The Travelling Tiger — A Football Story of Determination, Heartbreak and Triumph

Boulder City Football Club | Past Players Collection | 1956–1966

Some football careers are remembered for premierships. Others for individual brilliance. Jack Robinson's story has something of both — but it is also a remarkable tale of dedication, perseverance and a young schoolteacher who travelled hundreds of kilometres for the opportunity to wear the Black and Gold. The twin brother of Goldfields football legend Ted “Punter” Robinson, Jack carved out his own distinguished career with the Boulder Tigers, becoming one of the competition's outstanding ruckmen and a dual leading goalkicker. And yet, for all his achievements, one moment in 1963 would remain among the great disappointments of his football life.
 

A Tiger from the Beginning
 

Jack's association with Boulder City began in 1956 when he joined the club's junior ranks. He played junior football with the Tigers through to 1959 before leaving the Goldfields to attend Teachers' College in Perth during 1960 and 1961. In 1962, his teaching career took him to Norseman Junior High School, where he joined Norseman Towns Football Club.
 

His talent was immediately recognised, winning the club's Fairest and Best award. But it was a representative match that would ultimately bring Jack back into the Tigers' orbit. Selected in a combined Norseman Football Association side to play a Goldfields Second XVIII, Jack produced an outstanding performance as Norseman recorded a convincing victory. He was awarded the trophy for Norseman's best player. The match was played as a curtain-raiser to the Goldfields versus East Fremantle encounter. Boulder City had seen enough.

 

The Tigers approached Jack about returning to the club for the 1963 season.
 

The $12 Footballer

There was just one complication. Jack was teaching in Norseman, and Boulder was a considerable journey away. The solution was wonderfully simple. The Tigers agreed to pay Jack £6? No — $12 per match, as Jack recalled it, to cover his travelling expenses. A fellow teacher agreed to drive him from Norseman to Boulder and back each week for $10. Jack kept the remaining $2.

​

It was hardly a financial incentive. It was a football commitment. Week after week, Jack made the journey to represent the club he had grown up supporting. And remarkably, he did so without attending regular training sessions.

​

1963 — The Grand Final That Never Was

Jack's first senior season with Boulder was a memorable one. He earned selection in the Goldfields representative team to play Perth and was awarded the trophy as the Goldfields' best player. Playing in the ruck and forward line, he kicked three goals and seven behinds in that representative encounter.

 

Then came the 1963 preliminary final. Boulder faced Mines Rovers for the right to meet Railways in the grand final. It became a family occasion. Jack Robinson kicked three goals. His twin brother Ted kicked four.

Between them, the Robinson brothers contributed seven goals as Boulder defeated Mines and secured its place in the premiership decider. For Jack, it was the fulfilment of a boyhood ambition.

​

A senior grand final for the Boulder Tigers was finally within reach. But football can be cruel. After returning to Norseman for his teaching duties on Monday morning, Jack developed severe abdominal pain. That evening he was admitted to Norseman Hospital, where surgeons removed his appendix. His grand final dream was over. After years of junior football, travelling and commitment, Jack would miss the biggest match of his career.

It was a disappointment he would never forget.