A TRIBUTE TO TWO LEGENDS
BIRTH OF ORIGIN
The Story Behind State of Origin's First Captains
The Men Behind the Legend
This website is a tribute to the first two State of Origin Captains – Tommy Raudonikis and Artie Beetson. This site was built by Justin Karcher, the man who managed both gents up until they sadly left us. Justin continues to talk about both gents to this day, to reminisce with old footy heads and to keep the legends of Tommy and Artie firmly in the front of the minds of all league fans.
If you see JK hosting the next event you’re at, tell him your Tommy and/or Artie story. We all have one, at least!
July 8th 1980 will live on in rugby league fans minds forever. Imagine if NSW won that game? We wouldn’t have the jugonaut we have today. There were 33,210 people there that day, Justin reckons he’s met all 45,000 of them! Tommy talked about the feeling on the street of Brisbane that day and how you could, at the the ground, cut the tension in the air with a knife. Tommy knew something special was about to happen. He tried to warn the team, but they were too busy enjoying the happy hour prices. Artie, a man who had captianed NSW and played 18 times for them was finally coming home. The rest is folklore and the links below will feed you more if you wish.
ARTIE, TOMMY & THE STORIES IN BETWEEN
Between 2008 and 2011, Artie, Tommy and Justin Karcher performed more than 100 Birth of Origin shows across Australia
Every show produced new stories, laughs and memories that deserve to be preserved.
Everything above has been said and written about ad nauseam since 1980. This website is about giving you tit bits and footage Google doesn’t have. For example, Justin can vouch for the fact that Artie truly did know the names of the owners of every pie shop across QLD and NSW. Artie had an unbelievable memory for names. Let alone the fact he was a golden gloves boxing contender and could have been a professional squash or table tennis player. The man had the gift of hand eye coordination.
Another example, Tommy was a wordssmith. He would complete crossword after crossword in the car during their travels, solving clues with words that only University professors should know. The good university professors from the 70s, 80s and 90s we might add!
There can only be one first State of Origin. Thank you Artie and Tommy for providing us with that gift. Justin tells us that both gents would be pissed off today to find out how much the current players are paid and how the camps aren’t what they used to be! Just ask Laurie Daley, Darryl Lockyer, Joey Johns, John Singleton and many others next time you get the chance!
