“If you live long enough, they will eventually name something after you” — those were the well-chosen words of one of the region’s most respected sporting scribes as he was honoured by two Kyabram sporting organisations on Saturday afternoon.
In a manner befitting an extraordinary contribution to the Kyabram football, cricket and sporting landscape, Gus Underwood’s name will live long into the future as a permanent fixture at the Kyabram Recreation Reserve.
A joint project between the football and cricket clubs, both of which Underwood is a life member, it was unveiled before the weekend’s match in a pre-match ceremony led by Kyabram Football Netball Club president John Guinan.
As Underwood looked skyward on Saturday night, just before the first bounce of the 2024 Goulburn Valley Football League season, he was staring straight at an image of his own face — spread across the front of Kyabram Recreation Reserve timekeeper’s box.
The second storey-glass encased room is now known as The Gus Underwood Press Box and is the latest addition to the sporting facility where he has spent so many weekends during his 80 years of life.
Football club president Guinan, speaking in front of the Mooroopna and Kyabram senior football line-ups who paid homage to the long-time journalist, explained his research (and a strong mathematical mind) had estimated Underwood had reported on 1000 games of cricket and football at the venue.
Having a permanent place in sport is nothing new for Underwood, the Goulburn Murray Cricket Association’s C-grade competition is named in his honour.
And the awards have been showered on the likeable veteran of sports reporting, having been one of three inaugural inductees into the GMC Hall of Fame only a few weeks ago.
For the record, Underwood is not only a life member of Kyabram Cricket Club and Kyabram Football Netball Club, he also has had life membership bestowed upon him from the Kyabram District Cricket Association and Kyabram Trotting Club.
He was an inaugural inductee into Victorian Country Cricket League’s Hall Of Fame last year and is also a Goulburn Valley League Hall of Famer.
He won the Bob Merriman Medal for best contribution to Victorian country cricket in 2015 and received a special award from Harness Racing Victoria for services to trottings industry for 60 years.
Regular readers of the Free Press will have recently read more detail about his achievements in celebration of his 80th birthday and our congratulations go to the long time scribe for this latest recognition.