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Well-known member
PEOPLE say Laurie Nichols died of a broken heart after his beloved Balmain Tigers moved west.
The 79-year-old, who died in February 2000, just two weeks shy of the Wests Tigers’ first game, lived and breathed Balmain and attended every game for 30 years at Leichhardt Oval before the club merged with Western Suburbs Magpies.
For his pain and his passion, the inner west is about to give something back.
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Inner West
Proposal for Balmain Tigers’ fan Laurie Nichols to have Leichhardt lane named after him
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PEOPLE say Laurie Nichols died of a broken heart after his beloved Balmain Tigers moved west.
The 79-year-old, who died in February 2000, just two weeks shy of the Wests Tigers’ first game, lived and breathed Balmain and attended every game for 30 years at Leichhardt Oval before the club merged with Western Suburbs Magpies.
For his pain and his passion, the inner west is about to give something back.
Nichols died in 2000, weeks before Wests Tigers played their first game.
Nichols died in 2000, weeks before Wests Tigers played their first game.
Leichhardt Council will vote next week on a proposal to name the passageway next to Leichhardt Oval Laurie Nichols Lane.
Cr Darcy Bryne said the shadow-boxing, singlet-wearing Mr Nichols was an identity of the game and the competition’s undisputed No.1 fan.
“It’s time to make sure that Laurie is commemorated properly, and there is no more fitting way to honour his memory than to permanently associate his name with his beloved Leichhardt Oval,” Cr Byrne said.
Balmain Tigers Football Club chairman Leslie Glenn said Mr Nichols would be honoured by the gesture.
“He’d love it but he was never a grandstander,” Mr Glenn said.
“He was always about the club. He was always about the players. He was such a supportive bloke. He gave all the players nicknames and never had a bad word to say about anybody.
“He had some things to say to the opposition but he was never unkind.
“The club gained an awful lot from having Laurie around and we all miss him,” he said.
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LIFE OF LAURIE NICHOLS
■ Was born on January 1, 1922 and had 12 siblings
■ Lived in Leichhardt briefly in the 1940s
■ Was presented with a Number One Fan Balmain shirt when the club won the premiership in 1969
■ He spoke through tears at public meetings against merger in 1999
■ He died in February 2000, weeks before the Wests Tigers first game
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/proposal-for-balmain-tigers-fan-laurie-nichols-to-have-leichhardt-lane-named-after-him/story-fngr8h4f-1227138286703
The 79-year-old, who died in February 2000, just two weeks shy of the Wests Tigers’ first game, lived and breathed Balmain and attended every game for 30 years at Leichhardt Oval before the club merged with Western Suburbs Magpies.
For his pain and his passion, the inner west is about to give something back.
\
\
Inner West
Proposal for Balmain Tigers’ fan Laurie Nichols to have Leichhardt lane named after him
\
\
PEOPLE say Laurie Nichols died of a broken heart after his beloved Balmain Tigers moved west.
The 79-year-old, who died in February 2000, just two weeks shy of the Wests Tigers’ first game, lived and breathed Balmain and attended every game for 30 years at Leichhardt Oval before the club merged with Western Suburbs Magpies.
For his pain and his passion, the inner west is about to give something back.
Nichols died in 2000, weeks before Wests Tigers played their first game.
Nichols died in 2000, weeks before Wests Tigers played their first game.
Leichhardt Council will vote next week on a proposal to name the passageway next to Leichhardt Oval Laurie Nichols Lane.
Cr Darcy Bryne said the shadow-boxing, singlet-wearing Mr Nichols was an identity of the game and the competition’s undisputed No.1 fan.
“It’s time to make sure that Laurie is commemorated properly, and there is no more fitting way to honour his memory than to permanently associate his name with his beloved Leichhardt Oval,” Cr Byrne said.
Balmain Tigers Football Club chairman Leslie Glenn said Mr Nichols would be honoured by the gesture.
“He’d love it but he was never a grandstander,” Mr Glenn said.
“He was always about the club. He was always about the players. He was such a supportive bloke. He gave all the players nicknames and never had a bad word to say about anybody.
“He had some things to say to the opposition but he was never unkind.
“The club gained an awful lot from having Laurie around and we all miss him,” he said.
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LIFE OF LAURIE NICHOLS
■ Was born on January 1, 1922 and had 12 siblings
■ Lived in Leichhardt briefly in the 1940s
■ Was presented with a Number One Fan Balmain shirt when the club won the premiership in 1969
■ He spoke through tears at public meetings against merger in 1999
■ He died in February 2000, weeks before the Wests Tigers first game
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/proposal-for-balmain-tigers-fan-laurie-nichols-to-have-leichhardt-lane-named-after-him/story-fngr8h4f-1227138286703