RICHMOND Rovers will pay tribute to club founder and Far North Coast Football legend Bill Harris with a memorial round after the 91-year-old died recently.<\/p>\n
Four games of soccer will be held at Neilson Park, East Lismore on Saturday, July 19.<\/p>\n
Harris was a life member who founded the club as a captain-coach in 1961 after winning three premierships as a player at Goonellabah.<\/p>\n
He won a premiership three years later with the club, which is now one of the biggest and most successful in the competition.<\/p>\n
“He wanted to start a new club to create more competition in the area and he had a huge involvement at every level,” Rovers club president Allan Duroux said.<\/p>\n
“He’s had an impact on everyone in the game here and we’ve probably been the biggest club in Lismore for as long as I can remember.<\/p>\n
“Bill ended up losing his vision in his later years and that really hurt him, not being able to watch his football.<\/p>\n
“He had an offsider who would sit with him and commentate the games to him, that’s how much it meant.”<\/p>\n
Harris coached Rovers for five years before moving into his role as club president.<\/p>\n
He eventually became a life member, with the fields named in his honour.<\/p>\n
The Rovers’ premier division game against Maclean will highlight the memorial round, with three other matches to be played.<\/p>\n
They will play Maclean in the championship league clash, with games against Mullumbimby and Nimbin in third and fourth division, from 1pm.<\/p>\n
The player of the match will be awarded the Bill Harris Memorial Medal.<\/p>\n
Plans are being developed to make it an annual award.<\/p>\n
“In the main game the two teams will create a circle where our life members will be invited to join them on the field for a short service,” Duroux said.<\/p>\n
“It will be a great way to honour such a significant part of our culture with everything he instilled in the club and what it stands for today.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got well over 550 members from seniors into juniors, and it can all be traced back to Bill.<\/p>\n
“Our award for best coach at the end of the year is already named after him and he certainly won’t be forgotten.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RICHMOND Rovers will pay tribute to club founder and Far North Coast Football legend Bill Harris with a memorial round after the 91-year-old died recently. Four games of soccer will be held at Neilson Park, East Lismore on Saturday, July 19. Harris was a life member who founded the club as a captain-coach in 1961 […]<\/p>\n