A late mid year transfer from Central Newcastle after representing Country Seconds. In 1950 Churchill was the youngest player to be selected as Australian Test captain. A day in the 1950s when the renowned Eastern Suburbs front-rower Ray Stehr was broadcasting a Souths match for 2UE. In response to a moment of exceptional Churchillean brilliance on the field, Stehr declared: "I never saw Dally Messenger (known within the game by then as 'The Master') play, "but I have seen a Little Master and that is Clive Churchill." Stehr's tag stuck – and so it was that almost as if by an official bestowal, Clive was 'The Little Master' forevermore.
Representative Qualification NSW Country Date of Birth 21st January 1927 (Died - 1985) Previous Clubs Central Newcastle (1946-47) NSW Country II (1947)
Playing Career at South Sydney (1947-58)
South Sydney First Grade Debut
1947 Tour1 Woll v Group 7 (20y 187d)
1947 Rd17 Ersk v Newtown (Premiership - 20y 207d)
First Grade
Premiership : Australian Championship : Tour
M S R T G/A FG Pts : M S R T G/A FG Pts : M S R T G/A FG Pts
1947 2 2 - - 4 - 8 : : 3 3 - 1 4 - 11
1948 9 9 - - 5 - 10 : : 1 1 - - - - -
1949 18 18 - - 2 - 4 : : - - - - - - -
1950 17 17 - - 9 - 18 : : 2 2 - 2 2 - 10
1951 17 17 - 5 2 1 21 : 1 1 - - 2 - 4 : - - - - - - -
1952 8 8 - 2 - - 6 : : 1 1 - - - - -
1953 13 13 - 3 9 - 27 : : 1 1 - - - - -
1954 16 16 - 1 6 1 17 : : 1 1 - - - - -
1955 14 14 - - 4 2 12 : : 2 2 - - - 1 2
1956 10 10 - 1 4 - 11 : : 1 1 - - 4 - 8
1957 16 16 - - 24 2 52 : : 1 1 - - 4 - 8
1958 17 17 - 1 2 - 7 : : 6 6 - 2 8 - 22
TOTAL 157 157 - 13 71 6 193 : 1 1 - - 2 - 4 : 19 19 - 5 22 1 61
SS Cup 1 1 - - 2 - 4
SS FG 177 177 - 18 95 7 258
Captaincy Record at South Sydney
South Sydney First Grade Captaincy Debut
1950 Rd08 v Manly-Warringah
First Grade
Year Premiership( W- D-L %) : Other( W- D-L %)
1950 2( 1- 0-1 50%) :
1953 1( 0- 0-1 0%) :
1955 3( 1- 0-2 33%) :
1957 7( 4- 0-3 57%) :
1958 17( 6- 0-11 35%) : 6( 6- 0-0 100%)
TOTAL 30( 12- 0-18 40%) : 6( 6- 0-0 100%)
SS FG 36( 18- 0-18 50%)
Suspension Record at South Sydney
Year Grade v Wk CHARGE 1953 Rd05 FG St George - Abusing Touch Judge 1955 Trial FG St George - Kicking
Player Awards
Year Award 1949 - E.E. Christensen Player of the Year 1950 - E.E. Christensen Player of the Year 1950 - Claude Corbett Memorial Trophy 1952 - E.E. Christensen Player of the Year 1952 - Sunday-Herald Best and Fairest 1952 - Sunday Telegraph Star of the Year 1952 - Sunday Telegraph Player of the Year 1953 - Sunday Telepgrah Star of the Year 1953 - Sunday Telegraph Player of the Year 1954 - Clive Churchill Medal (Grand Final man of the match) 1954 - Claude Corbett Memorial Trophy 1955 - Sunday Telegraph Star of the Year 1955 - Sunday Telegraph Player of the Year 1957 - Sunday Telegraph Star of the Year 1978 - ARL 40 Greatest Players 1981 - Rugby League Week Immortal 1985 - Sport Australia Hall of Fame 1986 - SCG Grandstand named in his honour 1986 - Clive Churchill Medal named in his honour 1992 - Rugby League Week Dream Team (Fullback) 1992 - Rugby League Week Top 100 best player 2001 - SCG Trust Walk of Honour 2002 - NRL Hall of Fame 2002 - International Rugby League Hall of Fame 2003 - Great Kangaroo Tourists (Captain) 2007 - ARL Team of the Decade (1950s - Fullback) 2007 - ARL 100 Greatest Players 2008 - New South Wales Team of the Century (Fullback) 2008 - Australian Rugby League Team of the Century (Fullback) 2017 - NSWRL Hall of Fame
Representative Honours at South Sydney
Domestic CvC / Interstate : Tourists : Other
M S R T G/A FG Pts : M S R T G/A FG Pts : M S R T G/A FG Pts
Sydney City II 1948 : : 1 1 - - - - -
Possibles 1948 : : 1 1 - - - - -
Sydney City 1948-56 9 9 - 2 3 1 14 : 3 3 - 7 8 - 14 :
New South Wales 1948-57 27 27 - 4 15 3 48 : 11 11 - 1 13 - 29 : 1 1 - - - - -
TOTAL 53 53 - 7 38 4 105
International Internationals : Other
M S R T G/A FG Pts : M S R T G/A FG Pts
Australia 1948-56 39 39 - - 9 1 20 : 58 58 - 3 29 1 69
Australia XIII 1951 : 1 1 - - - - -
Australasia 1954 1 1 - - - - - :
TOTAL 99 99 - 3 38 2 89
ALL REPS 152 152 - 10 76 6 194
Captaincy CvC/Interstate/Internationals : Tourists : Other
M( W- D-L %) : M( W- D-L %) : M( W- D-L %)
Australia 1948-56 29( 13- 0-16 45%) : : 32( 26- 2-4 81%)
New South Wales 1950-55 17( 11- 0-6 65%) : 10( 6- 1-2 60%) :
Sydney City 1951-56 5( 4- 0-1 80%) : 3( 2- 1-0 67%)
Australia XIII 1951 : 1( 0- 0-1 0%)
Australasia 1954 1( 1- 0-0 100%) :
ALL REPS 98( 63- 4-30 66%)
Year Pos Team Versus Match T G/A FG
1948 Flbk Sydney City II v NSW Country II - - -
1948 Flbk Possibles v Probables - - -
1948 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country 2nd Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 2nd Test - - -
1948 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 4th Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Huddersfield Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Belle Vue Tour Match - 1 -
1948 Flbk Australia v Hull Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Salford Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 1st Test - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Drewsbury Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Wigan Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Barrow Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Leeds Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Warrington Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 2nd Test - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Swinton Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Wales Test - - - (c) W
1948 Flbk Australia v Yorkshire Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Lancashire Tour Match - - -
1948 Flbk Australia v Catalan Tour Match - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v Carcassonne Tour Match - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v France 1st Test - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v Lyons-Roanne Tour Match - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v France 2nd Test - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 3rd Test - - -
1949 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country - - -
1949 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match - - -
1949 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match 1 - -
1949 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - - -
1949 Flbk New South Wales v Brisbane Tour Match - - -
1949 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 4th Match - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 1st Test - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v Auckland Tour Match - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v NZ Nthrn Provinces Tour Match - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 2nd Test - - -
1949 Flbk Australia v Auckland Colts Tour Match 1 - -
1950 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country - - -
1950 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match 1 2 -
1950 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match - - -
1950 Flbk New South Wales v Great Britain 1st Match - - -
1950 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 1st Test - - - (c) L
1950 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - 1 - (c) W
1950 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 2nd Test - 1 - (c) W
1950 Flbk New South Wales v Great Britain 2nd Match - - - (c) L
1950 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 3rd Test - 1 - (c) W
1951 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country 1 - - (c) W
1951 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match - 2 - (c) L
1951 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match - - - (c) W
1951 Flbk Sydney City v France - - - (c) D
1951 Flbk Australia v France 1st Test - - - (c) L
1951 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - - - (c) L
1951 Flbk Australia v France 2nd Test - - 1 (c) W
1951 Flbk New South Wales v France 1st Match - - - (c) D
1951 Flbk Australia v France 3rd Test - - - (c) L
1951 Flbk Australia XIII v France - - - (c) L
1952 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country 1st Match 1 - -
1952 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match - - -
1952 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match 1 - 1 (c) W
1952 Flbk New South Wales v New Zealand Tour Match - - - (c) L
1952 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 1st Test - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match 1 - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 2nd Test - - - (c) L
1952 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 3rd Test - 3 - (c) L
1952 Flbk Australia v Kangaroos Odds (c) (Match Abandoned)
1952 Flbk Australia v Western Australia Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Keighley Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Hull Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Barrow Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Oldham Tour Match - - - (c) D
1952 Flbk Australia v Halifax Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v St Helens Tour Match - - - (c) L
1952 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 1st Test - - - (c) L
1952 Flbk Australia v Leigh Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Hunslet Tour Match 1 8 - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Workington Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Huddersfield Tour Match - 6 - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 2nd Test - - - (c) L
1952 Flbk Australia v Hull KR Tour Match - 1 - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Lancashire Tour Match - 1 - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Yorkshire Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Widnes Tour Match - 1 - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 3rd Test - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Villeneuve Tour Match - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v France 1st Test - - - (c) W
1952 Flbk Australia v Carcassonne Tour Match 2 - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v France 2nd Test - - - (c) L
1953 Flbk Australia v Provence Tour Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v France 3rd Test - - - (c) L
1953 Flbk Australia v The Rest - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country - - - (c) L
1953 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match - - -
1953 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Sydney City v USA - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk New South Wales v USA 1st Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - - - (c) L
1953 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 4th Match - - - (c) L
1953 Australia (NZ Tour Squad) (c)
1953 Flbk Australia v NZ West Coast Tour Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 1st Test - - - (c) L
1953 Flbk Australia v NZ South Island Tour Match 1 - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 2nd Test - - - (c) L
1953 5/8 Australia v Taranaki Tour Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v South Auckland Tour Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v Auckland Tour Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 3rd Test - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk New South Wales v USA 2nd Match - - - (c) W
1953 Flbk Sydney City v Brisbane (c) (Selected but withdrew due to injury)
1954 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country - 3 1 (c) W
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match - - 1 (c) W
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk Sydney City v Great Britain - 7/8 - (c) W
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Great Britain 1st Match - 3/4 - (c) W
1954 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 1st Test - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 4th Match - - 1 (c) W
1954 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 2nd Test - - - (c) L
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Great Britain 2nd Match - - - (c) A (Match abandoned)
1954 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 3rd Test - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk New South Wales v Great Britain 3rd Match - 1 - (c) W
1954 Australia (World Cup Tour Squad) (c)
1954 Flbk Australia v Great Britain RLWC - - - (c) L
1954 Flbk Australia v New Zealand RLWC - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk Australia v France RLWC - - - (c) L
1954 Flbk Australiasia v English RL XIII - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk Australia v New Zealand UK Test - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 1st LA Game - - - (c) W
1954 Flbk Australia v New Zealand 2nd LA Game - - 1 (c) W
1955 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country - - - (c) W
1955 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 1st Match - 3/5 - (c) W
1955 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 2nd Match - 4/7 - (c) L
1955 Flbk New South Wales v France 1st Match - 1/4 - (c) W
1955 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 1st Test - -/2 - (c) W
1955 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - 3 - (c) W
1955 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 4th Match - - - (c) L
1955 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 2nd Test - 1/3 - (c) L
1955 Flbk New South Wales v France 2nd Match 1 8/14 - (c) W
1955 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 3rd Test - 1 - (c) L
1956 Flbk Sydney City v NSW Country 2nd Match - - - (c)
1956 (Kangaroo Tour Squad) (vc)
1956 Flbk Australia v Liverpool City Tour Match - 4 -
1956 Flbk Australia v Hull XIII Tour Match - 2 - (c) W
1956 Flbk Australia v Barrow Tour Match - 1 - (c) W
1956 Flbk Australia v Whitehaven Tour Match - 1 - (c) L
1956 Flbk Australia v Warrington Tour Match - - -
1956 Flbk Australia v France 1st Test - 2 -
1956 Flbk Australia v Oldham Tour Match - - -
1956 Flbk Australia v Great Britain 1st Test - - -
1956 Flbk Australia v Halifax Tour Match - - - (c) L
1956 Flbk Australia v Wakefield Tour Match - 3 - (c) L
1956 Flbk Australia v French Army Tour Match - - - (c) D
1956 Flbk Australia v Albi Tour Match - - -
1956 Flbk Australia v Carcassonne Tour Match - - -
1957 Flbk Australia v Avignon Tour Match - - -
1957 Flbk Australia v Marseilles Tour Match - - -
1957 Flbk New South Wales v Queensland 3rd Match - - -
1957 Flbk New South Wales v Nthrn Hemisphere Tour Match (Withdrew due to injury)
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