Harry Beitzel
Encyclopedia
Harry Beitzel is an Australian sports broadcaster and media personality best known for his contribution to Australian rules football
.
Victorian Football League matches, of which he officiated in 182 between 1948–1960. After an operation on his achilles tendon
, Beitzel regained fitness and intended to continue umpiring, but instead took up a role in the media for the 1961 season. He joined radio station 3KZ
as a replacement for Jack Mueller
.
, 3AK
and the ABC
radio stations, as well as writing for the Herald Sun
, The Truth
, The Sunday Telegraph
and The Australian. He also worked on television for the ABC
and the Nine Network
, and is regarded as a pioneer in the field of broadcasting – his innovations included the introduction of statistics during broadcasts of matches, as well as comprehensive previews and reviews of games, a format which is still popular today.
In 2005, Beitzel rejoined 3AW as a semi-regular contributor to Rex Hunt
's pre-match show.
He served his sentence initially at Pentridge Prison and then at the open, minimum-security Morwell River Prison Farm
.
Beitzel strenuously denied that he had ever intentionally committed a crime.
. He drew inspiration from watching the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
final on television, and in 1967 sent an Australian side – "The Galah
s" – to play the game against an Irish side
. Beitzel followed this up the next year with The Australian Football World Tour, a six-match series with games played against Irish teams in Ireland, the UK and United States. (The 1968 Galahs also played exhibition matches
of Australian Rules throughout the tour, including a game in Bucharest
, Romania
.)
's Media Hall of Fame. 2006 saw him inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
as a Media inductee.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
Umpiring career
Beitzel's early career consisted of umpiringUmpire (Australian rules football)
An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football.-Origins:Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football, the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an...
Victorian Football League matches, of which he officiated in 182 between 1948–1960. After an operation on his achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
, Beitzel regained fitness and intended to continue umpiring, but instead took up a role in the media for the 1961 season. He joined radio station 3KZ
3KZ
Gold 104.3 is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. Gold 104.3 is part of the Australian Radio Classic Hits Network and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency.- History :...
as a replacement for Jack Mueller
Jack Mueller (footballer)
Jack Mueller was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League...
.
Media career
Beitzel later covered football for 3AW3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
, 3AK
3AK
3AK is the call sign of SEN 1116 and earlier the on-air name of a former Melbourne talk-back radio and music station, which, in 2003, leased its licence to sports network SEN 1116...
and the ABC
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites...
radio stations, as well as writing for the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
, The Truth
The Truth (newspaper)
The Truth was a Melbourne tabloid newspaper established in 1902 as a subsidiary of the Sydney Truth, established in 1890.In its early years its politics was very much left-leaning, and it painted itself as the voice of the working class. Before 1945 it had a style of journalism that was high...
, The Sunday Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
and The Australian. He also worked on television for the ABC
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
and the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, and is regarded as a pioneer in the field of broadcasting – his innovations included the introduction of statistics during broadcasts of matches, as well as comprehensive previews and reviews of games, a format which is still popular today.
In 2005, Beitzel rejoined 3AW as a semi-regular contributor to Rex Hunt
Rex Hunt
Rex James Hunt is an Australian television and radio personality, and a former Australian rules football player. He is an Australian rules football commentator, currently on the 1116 SEN radio station with son in law Lee Raynor conducting a program called Off The Hook. He is better known around...
's pre-match show.
Imprisonment
In October 1994 Beitzel was sentenced to 18 months jail, with a minimum of eight months to be served, after pleading guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deception over matters related to his work for a lottery organisation.He served his sentence initially at Pentridge Prison and then at the open, minimum-security Morwell River Prison Farm
HM Prison Morwell River
HM Prison Morwell River, opened in 1951, was an open prison located near Morwell, Victoria. Inmates and prison officers called a truce while working on the project. Prisoners were taken to shopping centers in Morwell and left unattended, at total liberty and on trust, to rattle their tins...
.
Beitzel strenuously denied that he had ever intentionally committed a crime.
International rules football
Beitzel is also credited with pioneering the development of the composite rules sport International rules footballInternational rules football
International rules football is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules football players and Gaelic football players....
. He drew inspiration from watching the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
final on television, and in 1967 sent an Australian side – "The Galah
Galah
The Galah , Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.It is endemic on the mainland and was...
s" – to play the game against an Irish side
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
. Beitzel followed this up the next year with The Australian Football World Tour, a six-match series with games played against Irish teams in Ireland, the UK and United States. (The 1968 Galahs also played exhibition matches
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
of Australian Rules throughout the tour, including a game in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.)
Honours and recognition
In 2000, Beitzel was inducted into the Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
's Media Hall of Fame. 2006 saw him inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
as a Media inductee.