It seems likely that he arrived in the bustling, rapidly growing city some time in late 1909, after the end of the Bendigo Football League season. He had played with distinction for some years for South Bendigo and, like most young bush blokes with any football talent, he would have been aiming to make the list at one of the big city clubs. The tall and athletically built 21-year-old had intense dark eyes, wavy black hair and something of the magnetic aura of an early screen idol. He would not have escaped attention on the streets of Melbourne for too long, which must have suited him perfectly. Besides intending to make a success of himself on the footy field, he also sought fame on the local boxing circuit, which had just entered its heyday after the opening in Richmond a couple of years earlier of John Wren’s Athletic Pavilion. After the forced closure of his illegal Johnston Street tote in 1908, Wren had shifted his focus to sports promotion, especially boxing and horseracing. At the Pavilion he showcased the very best of Australian professional boxers and even managed to lure some international stars to Melbourne.
