TAMWORTH’S first test cricketer, John Gleeson, is being remembered as a man whose unrivalled talent with a ball was matched by a sharp mind off the pitch.
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Gleeson, one of the city’s greatest sporting products, died in Tamworth on Friday night at the age of 78.
His career saw him take 93 wickets in 29 test matches between 1967 and 1972 as the 42nd Australian to wear the baggy green.
News the city’s first test star had passed away sent shock waves through the community, as local cricketers wore black arm bands and held minute silences during weekend matches.
Among those paying tribute was former teammate and close friend Peter Virgen, who kept for Gleeson when he returned to Tamworth club cricket in the early 1970s.
Gleeson first moved to Tamworth for a job as a telephone technician after playing low-grade cricket for Western Suburbs in Sydney in his late teens.
He came to be known as the mystery spinner, borrowing the bowling style of legendary Australian spinner Jack Iverson, by training himself to spin the ball both ways using a table tennis ball.
“It was very hard for me to pick which way out of his hand,” Virgen said.
“I had to concentrate hard as his wicket keeper so I wouldn’t look like a goose.”
It was his face-off with renowned all-rounder Richie Benaud in a Gunnedah match in 1965 that helped carve his way to success, with Benaud coaxing him to the Balmain Club.
He went on to play in Canada, England, India, South Africa and New Zealand, as well as taking 430 wickets in 116 first-class matches.
He returned to Tamworth, where he captained West Leagues, but continued to play in South Africa in the off-season.
“He stood out,” Virgen recalled.
“He took his club cricket still very seriously.”
“I was very, very nervous going in keeping for him. I didn’t want to be made a fool of, but it improved my keeping because I had to concentrate so hard.
“I’d be so excited (when I took a catch) for him and John would just look at me as if to think, well, that’s your job.”
Gleeson, while a tough and determined sportsman, mellowed out in his older age and forged strong friendships off the pitch.
“As a cricketer, he was our very first Australian and was known as the mystery spinner,” Virgen said.
“But he had a very sharp mind and would talk about philosophy, literature, theology to politics, as well as cricket.”
“I’ll miss him; his friendship, listening to his stories,” Virgen said.
“He was modest, but if you got him talking, he’d talk to you for hours.”