As a footballing great hailing from Mathoura, Michael McCormick has carved his name in history and is now a 2023 inductee in the Queensland Hall of Fame.
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Michael was born in Echuca and later moved to Mathoura.
He played 350 games with Mathoura and was also a premiership player during that time.
He was a well-known familiar face in the small community and a football icon at the footy club.
He relocated to Queensland looking for sunshine in 1981 and managed to commit to more than 40 years to Queensland football.
He began his association with Queensland as a junior coach at Broadbeach before later managing the licensed club.
Affectionately known as ‘Tiger’, he became president of the Gold Coast Football League in the early 1990s.
He was instrumental in the formation of the Queensland State Football League in late 1996, which restructured the game in the state’s south-east, bringing together clubs from Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.
He was recognised in his pivotal role in the key initiative by being appointed by the AFL as the inaugural QSFL president.
He was also an inaugural member of the AFL Queensland Commission in 2000, 2001 in a role he held for eight years.
He was also the Queensland representative on the Australian Country Football Council.
In 2013 he received an AFL Merit Award.
In opposition to the abandonment of the annual country championships he critically led a rally in protest.
He also served as president of the Queensland Country Football League and the popular country championships continued to flourish under his guidance and support.
Michael served as an Ambassador for the South Queensland team in the annual North v South game until 2021.
Always looking to champion the cause of minor league players through representative football, he was instrumental in helping players win All-Australian Country selection.
This paved the way for a large crop of country players to join State League clubs.
He was also involved in the formation of the Gold Coast Aussie Rules Club.
It was a hugely popular social entity for the southern football players, officials and supporters.
A life-time Carlton supporter he has been extremely loyal to the Blues.
He has also been married to his wife Vonda for more than 50 years.
In a slightly weak moment he may admit to a somewhat questionable decision to get married on the day of the great Carlton v Collingwood grand final in 1970.
In that game the Blues came from 44 points down at half-time to win by 10 after a late cameo from Ted Hopkins, 19th man who joined the game at half-time.
He kicked four goals in the second-last game of a career that spanned just 29 games and 10 goals.
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