Rex Mossop facts for kids

Rex Peers "Moose" Mossop was a famous Australian athlete. He played both rugby union and rugby league in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He was a "dual-code international," meaning he played for Australia in both sports. Later, he became a well-known Australian television personality from 1964 to 1991.

Rex Mossop's Rugby Union Career

Rex Mossop started his rugby union journey with the Manly club. He played eight important matches, called "tests," for the Wallabies. These matches took place between 1948 and 1951. He played in the position of lock. In 1950, a magazine called Sporting Life chose him for their All-Australian team.

Rex Mossop's Rugby League Career

In 1951, Rex Mossop changed sports and moved to rugby league in England. He played for the Leigh team, which was a top team in the Championship.

Returning to Australia

He came back to Australia in 1956 and joined the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. This team played in the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership. Rex became a very important player in their forward group during the late 1950s.

Grand Final Matches

Mossop was known as a tough front-row forward. He played in the Manly teams that lost to the St George Dragons in the grand finals of 1957 and 1959.

Before the 1959 Grand Final, there were rumors that Mossop had a broken cheekbone. During the game, players from the Saints team tried to test his injury. Rex Mossop later recalled that he and opposing player Harry Bath were sent off for fighting. They later became good friends and laughed about being told off like school boys.

Despite his strong playing style, Mossop won a newspaper's "best and fairest" award in the 1958 season.

Playing for Australia

At age 30, in 1958, Mossop first played for Australia in rugby league. This was in a test match against the touring Great Britain team. By playing this game, he became Australia's 25th player to represent the country in both rugby codes. He even scored a try in his first game, helping Australia win 25–8.

Mossop played in the other Ashes Tests that year. He then traveled with the Kangaroos to Great Britain in 1959-60 as the team's vice-captain. In total, Rex Mossop played nine test matches for Australia.

In 1959, Mossop played in a game where New South Wales lost to Queensland. This game had a huge crowd of 35,261 people, setting a new record for an interstate match in Brisbane.

He played 136 games for Manly before he stopped playing in 1963 at age 35. Rex Mossop is listed on the Australian Rugby League Players Register as Kangaroo No. 336.

Rex Mossop: The Commentator

Like many professional rugby league players of his time, Rex Mossop had another full-time job. He worked as a car salesman. In 1963, he heard that Channel 7 was looking for a sports director. Even though he had no experience in television, Mossop got the job. He was chosen over sixty other people.

Starting in Television

Mossop first appeared on TV in 1964 and called his first game in 1965. He spent 20 years hosting a rugby league preview show. This show included a discussion part called Controversy Corner. From the early 1970s until 1990, he was the main voice for rugby league on Sydney channels Seven and then Ten.

He was known for being very direct and honest in his comments about players and referees. Some fans thought he unfairly favored the Manly team. His way of speaking often included funny or unusual phrases that became known as "Mossopisms." These mistakes also led to his nickname, "Rox Messup."

Here are some examples of his famous "Mossopisms":

• "If I keep getting Boyd and O'Grady mixed up, it's because they look alike, especially around the head."
• "Tiny, diminutive, little Mark Shulman."
• "Now the referee's giving him a verbal tongue lashing."
• "He's made a great yardage of 25 metres."
• "There's too many backs in the three quarter line."
• "He's making good forward progress."

He also said classic lines like:

• "Son of a very famous father."
• "A little bit marginal."
• "Very mobile running."

His strong opinions and sometimes arrogant style sometimes made him unpopular with some league fans. Because of his long time with Channel 7, many people still call ATN Channel 7 "Channel REX."

International Commentary

As a commentator, Mossop also covered the 1978, 1982, and 1986 Kangaroo Tours for Australian television. He never held back his comments. For example, during the undefeated 1986 tour, when Australia beat Great Britain 34-4, Mossop famously said: "Australia carved them up. They've decimated, dissected and absolutely diabolically destroyed this Great Britain side today."

Through his work with Channel 7 in the 1960s, Mossop also became a commentator at the Sydney Showground Speedway during the summer. He also commented on other speedway events.

Other Television Work

From 1970 to 1971, Mossop was known as the "Beast" on a TV talk show called Beauty and the Beast.

From 1991 to 1995, he was a regular guest on Andrew Denton's sports comedy talk show, Live and Sweaty. This show was on the ABC channel.

Honours and Awards

In 1999, Rex Mossop became a life member of the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). This was to recognize his great contributions to the sport.

In 2006, Rex Mossop was named in the "best ever" teams for both Manly Rugby League and Manly Rugby Union. This shows how much he helped both sports.

Rex Mossop received the Australian Sports Medal on October 24, 2000, for his services to Rugby League.

Personal Life

Rex Mossop was the younger son of Norman and Nellie Mossop. His father was a veteran of World War I. Rex was born in Five Dock, New South Wales. His family moved to Balgowlah when he was five. He went to Manly Boys High School. After leaving school in 1943, he worked as an apprentice fitter and turner and then as a sales representative before his TV career.

Mossop married Joan Mildred Bell on October 26, 1951. They had two sons, Kirk (born 1952) and Gregory (born 1956).

In his later years, Mossop suffered from an illness. He passed away at age 83 on June 17, 2011, in Sydney. His funeral was held on June 24, 2011.

To honor Rex Mossop, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players wore black armbands during their game on June 20, 2011. A minute of silence was also held before the game.

See also

In Spanish: Rex Mossop para niños