24 Facts About George Hele

George Alfred Hele was an Australian cricket umpire who umpired 16 Test matches between 1928 and 1933.

From Adelaide, South Australia, Hele played club cricket, but retired at an early age after an injury.

George Hele played Australian rules football for the West Torrens Football Club in the South Australian Football League.

George Hele umpired in all five matches during the series, becoming the first person to do so.

Subsequently, officiating in Australian series against South Africa and the West Indies, George Hele was perhaps best known for his role in the Bodyline series, umpiring all five Tests during the controversial series.

George Hele later moved to Victoria, and officiated his last first-class match in early 1935.

George Hele was born on 16 July 1891 to Elizabeth Ann and Andrew William George Hele, in an inner suburb of Adelaide.

George Hele was named after George Giffen, who was one of Australia's leading cricketers of the late 19th century.

George Hele's father had been a keen participant in both football and cricket, and kept wicket for the Bowden Cricket Club in the Adelaide and Suburban Cricket Association.

George Hele left school at the age of 13, and took up work in a factory manufacturing soft drinks.

George Hele was unable to umpire the following season due to work commitments, but began umpiring regularly the following season, becoming one of Adelaide's leading club cricket umpires.

George Hele umpired his first Sheffield Shield game the following season, a five-day game between South Australia and New South Wales, and would umpire regularly for the rest of the 1920s, becoming the South Australian Cricket Association's first-choice umpire by the middle of the decade.

In March 1927, whilst umpiring a grade cricket game between Sturt and Kensington at the Adelaide Oval, George Hele was struck in the temple by a ball thrown from the square leg fielder, and, after collapsing, had to be escorted from the field.

George Hele served as secretary of the South Australian Cricket Umpires' Association, and, following on from his football playing career, served as a goal umpire for SAFL matches, subsequently filling the role of secretary of the South Australian National Football Umpires' Association.

In recognition of his service, which made him the first person to umpire each match in a five-Test series, George Hele was presented with a commemorative cricket ball by the proprietors of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack at the conclusion of the series.

George Hele moved to Melbourne in 1933, for work, and took up umpiring in the VCA District competition.

George Hele occasionally appeared on Melbourne radio stations 3AW and 3UZ, where he was interviewed on umpiring matters.

George Hele died in Preston, a suburb of Melbourne, on 28 August 1982, having been widowed thirteen years previously.

George Hele's obituary was published in the 1982 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

George Hele had married Matilda Jane Hann on 12 March 1918 at the Baptist Church on Flinders Street in the Adelaide city centre.

Similarly, Sir Donald Bradman wrote in his 1950 book Farewell to Cricket that both he and the Englishmen agreed that George Hele was "the best Australian umpire between the two wars".

In 1959, writing his book Australian Cricket: A History, noted cricket journalist Johnny Moyes wrote "in the opinion of those qualified to judge, [George Hele] was perhaps the finest umpire Australia has produced".

George Hele was on friendly terms with many of the notable players whom he umpired, and he maintained a collection of "souvenirs" which had been given to him by players and officials in gratitude for his service.

Also an avid collector of cricket memorabilia and writing, George Hele was said to possess "one of the finest cricket libraries in Australia", with a collection of over 350 books, often personally autographed by their authors.