Kevin O'Neill

Kevin O'Neill was born in Cessnock in 1925 and attended Cessnock Primary School.

He played soccer for Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, West Wallsend, Lake Macquarie, Awaba and Weston in the Northern NSW competition.

He played a total of 512 first grade appearances, of which 410 were for Cessnock, in a playing career spanning almost 20 years from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Kevin was the first Northern NSW player to try his luck in Sydney when the Federation assumed control of the game, and played for two seasons with the Sydney club Prague.

He made his NSW debut in 1946, and played in a record 20 North vs South matches up until 1962.

Kevin also made his mark internationally, playing for Australia in 26 full Internationals and 10 Tests, including tours of South Africa in 1950 and New Zealand in 1958.

Kevin captained Australia in two tests against Hearts of Midlothian, and served as Vice-Captain on a number of occasions.

Kevin was inducted into the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.