Warren Kerr

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Football United vs Soccer City podcast. It is always a pleasure to get the recording gear out and set up to conduct an interview. My learning curve is steep but I will keep trying to record our great history one person at a time although at times I am not the sharpest interviewer going around.

This episode’s interviewee Warren Kerr was part of one of the best teams the Illawarra has ever seen, the Corrimal Rangers/Corrimal United teams of the mid 1950s. Now this comment is subjective and there has been many great teams in the Illawarra over 130 years (for example the South Coast United teams of the 1960s and the Wollongong Wolves of the late 1980s and late 1990s). But I believe the Corrimal Rangers/Corrimal United teams of the mid 1950s would be in the top 5 teams of all time, with ease.

In a five year period this team, which contained the likes of Bignell, Young, Peters, Drain, Burns, Learmonth, Harrington, Callan, Wheatley, James, Brown, Pearce, Willoughby won the State Southern/Federation League 4 times, won 2 Sydney Cups, won 1 State Cup and won 2 State League Finals. Warren Kerr was part of these squads and started playing first grade football with these high quality players in State League when he was 15 the only other player at the time who played first grade state league earlier was the great Charlie Stewart (former Socceroo, State Representative and Woonona great) who did it at the age of 14. Regardless of Charlie’s record, Warren’s ascendancy to first grade State League shows the speed and skill Warren must have possessed.

He played for Corrimal Rangers in the State League, Corrimal United in the Federation and then Corrimal Rangers in the local league before he retired and concentrated on his Family and work (note he did play a few games for Whyalla when he worked over there for a period of time). A very modest man, Warren after his playing days spent over a decade on the Corrimal Rangers Committee as President and additionally is a Life Member (and his wife Mary was part of the Committee and helps add a couple of comments during this interview, which was very helpful). I hope you enjoy this interview and the insights Warren gives 60 plus years after his playing career had finished.