1. Ian John Heads was an Australian historian, journalist, commentator and author.
20 Facts About Ian Heads
1. 2.
Ian Heads wrote more than 50 books, mostly on rugby league personalities, but significant books on other sports, and some books of general interest.
3.
Ian Heads wrote a comprehensive history of Australian sport since 1788, histories of rugby league in general, and chronicles of several sporting clubs.
4.
Ian Heads contributed to other works in collaboration with David Middleton, Gary Lester, Norman Tasker and Geoff Armstrong.
5.
Ian John Heads was born on 15 February 1943 in Rose Bay, a suburb of Sydney.
6.
Ian Heads was brought up during the war and in the postwar reconstruction years, a period of recovery, rationing and deprivation.
7.
Ian Heads's plane crashed over Milne Bay in New Guinea on 7 June 1944 while transporting supplies to the troops fighting the Japanese.
8.
Ian Heads recalled the day as an inspiring and memorable event in his young life.
9.
When he was thirteen years of age, another significant contribution to Ian Heads' sporting orientation occurred.
10.
Ian Heads attended Sydney Boys High School where he gained his Leaving Certificate at the end of 1960.
11.
Ian Heads began his sports journalistic career at the Sydney Daily Telegraph in the early 1960s.
12.
Ian Heads is described in the Hall of Fame wall plaque in his honour as "a superb mentor for many aspiring journalists".
13.
On 9 October 1999, Ian Heads reported on a large-scale protest against the exclusion of South Sydney Rugby League Club from the upcoming season.
14.
In protest against this censorship, Ian Heads resigned from his position, demonstrating the value he put on unbiased and balanced reporting and the public's right to information.
15.
Ian Heads attended the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as editor of ASPIRE, the official newsletter of the Australian Olympic team.
16.
Ian Heads led the Australian Olympic Committee Media office at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
17.
Ian Heads is credited with bringing rugby league from semi-professionalism to professionalism with innovative training methods.
18.
Ian Heads later became a coach and made a positive contribution to rugby league politics during turbulent times.
19.
Ian Heads later ran the New South Wales Rugby League, and then the Australian Rugby League during the 1990s' Super League war.
20.
Ian Heads was the first Indigenous Australian to captain Australia in any sport.