Gerald Virgin has been involved with Clubs and the Great Southern League for a long time – he won the League’s Best and Fairest in the Reserves in 1963 – he has also coached a Junior Colts team from Port Elliot. In recent times he has been noticed for some other of his many talents – weather forecasting – with some degree of accuracy and a bit of slight of hand but most of all for his goal umpiring.
From 1974 until 1977 the GSFL finals had goal umpires from the Umpires Panel – these were mainly field umpires who didn’t get a game in the Finals – Gerald came up with a proposition that why couldn’t the local Club goal umpires do the finals as they did it all the year. As Gerald was immaculately dressed all the year – the Executive decided that the Club umpires would be given a try in the finals but they had to dress correctly. This they did and so started a long history of Club Goal Umpires doing the finals – the 1978 Grand Final between Langhorne Creek and Encounter Bay saw Gerald and George Mitchell from Yankalilla officiate in the match. Gerald with a series of partners went on to do the next 13 A Grade Grand Finals before taking a break for a few years.
Over the years Gerald has taken the profession very seriously why he even as a Club Delegate one night at a Meeting gave a 15 Minute lecture on how to make a goal flag – the type of material, the size of the material, the diameter of the flagstick even to the type of non corrosive pins needed to hold the material on the flag.
He indicated recently that his health has got such a stage that he feels he can no longer keep going to the high standard that he has set himself and it’s time to hang up the flags. His number of finals games would take some beating by anyone anywhere, it reads A grade 82games Reserves 37games Senior Colts 21 games Junior Colts 26 games making a total of 166 games. He has also Goal Umpired 786 A Grade Club games for Port Elliot and Victor Harbor.
His Grand Final record over 25 years is 20 A Grade, 2 Reserves, 2 Senior Colts and 2 Junior colts.
He let his guard down during one final some years ago when to went to the centre at a break to check the scores without his flags – went back to his end and when the first score of the quarter came he signalled the score but couldn’t wave the flags as someone had taped them to the post - this could only happen at Myponga.
He has been great for his two Clubs firstly Pt Eliot then Victor Harbor and especially the Great Southern League with his input into Goal Umpiring over a very long time.
Well done Gerald you will be missed in the Finals and on Saturdays.
Last Modified on 02/09/2010 15:20