GREYHOUNDS
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They don't make goalkeeper's quite like they used to. At least, not like Jimmy Jenkins.
At 92, the oldest living Socceroo was never one to warm to the theatrical.
"I wasn't spectacular enough for the manager [Andy Henderson]. He said 'you should dive for those balls going past the post' and I said 'I don't knock myself around for anybody'," the goalkeeper recalls.
"They dropped me and he put his son in, in my place. It didn't make any difference to me."
Jenkins, who lives in Corrimal, played two matches for Australia against Yugoslavia in 1949.
The Socceroos went down 3-1 in both clashes but the experience would live long in the memory of Jenkins.
"I had to give my jersey back and my shorts back. I had three days off work, played in the test and got seven pounds 10 shillings," he remembers.
"In those days you only met a few days beforehand.
"The first test that I played in Sydney, we met on the Thursday and played on the Saturday."
The whirlwind adventure was a far cry from a humble beginning at Tarrawanna, where Jenkins began his football career.
He was being asked to trial with Corrimal Rangers as an 18-year-old and went on to play 132 straight games for the club until an argument with a committee member saw him transfer to Woonona in 1948.
After his retirement in 1953, he pursued full-time work and wound up identifying and hand-starting at Bulli Greyhound Club in 1963.
He's been there ever since.
"It was very different in those days," Jenkins said.
"They had the outside hare and it used to start in front of the boxes. You had to push the boxes on and off the track every race."
Jenkins says he has done every job "bar driving the hare" but has spent the past 19 years manning the kennel block following a knee replacement almost two decades ago.
He admits to brushing shoulders with his fair share of "interesting characters" during that time including punters "Hollywood George" Edser and "Lemonade Tommy".
But it was the greyhounds which always captured his attention.
"My favourite was Chief Havoc but I used to handle a greyhound for my mate who was another favourite of mine. His name was Raider's Joy," he recalled.
"He won seven races for my mate at Wentworth Park.
"I can go right back to before the war ... there have been a lot of good greyhounds."
Eight years shy on notching up triple figures, Jenkins plans on seeing plenty more stars go through the kennels at Bulli.
He says it's "an ambition" to reach 100 years of age and after renewing his driver's licence on Tuesday, shows no signs of slowing down.
Jim is considered a contender for Greyhound Racing NSW's Allen Wheeler Medal for lifetime achievement in the industry for a career which also saw him spend 17 years as chief steward at Moss Vale greyhounds and 12 years in the same capacity at Nowra.
The winner will be announced at the industry awards night at The Star casino on February 20.