BIO
Geoff McKee came from Redleg royalty. His father George and uncle Steve were awarded Norwood life membership after they contributed to six premierships - three each - between 1881 and 1891.
Geoff never quite matched those deeds, but he was a talented allround sportsman who played eight league games with Norwood as a rover and small forward before his work as a bank clerk took him to the country. He also kicked 15 goals in 10 B grade games for Norwood over a decade, with sporadic appearances in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935 and 1940.
Geoff narrowly missed a premiership when he played for North Gambier in 1933. He really made his mark as captain of the Cummins Rovers team which won premierships in the Great Flinders Football League in 1937, 1938 and 1939. He led the Eyre Peninsula football team in matches at Adelaide Oval in the three years leading up to World War II. He also captained the Eyre Peninsula cricket team which played a South Australian XI at Port Lincoln in 1939. At tennis he shared the Eyre Peninsula closed doubles title in 1938.
Born in Adelaide on 26 April 1913 to George McKee and his wife Ida, née Koerner, Geoff had an older brother, Leonard, and sisters Florence, Mabel and Olive. Geoff married Alice Summers at Cummins in 1936. With the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the AIF at Wayville on 3 July 1940 and served as a lieutenant in the 2/14 Australian Field Regiment in New Guinea. He was discharged on 4 February 1946.
After his days as a district cricketer with Kensington, Geoff at 40 was playing with Sturt in the Adelaide Turf competition when his 13-year-old son Peter, the team scorer, said: “You’ll never make a hundred, Dad. You’re too old.” Geoff gave the lie to that not long after by smashing 100 in boundary shots during a lightning innings of 117. Sadly for both father and son, Peter was away at Port Noarlunga that weekend and missed the feat.
Geoff McKee was 79 when he died in Adelaide on 21 November 1992.
His brother Leonard George McKee (1895 -1967) reportedly played “a few games” for Norwood before World War I, though his name does not appear in league records
P Robins, D Cox, M Coligan, G Adams Oct 2020