This year, 23 local sporting legends are being inducted to the honour roll and junior honour roll categories in the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame.
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The News is featuring stories on each of the inductees in the lead-up to the induction ceremony on August 16. Today, News journalist Laura Briggs speaks to Fred McMahon, who is being inducted to the honour roll for his influence as a football administrator.
As a Goulburn Valley League Hall of Fame Legend and a self-confessed football freak — Fred McMahon’s impact as a player and administrator is immeasurable.
From the time he could fit his hands around a Sherrin, McMahon was kicking with the football fanatics.
‘‘I lived near the football ground and I was a bit of a freak that just loved footy, so I started following it when I was about seven years old.’’
At age 12, McMahon played his first juniors match, a match which would begin a 35-year career on the field.
At 16, he won the Shepparton Junior League best player award, which launched him into senior football the following year, in 1958.
Playing for Tatura in the GVL, the teenager hit the ground running under the great coach, Keith Warburton.
Before long, the young star became well known for his precise kicking ability — winning the GVL goal kicking award in 1966 and Tatura’s goal kicking award eight times.
McMahon also took hold of the Tatura club’s best player award in 1966, but it was his unbelievable record of 14 runner-ups that was more often talked about.
With opportunities coming from multiple directions, McMahon trained with Collingwood across two years in 1958 and 1959 and was later asked to train with Melbourne, when he turned down his shot at making the AFL for his local team.
‘‘I was a Tatura boy, I was only going to play for Tatura.’’
His loyalty to the club was smiled upon as McMahon went on to kick 614 goals throughout his 18-year career as a player and became the first player in the GVL to reach 300 games.
‘‘I held that for 13 years, which was a bit of an honour.’’
He said for the amount of games that were played in that time, his 300th game was a major milestone.
‘‘We’ve got to remember we were only playing 16 games a year in those days,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s great to have done that — it’s another feather in my cap.’’
Having been selected for the GVL representative team 11 times and achieved far more than most, McMahon marked the end of an era when he hung up his football boots in 1976.
But his involvement did not end there.
Keen to carry on his involvement, McMahon got a taste of coaching before turning to administration.
‘‘I found I wasn’t really cut out to be a coach — I was probably too demanding as a coach because I’d been a player, so I got involved in administration and I’ve been involved in that ever since.’’
While his expertise led him to explore various roles with the AFL for some years — his heart was always with the local stuff.
‘‘I recruited for Melbourne for about six years and Collingwood for about five years,’’ he said.
‘‘I gave that away and got involved with administration with the AFL as a deputy director who looked after juniors, then I moved into being the director.
‘‘I did that for about five years and I really enjoyed that.’’
But he said his heart was for local football.
‘‘I’m very passionate about country football.
‘‘I want to see it develop and I want to see it grow.’’
Picking up a number of awards for his service to football along the way, including the Victorian Country Football League service medal and the National Football Council Merit award, McMahon’s diligence and dedication showed in everything he did.
Still a board member and forever a legend in the league, McMahon said his life of football could not have been more rewarding.
‘‘My journey’s been absolutely fantastic — I wouldn’t change it for the world,’’ he said.
‘‘Football doesn’t owe me anything, I owe everything to it, because I wouldn’t be where I am today and I wouldn’t have got the opportunity to do what I wanted to do without football.’’