Max Walker
Encyclopedia
Maxwell Henry Norman Walker AM
(born 12 September 1948) is a former Australia
n cricketer
and VFL/AFL
footballer. Formerly an architect, he currently works as a media commentator and motivational speaker and has diverse business interests.
and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
graduating with a Fellowship Diploma of Architecture.
Walker started his sports career when he played Australian rules football
with the Melbourne Football Club
from 1967 to 1972. He was a ruckman and defender who played 85 games and scored 23 goals. He played senior football at VFL
level, never playing locally in Tasmania. After his foray in football he moved to cricket
.
games for Victoria
and 38 Tests
for Australia
, taking 138 wickets as a medium-fast bowler. He played in 29 ODI's between 1974 and 1981, including matches during World Series Cricket
from 1977 to 1979. His strange bowling action, particularly the way he moved his feet, earned Walker the nickname of "Tangles" or "Tanglefoot".
's Nine's Wide World of Sports program until it was cancelled in 1999. He was also a commentator for Channel Nine's cricket matches between 1986 and 1991.
Walker is also a writer, and has written many light hearted books including The Wit of Walker, How to Kiss a Crocodile and How to Puzzle a Python. Today, Walker is prominent on the public speaking circuit, and in 2005 made a rare TV appearance on the Nine Network
's sports show Any Given Sunday, hosted by James Brayshaw
, as well as ABC2's sports programme "Late Night Legends" featuring highlight of the 1974/75 Ashes series in which Walker played a prominent role. he has begun writing his new book titled A Joker I A.
Walker has also been parodied by The Twelfth Man
, on the 1994 album Wired World of Sports II
. It follows Walker through a day at his job at the Nine Network
in which he is involved in an assault on co-host Ken Sutcliffe
in order to increase his chances of being included on the cricket commentary team. Also, there is a reference to Walker's book publishing when on the album Billy Birmingham
(as Walker) remarks, "Have you got my latest book, Alligators and Arseholes? What about Dingoes and Dropkicks?" These were initial Walker Books
He is a supporter of the Melbourne Football Club
in the Australian Football League
.
He also appears on one of the Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency's advertisements.
for service to cricket at a national and international level as a player and commentator, and to the community through a range of youth and social welfare organisations.
Walker is an avid collector of fountain pens and in fact uses one when writing the manuscripts for his books.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 12 September 1948) is a former Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
and VFL/AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
footballer. Formerly an architect, he currently works as a media commentator and motivational speaker and has diverse business interests.
Football career
Walker was educated at The Friends' School, HobartThe Friends' School, Hobart
The Friends' School, Hobart is an independent, co-educational, Quaker, day and boarding school, located in North Hobart, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
graduating with a Fellowship Diploma of Architecture.
Walker started his sports career when he played Australian rules football
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...
with the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
from 1967 to 1972. He was a ruckman and defender who played 85 games and scored 23 goals. He played senior football at VFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
level, never playing locally in Tasmania. After his foray in football he moved to cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
Cricket career
Walker then moved to cricket and played 70 first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
games for Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and 38 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, taking 138 wickets as a medium-fast bowler. He played in 29 ODI's between 1974 and 1981, including matches during World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
from 1977 to 1979. His strange bowling action, particularly the way he moved his feet, earned Walker the nickname of "Tangles" or "Tanglefoot".
Writing career
Max Walker famous for his sporting exploits is also the author of 14 books with his sales exceeding 1 million copies. This includes seven Number 1 best sellers. His first book was Tangles (written with Neil Phillipson), was published in 1976 while his fourteenth book Caps, Hats and Helmets came out in 2006.Media career
Once he retired from cricket, Walker became a big celebrity on television and radio. He appeared on The Sunday Footy Show as a panellist, and also hosted the Nine NetworkNine 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...
's Nine's Wide World of Sports program until it was cancelled in 1999. He was also a commentator for Channel Nine's cricket matches between 1986 and 1991.
Walker is also a writer, and has written many light hearted books including The Wit of Walker, How to Kiss a Crocodile and How to Puzzle a Python. Today, Walker is prominent on the public speaking circuit, and in 2005 made a rare TV appearance on 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...
's sports show Any Given Sunday, hosted by James Brayshaw
James Brayshaw
James Antony Brayshaw is a former state cricketer and now Australian television and radio personality. As a cricketer he was known as Jamie Brayshaw. He is the son of former Western Australian cricketer and Australian rules footballer Ian Brayshaw, and the brother of Mark Brayshaw, a former...
, as well as ABC2's sports programme "Late Night Legends" featuring highlight of the 1974/75 Ashes series in which Walker played a prominent role. he has begun writing his new book titled A Joker I A.
Walker has also been parodied by The Twelfth Man
The Twelfth Man
The Twelfth Man is the name for a series of comedy productions by Australian satirist Billy Birmingham. Birmingham, a skilled impersonator, is generally known for parodying Australian sports commentators' voices...
, on the 1994 album Wired World of Sports II
Wired World of Sports II
Wired World of Sports II is the fifth album released by The Twelfth Man. Released in December 1994, it reached number one on the ARIA Album Charts...
. It follows Walker through a day at his job at 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...
in which he is involved in an assault on co-host Ken Sutcliffe
Ken Sutcliffe
Ken Sutcliffe is a popular sporting television personality, born in Oberon, New South Wales but lived most of his growing up days in Mudgee. Also known as the "Male Model from Mudgee" and "Ken Withsport".-Career:...
in order to increase his chances of being included on the cricket commentary team. Also, there is a reference to Walker's book publishing when on the album Billy Birmingham
Billy Birmingham
Billy Birmingham is an Australian humourist and sometime sports journalist, most noted for his parodies of Australian cricket commentary in recordings under The Twelfth Man name. He was the writer of the comedy hit Australiana which was made famous by performer Austen Tayshus...
(as Walker) remarks, "Have you got my latest book, Alligators and Arseholes? What about Dingoes and Dropkicks?" These were initial Walker Books
He is a supporter of the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
He also appears on one of the Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency's advertisements.
Honours
On 13 June 2011, Walker was named a Member of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for service to cricket at a national and international level as a player and commentator, and to the community through a range of youth and social welfare organisations.
Personal life
Married to Kerry Walker he has five children (three of them from a first marriage).Walker is an avid collector of fountain pens and in fact uses one when writing the manuscripts for his books.
External links
- AFL Statistics: Max Walker
- Brydon Coverdale, "Australia's Winter Allrounders: XI Test Cricketers who played Australian Rules football at the highest level", Cricinfo, 28 May 2007
- Max Walker's Full Biography
- Max Walker - Official Website
- Speaker Solutions - Max Walker
- Interview on ABC Television's Talking Heads February 2007
- List of Max Walker's books