THE Golden Square sporting community has lost one of its iconic figures following the death of John Bennetts earlier this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Better known as “JB”, Bennetts was a life member of both the Golden Square cricket and football-netball clubs.
Bennetts was also a long-time member of the Golden Square Working Men’s Club Billiard and Snooker Club as both a player and official for more than 50 years.
On the cricket field Bennetts first played with Golden Square in 1954-55 in what was the first season of the Bendigo District Cricket Association’s C Grade junior competition.
He holds Golden Square’s record for B grade games with 111, taking 536 wickets with his dangerous spin bowling, while his 22 A grade games included being a member of the club’s 1960-61 premiership team.
Bennetts was also a long-time curator of the club, chairman of selectors when Robert Bakes was coach, committee member and delegate to the BDCA, where he is also a life member.
“Farewell to this legendary man who did so much for Golden Square and was so supportive of me as a young cricketer,” Rich Scarff wrote in tribute.
“One of the best pitch curators ever and I can still hear you calming us down when the sledging got a little out of hand… ‘wickets not words’.”
With the Golden Square Football-Netball Club, Bennetts also volunteered his services on the committee as the minutes secretary and was a team manager of the reserves.
Bennetts, who was also a life member of the BFNL, will be farewelled at a service next Thursday.