The forgotten players: North Sydney Bears

This is the tenth article in the series that looks at some of the forgotten players from your favourite club.

One of the famous foundation clubs, the Bears entered the competition in 1908 and departed in 1999, when they were merged with Manly to form the ill-fated Northern Eagles, never to return to the big time.

I used to love nothing more than watching the footy at North Sydney Oval, particularly when my side won. There was just something about the Bears.

Over 900 players represented the club in this time and they had their fair share of legends. Players like Greg Florimo, Ken Irvine, Ross Warner, George Ambrum, Gary Larsen, Don McKinnon and Les Kiss were legends of both the club and the game, but does anyone remember the guys who only briefly wore the red and black with pride?

Here’s a team made up of some of the forgotten Bears who played for the club since the mid ’60s.

1. Barry Glasgow
Glasgow was a very good footballer, starting off with Wests where I recall him playing many fine games in the black and white, and then heading to Norths for four seasons from 1970, playing 32 games for the club.

Glasgow was a field goal exponent and kicked 44 for Wests in 43 games, but only one for Norths after the field goal was reduced to only one point in 1970.

2. Terry Butler
Butler was a pacey winger who also had success playing in the halves. He began his career in the QLD competition and was selected for QLD in one Origin game in 1983. He tried his luck in the big smoke in 1986 with the Bears but was only selected to play in four first-grade games.

3. Keith Rugg
Rugg was a talented and versatile back who just never got his career off the ground. A member of the inaugural 1972 Australian Schoolboys team, he played seven games for Norths in 1979 before moving on to Illawarra and Parramatta, where he also failed to make an impact.

4. Fred Ah Kuoi
Ah Kuoi was a very talented player with great speed and footwork and could play almost anywhere in the back line. He began his career in New Zealand before spending three years with the Bears from 1981, where he played 24 games in first-grade.

He then headed to England for a successful stint with Hull before returning to his junior club in New Zealand to play and coach. He played 28 internationals for New Zealand in an 11-year international career, captaining the side at the age of 22. Some player!

5. Wade Horder
Horder was a relative of the great Harold Horder and followed him onto the North Sydney wing in 1996. He played 16 games for the Bears over the next four seasons including their last ever first-grade match in 1999.

6. Leo Toohey
Toohey was a very elusive and tough 5/8 who played nearly 140 first grade games in a ten-year career. Playing firstly with Parramatta and then Canterbury, Toohey came to the Bears in 1969 and played 36 first-grade games for the club over the next three seasons.

7. Tommy Smales
Smales was a very successful player, notching up nearly 400 top-level games in a 17-year career. He played for both England and Great Britain and his only foray into the Australian competition was a brief nine-game stint with the Bears in 1967.

8. Jim Mills
Big Jim Mills was as hard and as tough as they come, and he had a long career at the top. He took no prisoners in an era when forward battles were open warfare.

He began his career in rugby union and then embarked on a 343 game League career over 16 seasons, including 37 games for the Bears across the 1970-1972 seasons. He was also selected many times for Wales and Great Britain.

9. Rex Wright
Wright was one of only three players ever selected for the NSW origin team while playing in the country. He had one game for the Blues in 1984 and came to Norths in 1985 and played over 40 first grade games for the club over the next three years, before branching out as both a trainer and assistant coach following his retirement.

10. Brian Norton
Norton was a powerful and uncompromising forward with a great turn of speed for a big man. I recall him running nearly the length of the field to score a try at the SCG. A Norths junior, he began his first-grade career with the club in 1968 and played 40 games with them over the next three seasons.

He then headed to St George in 1971 before returning to Norths for his final season in 1975, playing another seven games in the top grade. He later coached Norths in the 1985 and 1986 seasons. They don’t make them like that anymore.

11. Dave Cooper
Cooper was a hard-working, mobile forward who played 114 first grade games in a 12-year career. After long stints with both Balmain and Cronulla, he came to Norths for his final season in the top grade in 1972, playing 18 games.

12. Mick Tilse
A big forward, Tilse has the remarkable distinction of playing 15 first-grade games and not winning one of them. Four of those games came with Norths in 1980, before he moved on to play with the Raiders for a continued run of losses.

13. Wayne Chisholm
Chisholm was a very good player and played all but four of his 119-game first-grade career with South Sydney. Of the remaining four, he had two with Manly in his first season in 1984, and two with Norths in his last season in 1992.

He also has the “distinction” of copping a ten-week suspension for tackling a referee in 1991. It was copybook.

14. Mark Reber
Reber was a clever hooker who played over 40 games for the Bears across the 1995-1998 seasons, before heading off to try his luck in England where he played with Wigan for two more years.

15. Harry Raven
Raven was a versatile forward who played over 100 games for Balmain in a seven-year stint before joining Norths for just one season in 1966 where he played just six games in the top grade.

16. Bruce Sinclair
A rugged prop or second-rower, Sinclair played 89 games for four clubs in a ten-year career. He came to Norths from Balmain in 1989 and played 15 games for the Bears over the next two years. He had the talent to play many more games at the top level.

17. George Bartlett
A mobile back-rower, Bartlett came to the Bears via the Eels in 1992 and played 19 games for the club over the next three seasons before heading to the Cowboys in 1995.

Some other players from this era that you may have forgotten were Aub Le Brocq, Ricky Walford and John Vandenberg.