View source for Ray Stehr

{{short description|Australian RL coach and former Australia international rugby league footballer}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more footnotes|date=February 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2023}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name            = Ray Stehr
|fullname        = Raymond Ernest Stehr
|image           = Ray Stehr 1931.jpg
|caption         = 
|birth_date      = {{birth date|1913|01|24|df=yes}}
|birth_place     = [[Warialda, New South Wales]], Australia
|death_date      = {{death date and age|1983|06|02|1913|01|24|df=yes}}
|death_place     = [[Maroubra, New South Wales]]
|height          = {{convert|181|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight          = {{convert|84|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
|position        = {{rlp|PR}}
|club1           = [[Eastern Suburbs Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
|year1start      = 1929
|year1end        = 46 
|appearances1    = 182
|tries1          = 19
|goals1          = 4
|fieldgoals1     = 0
|points1         = 65
|teamA           = [[New South Wales Rugby League team|New South Wales]]
|yearAstart      = 1931
|yearAend        = 41
|appearancesA    = 41
|triesA          = 4 
|goalsA          = 2 
|fieldgoalsA     = 0 
|pointsA         = 16
|teamB           = [[Australia national rugby league team|Australia]]
|yearBstart      = 1933
|yearBend        = 38
|appearancesB    = 11
|triesB          = 2
|goalsB          = 0
|fieldgoalsB     = 0
|pointsB         = 6
|teamC           = [[City New South Wales Rugby League team|NSW City]]
|yearCstart      = 1933
|yearCend        = 41
|appearancesC    = 7
|triesC          = 3
|goalsC          = 2 
|fieldgoalsC     = 0 
|pointsC         = 9
|teamD           = [[Country New South Wales rugby league team|NSW Country]]
|yearDstart      = 1934
|yearDend        = 
|appearancesD    = 1
|triesD          = 1
|goalsD          = 0
|fieldgoalsD     = 0 
|pointsD         = 3
|coachteam1      = {{nowrap|[[Eastern Suburbs Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]}}
|coachyear1start = 1939, 41, 46 & 49
|coachyear1end   = 
|coachgames1     = 62
|coachwins1      = 29
|coachdraws1     = 1
|coachlosses1    = 32
|coachteam2      = {{nowrap|[[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]}}
|coachyear2start = 1947
|coachyear2end   = 48
|coachgames2     = 36
|coachwins2      = 8
|coachdraws2     = 1
|coachlosses2    = 27
|updated         = 27 October 2009
|source          = <ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/coaches/Ray_Stehr/summary.html RLP]</ref>
|new             = yes
}}

'''Raymond Ernest Stehr''' (24 January 1913 – 2 June 1983) was an Australian [[rugby league]] footballer, a [[New South Wales Rugby League team|state]] and [[Australia national rugby league team|national]] representative player whose club career was played at Sydney's [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]] club. He has been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players  Century's Top 100 Players] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225164807/http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players |date=25 February 2008 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Stehr was born in the country [[New South Wales]] town of [[Warialda]] in 1913 of [[Germans|German]] descent. As an eight-year-old child, he was diagnosed an ''incurable cripple'' after developing blood [[clot]]s at the base of his spine. He was unable to walk for two years and spent twelve months strapped to a stretcher, completely immobilised with his back encased in a plaster cast. His family moved to [[Sydney]] in search of some kind of miracle cure and, following a visit to a [[Chinese people|Chinese]] [[herbalist]], the clots began to disappear. Nevertheless, Stehr was told not to contemplate playing contact sport. Stehr defied medical opinion, becoming one of rugby league's toughest [[Rugby league positions|front rowers]].

==Club career==
First recruited as a schoolboy from Randwick Boys High School by the [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]] club in 1928, Stehr made his first-grade debut in a trial match against Newcastle ahead of the 1928 season when he was aged just 15. The following season aged just 16 years and 85 days he made his regular competition debut – still the youngest ever first-grade Australian player.

In 1934 Stehr joined the [[Group 10 Rugby League|Mudgee club]] in rural NSW as a captain-coach and also captained [[City vs Country Origin|Country]] in their annual clash against a Sydney representative side. Midway through the 1934 season he rejoined [[Sydney Roosters|Easts]] who were defeated by [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]] in the premiership decider that year. Over the next three seasons, Stehr was a member of the Eastern Suburbs side that lost just one match, winning premierships in each of those years – [[New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1935|1935]], [[New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1936|1936]] and [[New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1937|1937]].

In 1940 Stehr was captain of the Easts side that captured its [[New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1940#Premiership Final|8th premiership]]. Regular captain-coach [[Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1913)|Dave Brown]] pulled out on match day with a leg injury and Stehr led the side to a victory in the final over [[Bulldogs (rugby league team)|Canterbury-Bankstown]]. Following WWII in 1945, he led Eastern Suburbs to further [[New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1945#Premiership final|premiership glory]].

All told he played in 184 matches for Eastern Suburbs a then record.

==Representative career==
[[File:Three Rooster Blues 1931.jpg|thumb|right|300px|1931 NSW reps
[[Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1913)|Brown]], [[Ernie Norman|Norman]] and Stehr]]
He made his debut for [[New South Wales Rugby League team|New South Wales]] in 1931 and two years later was selected for the [[1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain]]. On tour he played in 26 matches, including two Tests.

Stehr played in Test series against [[New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand]] and [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]]. In the series against Britain he set an inglorious record when he was sent off in two of the three matches. The uncompromising, no-nonsense front rower was selected for his second Kangaroo tour in 1937–38.

All told he represented Australia on 55 occasions and in 11 Tests. He played 33 matches for New South Wales, a tally which stands today at third place in the most games by a player for the state (behind [[Clive Churchill]] and [[Graeme Langlands]]).

==War service==
[[World War II|WWII]] brought a premature end to his test career and Stehr spent war in the services. Stationed in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], Stehr was named captain of a North Australian representative side in a match against [[Central Australia]].

==Post-playing==
During his career, the uncompromising front row forward had a short stint as a professional [[Boxing|Boxer]]

After playing retirement in 1946, he remained involved with the game. He was coach at [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly]] in 1947-48 and Easts in 1949. A sports journalist – Stehr wrote a column, for many years, in a Sydney newspaper and worked in television media. He was also club president at Easts. In 1961 he was the commentator for the first Australian rugby league match ever broadcast live. His typical sign-off call in the media was always "Easts To Win!".

Ray Stehr died on 2 June 1983 aged 70.

==Accolades==
Stehr was named in Eastern Suburbs greatest ever team – an honorary team.  .

In February 2008, Stehr was named in the list of Australia's [[List of Australian rugby league's 100 greatest players|''100 Greatest Players'']] (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the [[National Rugby League|NRL]] and [[Australian Rugby League|ARL]] to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.<ref>{{cite news|author=Peter Cassidy|publisher=Macquarie National News|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players|url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|access-date=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225164807/http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|archive-date=25 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[National Rugby League|NRL]] & [[Australian Rugby League|ARL]]|title=Centenary of Rugby League – The Players|url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true|access-date=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080226180521/http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true|archive-date=26 February 2008}}</ref>

==References==
* {{cite book| last1=Whiticker|first1=Alan|last2=Hudson|first2=Glen|title=The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players|year=2007
|publisher=Gary Allen Pty Ltd|location=Wetherill Park, NSW }}
* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney

==External links==
*[http://www.sydneyroosters.com.au/100years/player_profiles.php?profile_id=76 Ray Stehr at ''Sydney Roosters 100 Years'']{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

==Footnotes==
<!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php] -->
{{reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-sport}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Percy Williams (Australia)|Percy Williams]]<br>1948
| after  = [[Ernie Norman]]<br>1950–1952
| title  = [[List of Sydney Roosters coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|sydney roosters|size=18}}<br>[[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
| years  = 1949
}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Harold Johnson (rugby league)|Harold Johnson]]<br>1947
| after  = [[George Mullins (rugby league)|George Mullins]]<br>1949
| title  = [[List of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|manly|size=18}}<br>[[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]
| years  = 1947–1948
}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Arthur Halloway]]<br>1945
| after  = [[Arthur Halloway]]<br>1947
| title  = [[List of Sydney Roosters coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|sydney roosters|size=18}}<br>[[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
| years  = 1946
}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1913)|Dave Brown]]<br>1940
| after  = [[Joe Pearce (Australian rugby league)|Joe Pearce]]<br>1942
| title  = [[List of Sydney Roosters coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|sydney roosters|size=18}}<br>[[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
| years  = 1941
}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Arthur Halloway]]<br>1933–1938
| after  = [[Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1913)|Dave Brown]]<br>1940
| title  = [[List of Sydney Roosters coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|sydney roosters|size=18}}<br>[[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
| years  = 1939
}}
{{S-end}}

{{1935 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand squad}}
{{Eastern Suburbs squad 1935 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Eastern Suburbs squad - 1936 NSWRFL premiers}}
{{Eastern Suburbs squad - 1940 NSWRFL premiers}}
{{Eastern Suburbs squad - 1945 NSWRFL premiers}}
{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Coaches}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stehr, Ray}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:Australia national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Australian people of German descent]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league coaches]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league commentators]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league journalists]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league players]]
[[Category:City New South Wales rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Country New South Wales rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Manly Warringah Sea Eagles coaches]]
[[Category:New South Wales rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from New South Wales]]
[[Category:Rugby league props]]
[[Category:Sydney Roosters coaches]]
[[Category:Sydney Roosters players]]
[[Category:Sydney Roosters captains]]
[[Category:People educated at Randwick Boys High School]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]