Almanac Rugby League: Vale Gary Parcell (1933-2020)

 

Gary Parcell, a one-club man for Ipswich Brothers for a decade during the 1950s and early 60s who also played 14 times for Queensland and 8 Tests for Australia, passed away last week aged 87.

 

A tough prop forward, Parcell formed the famous 1960 all-Ipswich Australian front row alongside Noel Kelly and Dud Beattie. See a photo of the three in one of the attachments below. Although all were tough men on the field, by all reports they were utter gentlemen off the paddock. Beattie passed away in 2016, Kelly earlier this year.

 

 

Parcell was a member of the Queensland team which beat New South Wales 3-1 in the 1959 interstate series, the last time the Maroons won a series until the arrival of State of Origin in the early 1980s.

 

Parcell is a name from my childhood; I never saw him play; television had yet to bring local sport to our screens. But in the Lockyer Valley we supported Ipswich in the Bulimba Cup, an annual, ferocious and fearsome triangular competition between Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba. Parcell played for Ipswich, so he was one of ‘ours’. (In that Bulimba Cup context, some of us conveniently overlooked that Parcell played for Brothers, the Catholic club, in the Ipswich league!)

 

RIP Gary Parcell.

 

To read a summary of Gary Parcell’s international career stats, click HERE.

 

To read a tribute to Gary Parcell by rugby league historian Steve Ricketts, click HERE.

 

Photo courtesy qt.com, rugbyleaguecares.org

 

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About Ian Hauser

A relaxed, Noosa-based retiree with a (very) modest sporting CV. A loyal Queenslander, especially when it comes to cricket and rugby league. Enjoys travel, coffee and cake, reading, and has been known to appreciate a glass or three of wine. One of Footy Almanac's online editors who enjoys the occasional editing opportunity to assist aspiring writers.

Comments

  1. Brian The Ruminator says

    Don’t know him, Ian, but I love the story of how a bloke could play out his career in Qld and be a key Kangaroo. I can remember talk of blokes like Gary when I was a kid in the early 70s. The ones who were good enough to play in Sydney but wanted to stay north of the Tweed. We kept wondering how many Artie Beetsons were up there

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