Johnny King

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
Johnny Cecil King
Born
Thursday, 2nd July, 1942
Current Age
81 years and 261 days
Place Of Birth
Gilgandra, New South Wales, Australia

Awards & Accolades

National Rugby League Hall Of Fame
2008

Known Family Links

Son
David King
Grandson
Max King
Father
Cec King

Biography

Brilliant winger established a record unlikely to be beaten when he scored tries in six successive grand final victories (1960-65). Originally from Gilgandra but brought up through the St George juniors King was the sole try-scorer in two grand finals (1961 & 1964) while his controversial try in the 1963 decider denied Wests the premiership. A lawn-mower accident almost resulted in the loss of his foot in October 1964 but he went on to become the greatest try-scorer in the St George club history (143t). He was also the season's leading try-scorer in 1961 (20t) and 1965 (15t). A NSW rep in four matches between 1963-65 it was not until 1966 that King made his Test debut (he had been a non-playing reserve in 1963). One of the best finishers in the game, the left flankman appeared in 13 Tests, including all six on the 1967-68 Kangaroo Tour. In 1970 he played in three matches for NSW after a five-year absence and was selected in all three Tests in an injury-ridden Australian team against Great Britain. King appeared in just one first grade match in 1971 before heading off to play in the country. In 1974 he coached Western Division to win the inaugural midweek Amco Cup competition before taking over the reins at Souths in 1976 following one of the worst seasons in the club’s history. King achieved good results but although his coaching career in Sydney stalled he enjoyed the satisfaction of coaching Country Seconds to an upset win over City in 1984.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NRL 193 143 7   - 443 141 46 6 73.06% List
NRL Finals 20 14 1   - 44 15 5 0 75.00% List
Craven Mild Cup 48 18 5   - 64 31 14 3 64.58% List
Tour Matches New South Wales Firsts 3 2 -   - 6 1 1 1 33.33% List
Tour Matches St George Dragons 2 1 -   - 3 1 1 0 50.00% List
Interstate Matches 11 11 5   - 43 10 1 0 90.91% List
City vs Country Firsts 5 3 -   - 9 5 0 0 100.00% List
Tour Matches Sydney Firsts 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tour Matches Australia 14 6 -   - 18 7 6 1 50.00% List
Test Series 13 6 -   - - 6 6 1 46.15% List
The Ashes 9 6 -   - 36 5 4 0 55.56% List
World Cup 2 2 -   - 6 2 0 0 100.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1966-68, 1970 15 8 -   - 24 8 6 1 53.33% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1966-1968 2 2 -   - 6 2 0 0 100.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NSW Firsts 1962-64, 1966-67, 1969-70 14 13 5   - 49 11 2 1 78.57% List
NSW City Seconds 1963-64 2 1 -   - 3 2 0 0 100.00% List
Sydney Firsts 1966 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1966-70 5 3 -   - 9 5 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1962-1970 22 17 5   0 61 18 3 1 81.82% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
St George NSWRFL 1960 5 7 -   - 21 5 0 0 100.00% List
St George NSWRFL 1961 20 20 -   - 60 17 3 0 85.00% List
St George NSWRFL 1962 18 16 -   - 48 13 4 1 72.22% List
St George NSWRFL 1963 21 15 -   - 45 17 3 1 80.95% List
St George NSWRFL 1964 20 12 -   - 36 17 3 0 85.00% List
St George NSWRFL 1965 14 15 -   - 45 12 2 0 85.71% List
St George NSWRFL 1966 17 11 5   - 43 13 3 1 76.47% List
St George NSWRFL 1967 23 14 -   - 42 15 7 1 65.22% List
St George NSWRFL 1968 14 6 -   - 18 7 5 2 50.00% List
St George NSWRFL 1969 23 16 -   - 48 14 9 0 60.87% List
St George NSWRFL 1970 17 10 2   - 34 11 6 0 64.71% List
St George NSWRFL 1971 1 1 -   - 3 0 1 0 0.00% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
St George 1960-71 193 143 7   - 443 141 46 6 73.06% List

Your Say

  • Polymath
    07/05/2012

    A winger with the knack of scoring a try when it counted most, esp in the big games. Terrifically safe in defence and as a finisher, a winger's winger!

    Under-utilised as a coach, took a team of amateur nobodys to success in the first mid-week cup and had his career with Souths unhappily truncated.

  • Macca
    09/08/2020

    With Ken Irvine my favourite wingers in 60 years.His ability to score tries close to line with corner post in play phenomenal .His defense was outstanding. To score tries in 6 consecutive grandfinals is still a record to this day.

  • Want to have your say about this player? Add a comment.

Contributions: Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, Paul Carter, Michael Borg