
Ron Willey (1962)
Tony Paskins (1963)
Russell Pepperell (1964–65)
Wally O'Connell (1966–67)
George Hunter (1968–69)
Ron Willey (1970–74)
Frank Stanton (1975–79)
Allan Thomson (1980)
Ray Ritchie (1981–82)
Bob Fulton (1983–88)
Alan Thompson (1989)
Graham Lowe (1990–92)
Bob Fulton (1993–99)
Peter Sharp (1999)
Peter Sharp (2003)
Des Hasler (2004–11)
Geoff Toovey (2012–present)

Authority control	VIAF: 33768324

Persondata
Name	Arthurson, Ken
Alternative names	Arthurson, Kenneth Richard (full name)
Short description	Australian rugby league player, coach and administrator
Date of birth	1 October 1929
Place of birth	Glebe, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death
Place of death

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