William Henry Joseph “Bill” Brogan

HERITAGE No: 271

BIRTH: 28 April 1900

Wyalong, NSW

DEATH: 6 March 1983 Earlwood, NSW

DEATH: 6 March 1983

Earlwood, NSW

OCCUPATION: Shearer, 1930; Union Organiser, 1931; Wheat Lumper, 1946

RESIDENCE: Jensen St Bankstown, NSW, 1930

GAME HISTORY

Wyalong (Junior) RL 1922
West Wyalong RL 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928
West Wyalong RL Coach 1928
Cootamundra (Group 9) RL v England RL 1924
Possibles RL v Probables RL 1924
NSW RL v England RL 1924
Southern Division (Group 9) RL v New Zealand RL 1925
Quandialla RL Coach 1925
Federals RL 1926
South Western Districts (Group 9) RL v England RL 1928
Wests RL First Grade 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933
Wests RL Coach 1933
Wests RL General Committee 1933
City RL Firsts v Country RL Firsts 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932
NSW RL Firsts v Queensland RL Firsts 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932
Kangaroo RL Tour 1929-30
Australia RL v England RL 1929-30
NSW RL v New Zealand RL 1930
Metropolis RL v England RL 1932
Warialda RL Player/Coach 1933, 1934
Group 13 RL 1934
Northern Division RL v Newcastle 1934
Boorowa RL 1935
Moree RL Coach 1936

Bill

Bill Brogan was born in the NSW central west town of Wyalong in 1900. Wyalong was a gold mining town, and in the early days bushrangers roamed the district.

A man of Bill Brogan’s stature and toughness would not be out of place in a frontier town such as Wyalong. The name of “Wild Bill Brogan”, as he was referred to at times, would appear to be a good fit.

He learned his rugby league at West Wyalong, which had a strong junior rugby league competition. In 1922 he was drafted into the West Wyalong district team.

It wasn’t until August 1923 that West Wyalong played a Maher Cup match, the pinnacle of Country football. By this time Bill Brogan had developed as a rugby league player and he, along with former Wests player, Dick Vest, played in the first West Wyalong Maher Cup team.