William “Bill” McCabe was born in the inner city Sydney suburb of Darlington. He moved to the western suburbs where he played junior rugby league with the Ashfield United junior rugby league team. He first had a taste of grade football when he played three Reserve Grade games in 1921.
Bill played with Ashfield again in 1922 and his team mates included George Daisley and Johnno Rhodes. The Ashfield team were undefeated premiers in 1921-22, and the three team mates were selected for Wests President’s Cup team in 1922 before going on to play First Grade with Wests.
