🐇 Johnny King | Rabbitohs Coach #15
Full Name: John Cecil King
Born: 2/7/1942 at Gilgandra, NSW
Club Playing Career: St. George 1960-71 (premiers in 1960-66)
Representative Playing Career: NSW 1962-64, 1966-67 and 1970 (14 games, 13 tries, five goals); Metropolitan 1963; City Seconds 1963-64; City Firsts 1966-70; Australia 1966-68 and 1970 (16 Tests or World Cup games, 10 tour games, 20 tries)
Club Coaching Career: South Sydney 1976
Representative Coaching Career: Western Division 1974-75; North Coast 1980; Country Seconds 1984; Newcastle 1986
Awards and Accolades: Premiership winner (St. George) 1960-66; Kangaroo Tour 1967-68; St. George Life Member 1992; NRL Hall of Fame (Inductee No. 65) 2008; Top 100 Greatest Players 2008; St. George Team of the Century 2022
John King's father Cec King played on the wing for the Rabbitohs between 1944-46 and even though Johnny was already playing junior footy in the St. George area, his father insisted in 1960 that Johnny should trial with his old club. But after scoring a try and two goals in the trials his father was told by then Souths coach, Bernie Purcell, that his son was too small for Sydney football. Cec then drove his son straight to Kogarah Oval to trial with the St. George Dragons, where he was graded that afternoon.
Johnny made his first grade debut in his first season with the Dragons in 1960, against Newtown, in round 16, to become the youngest ever Dragons player at just 18 years and 22 days. That record has since been beaten at the club by Lance Thompson in 1995. The brilliant winger played in seven successive grand final victories with the champion St. George team who went on those famous 11-in-a-row premiership victories. King also established a record which probably will never be beaten by scoring tries in six of those successive grand finals, from 1960 to 1965. His controversial try in the 1963 grand final denied Wests the premiership. A lawn-mower accident almost resulted in the loss of his foot in October 1964, but he went on to become the greatest try scorer in the St George club history, with 143 tries. He was also the season's leading try scorer in 1961 (with 20 tries), and again in 1965 (with 15 tries).
He represented Metropolitan in 1963, City Seconds in 1963-64, City Firsts in 1966-70, NSW in 1962-64, 1966-67 and 1969-70 (14 games, scoring 13 tries and five goals), and in 1963 was selected for Australia on the wing as a reserve, but never took the field. One of the best ever finishers in our game eventually got his Australian jersey in 1966-68 and 1970, playing in 16 Tests or World Cup matches, and ten tour games, scoring 20 tries (60 points). In his twelve seasons at the Dragons he played in 193 first grade games, but he appeared in just one first grade game in 1971 before heading off to finish his career in the country.
In 1974-75 he coached Western Division, who won the inaugural mid-week Amco Cup in 1974 after they defeated Penrith six-points-to-two. In 1976, he came to coach Souths following one of the Rabbitohs worst seasons in their proud history. King was responsible in signing Test winger, Terry Fahey, to come and join him at the Rabbitohs. However, after finishing in tenth spot on the ladder, King’s contract wasn’t renewed by the Rabbitohs. In 1980 he coached North Coast Division in the Caltex NSW Country Divisional Championship, and in 1984, he successfully coached Country Seconds to an upset win over their City cousins, by 28-22. He then coached Combined Newcastle against the touring NZ Kiwis side in 1986, losing a close game by 22-17.
John’s son David King played for Gold Coast in 1991-92, and his grandson Max King, currently played for Melbourne Storm and Canterbury. Incredibly, that makes it four consecutive generations of the King family who all played first grade football.
