No 19 MALCOLM HEARD
6 feet 5 inch (198cms) Forward/Centre
1960 Olympic Games
The Australian team players at the 1960 Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Bologna Italy were standing at centre court of the stadium. Their attention was focused on the ball that was to be used for the games. It was nothing like anything they had seen. It was leather, but it was made of panels and looked more like a soccer ball than a basketball and looked decidedly out of shape. Malcolm Heard and his brother John tried some dribbling with the ball and it was difficult to control. Mal had a couple of shots and that wasn’t much better. A team member got the idea to roll the ball along the floor to see what happened. This was done and the players watched in fascination as the ball slowly rolled down the floor in an ever-increasing arc! “Good-luck with that”, Mal muttered.
Malcolm Heard was born June 16th 1935, in Unley, Adelaide, South Australia.
He played Aussie Rules (AFL), soccer and represented his State South Australia (SA)in 1950 at Lacrosse. He started playing basketball at fifteenyears of age when Rev. R.T. Wootton talked him into playing in the newly formed SA Baptist Competition. The game of basketball at that time was mainly being coached and played by ex-servicemen who had learnt the game from the Americans while overseas or by migrants from the Displaced Persons Camps of Europe after the Second World War in Europe.
The basketball games were played outdoors on asphalt, dirt and concrete tennis courts, where the backboards were wooden and the nets often made of chain. Tennis was a favourite sport for Mal and it would become his sport after he retired from basketball. He represented SA as a junior tennis player at the same time as he took up basketball after undergoing a growth spurt. Mal grew to 6 feet 5inches (194cms) in height (tall in those days!) in his teens. He played in a SA versus Victoria Church representative team. His team included Peter Sutton (future 1956 Olympian) who had a big influence on Malcolm’s career and enticed Mal to play with the Old Boys’ Institute (O.B.I)team in the State league.His big chancecame when he was coached by Vern “Skip” Thomas. Mal and Peter’s team went on to win the Church league title seven years in a row and were unbeaten in that period.
In 1954 Mal played his first season in SA State League basketball. His major opposition and influences over the next years included Ado Mannik, George Dancis, Inga Freidenfelds, the Hody brothers Les and John, Peter Sutton, Colin Burdett, Algis Ignatavicius, and the Mormon Missionaries. Mal recalls, “Playing with players of the caliber of Peter Sutton, Colin Burdett, Algis Ignatavicius and against George Dancis, Inga Freidenfelds was an inspiration and set a standard which challenged me.”
Mal won the Most Improved Player Award in 1954 for the SA Basketball League and was a member of the O.B.I. League premiership winning team in 1956. In 1955 Mal was selected to his first senior SA team and played back-up center to George Dancis in the Australian championships that were held in Sydney. In the same year he played against the US Far East Air Force team that toured Australia and he also played against the 1956 Australian Olympic Team.
Mal was a member of the SA senior team from 1955 through to 1967 except in 1965 and 1966 when he was unavailable. During that period SA was the dominant team in Australian basketball winning seven titles in twelve years. Mal played as a centre, then a forward and ended up playing the guard position. In 1956 he played with an Australian “second” team against teams from the US Far East Air Force which was playing games against the Australian Olympic team.
Mal won SA’s highest basketball award the Woollacott Medal in 1964 and 1965.
Prior to the selection of the 1960 Olympic team Mal badly injured his ankle. He was on crutches for two weeks. He was, however, selected to play for SA at the 1959 Australian Championships where SA defeated NSW in the final. Though he was hampered by his injury throughout the championships he was selected to the 1960 Olympic team. His younger brother John was also selected to the Olympic team and they became the first brothers to play on an Australian Olympic basketball team.
Mal has many memories of the 1960 Rome Olympic campaign. He explained that the team came to Adelaide to live and work as well as play in the SA district competition. The players were not paid, nor did they receive financial assistance in any form as they were amateurs.
After a long and arduous trip via the Philippines the Australian Olympic Team played in the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bologna, Italy.
“In Bologna we were introduced to the type of ball to be used for the Olympics, a leather paneled ball similar to a soccer ball. When rolled across the floor the ball would roll in a large arc indicating how out of shape they were. It was difficult for us to get used to dribbling and shooting the ball,” remembered Mal.
The team did not play to their expectations and finished 17th out of 28 teams and did not qualify for the Olympic Finals in Rome. “It was obvious to me that we lacked the experience of the other nations, had little international competition and our skill level and fitness was not equivalent to the Europeans,” said Mal.
Despite missing out on the Olympic Finals the players were able to live in Rome and attend many of the events including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. “The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were special and the Closing Ceremony was very emotional and a highlight for me,” recalled Mal. The players enjoyed watching Australians such as Herb Elliot win in athletics and watching the fabulous US team win the Gold Medal in the basketball.
Mal and his team-mates also enjoyed the trip home by seaon the RMS “Strathaird”. On the ship they were accompanied by the West Indian cricket team which was on its way to Australia where they played the famous tied test match.
In 1962 Mal played for Australia in an unofficial World Championship in the Philippines. The tournament was organized, the Australian’s chose a team, but then FIBA refused to sanction the event and called it an “Invitational” World Championships so it does not register as an official World Championship. His brother John went on to play for Australia at the 1964 Olympic Games. Mal toured to the Philippines and Hong Kong on a number of occasions with the Venture for Victory Basketball Team.
Mal retired from basketball after the 1967 season after winning an engineering scholarship to work in the United Kingdom for twelve months.
He was a foundation member of the United Church Club (now Sturt Basketball Club). He became president of the Sturt Club and the senior coach in 1969 and coached the Club to its first ever senior SA premiership in the 1969/70 season. He came out of retirement a number of times and played his last season with Sturt in 1975. He refereed Church Association basketball for over twenty years.
Mal stayed involved in basketball at Bellevue Heights Baptist Church and refereed there for many years, and was President of the SA Church Basketball Association for three years.
His wife Jo played basketball for O.B.I and his son Stephen was a SA State junior player and his daughter Alison played for Sturt.
After basketball Mal returned to tennis and represented SA at Australian Veterans Championships and won South Australian State singles and doubles titles a number of times. In 2010 he played for Australia at the World Seniors Tennis Tournament in Turkey with partner Ray Woodforde (father of Davis Cup and Wimbledon Doubles Champion Mark Woodforde) and the pair won the Bronze Medal in their division.
His career in all sports has been the more remarkable as Mal was born with a club foot, was unable to walk until he was two years of age and his re-constituted right foot was several sizes smaller than his other foot.
A degree in Civil Engineering led him into State Roads as Principal Engineer, then as the City Engineer with the local Council.
Mal is a Life Member of Sturt Basketball Club, SA Church Basketball Association, SA Church Basketball Officials Association and BASA Players. He was a member of the South Australian Olympic Council (representing the SA Olympic Club) and served as President. He was a Torchbearer for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The Flame was passed to him by his brother John.
Malcolm Heard passed away April 11th, 2011. He was 75 years of age.
Nephew Gary Heard described Mal.“He was a man who had tremendous capabilities but a marvelous humility. He set himself high goals and worked hard to achieve them but he was very careful not to do that at the expense of his relationships. Everybody always said you couldn’t have met a nicer bloke.”
Mal Heard (15) scoring against NSW in 1967 in Perth
(Courtesy of M. Heard)
Mal (right) receiving the Woolacott Medal for best and fairest in South Australia
(Courtesy of M. Heard/Barry Hannaford)
Mal Heard (left) and his brother John Heard
Sydney 2000 Olympic Flame Relay (Courtesy J. Heard)
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