Story: Rex "Moose" Mossop

[HoldenV8]

The Moose didn't just play union and league at the highest level and go on to a long rugby league commentary career. He also spent a fair bit of time as an announcer at the Sydney Showground Speedway in the 1960s with Mike Raymond and also did commentary alongside Raymond at Liverpool doing the television call for Ch.7 during the 1982 Speedway World Pairs Final.

He even had a go at driving a speedcar once at the showground in the days before roll cages (like in the provided movie clip). He admitted that it scared the life out of him (in those days, the speedcars had an average of at least one death per season at the Showground, and looking at the cars its not hard to see why). This is Mossop and Raymond commentating a speedcar match race at the Showground in 1966.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Met him at a GF lunch at the Leagues club in the 80’s, so probably 82/83, I’d brought a group down from Moree for the game and we had 40 people there ( 4 tables of 10) he’d heard about me spreading the Manly love and Arko’s secretary ( Pam) bought him over to meet me, I was awestruck at the time!

 

[BOZO]

There was nothing Mediocre about the Moose . He was all Manly !!!
I met him when I was doing some part time security work at the club and the oval for ADT years ago and he was huge in stature and huge in personality . Always said it how he saw it . Always obliging to say g'day.
I remember asking his who his all time favourite player was and without thinking he said it was the incomparable Immortal Bob Fulton !!!

 

[dessie]

A bunch of us kids were hanging around outside the dressing room after a game at Brookie, circa 1966-1968, the Moose said "I'll see if I can get you inside". Well, he did, but my only memory from inside was seeing Bill Hamilton on the massage table. Old Herman looked like a massive beached whale to me ....! When I was in my early 20's, I managed to share a beer and a yarn with Rex in the Leagues Club for 15 minutes or so; what a lovely, passionate guy he was. Had the biggest, gnarliest hands I ever saw. Absolute legend ...

 

[rosco]

I started caddying at Manly Golf Club early 70's and after a couple of Saturdays was asked to caddy for 'Mr Mossop'. Being a mad Eagles supporter I was stoked. I couldn't work out why a new caddy would get to caddy for the Moose. After a few holes I knew why. He went through caddies like the Eels go through halves. You had to keep one eye on where his ball went and one on where the club finished up. Learnt lots of new colourful words and had lots of funny stories to tell the old man and my mates. He wasn't a bad golfer, played off about 14 but didn't take kindly to bad shots. Unfortunately the footy season started and his Saturday golf stopped and I had to find someone else to caddy for. Might have been safer but no where near as much fun.
He would have been a scary man on the footy field.