How Mike Pawley became the Beaches sneakers king

I remember sending a letter to Don Bradman when I was 12 asking him whether I should bowl finger spin or over-the-wrist and he said 'finger spin in England and leg spin in Australia'. I ended up ignoring the Don's advice and bowled finger spin. If you didn't bowl accurately you'd be taken off and I think that's what influenced me.

I got involved with the senior Manly club at 15 and captained a winning Green Shield (under-16) and played third grade the same year. But I couldn't get into first grade so at 16 I went to Sydney University and played there for four years before coming back to Manly in 1969. I played against Test players Richie Benaud, Neil Harvey, Norm O'Neill and Grahame Thomas in my first six games in grade cricket and they all scored centuries. You don't get to play against players of that ilk at grade level today - what a learning experience!

READ ALSO:

In 1975, I captained Manly to the premiership and ended up with 616 first grade wickets over my career. I played Sheffield Shield for NSW in 1969 and 1974 with very limited success. I don't think I had the mental application to play at that level. And I never got the feeling from the captain that he thought I could bowl. It doesn't matter what sport you play, if you feel the coach or captain doesn't believe in you then that's the way you'll perform.

When I took on the club coaching role at Manly in 2000 I had changed as a person. I didn't see my role just as a cricket coach; I saw it as a developer of human beings. I thought I understood the game really well and loved the science of it. I was a school teacher so I was a natural communicator.

But I was unorthodox. One day I stood at the back of the nets cutting up $100 and $50 notes at training because the players kept hitting balls out of the ground and not retrieving them. I told them '$100 is two balls, $50 is one ball and this is what you are costing the club each time'. The message got through.

Another time a player turned up to training drunk. So the next week I got six cans of beer, six cans of Coke and a hamburger and put them one by one into this big jug. I said to the player 'this is what you put in your stomach last week, I want to see you drink it now in front of everyone'. I always found a strange way of making my point.

ALSO READ:

I made friendships and bonds with people 50 years younger than me that still exist to this day. Every few weeks I catch up with eight blokes I played grade cricket with. Our friendship has endured all that time.

In 1974, I was trying to find another way to make a living other than being a teacher. I started selling cricket gear out of my father's house in my original bedroom at Seaforth. Every club in the district used to come there to get their gear. Then, I opened a shop at Balgowlah which became a shop at Dee Why. One of my shops was making enough for me to retire from teaching and just become a cricket coach and retailer.

Retailing was very difficult. When Rebel came along they parked this massive van outside my shop with a sign that basically said 'come and see us - we're going to knock Mike Pawley off'. We've been up and down and up and down and now 90 per cent of my business is footwear. We've got a really good connection with the local sports community. A lot of sports stores have disappeared but we're still standing. There are five Mike Pawley Sports stores on the northern beaches and that's thanks to this wonderful community. I've spent a lot of time staying connected. We give away $30,000 in stock a year but the clubs give it back quid pro quo by recommending us.

I grew up in the Vietnam war days and always wanted to go there so went on a holiday in 2011. From there I went to Cambodia and I was shocked. They were poorer than any group of people I'd ever met but they were also the happiest. The last day we were there we went to a school of 200 and bought them uniforms and books and pencils because they had nothing. There were just two squat toilets there for 200 people plus 10 staff. I asked the principal 'what can we do?' and he said 'please come back because no-one does'. I've been back 20 times. We've raised and donated $1 million (for the Happy Days Cambodian Village School) and it's ongoing. The school we set up has 700 students.

Once someone knows you've got philanthropic tendencies, everyone is after you for help. That's how I started helping out a cricket club in Sierra Leone. I ask the local clubs here for gear and that gets shipped over there.

I'm 77 and I still hope I'm doing this when I'm 90. I love the people and the camaraderie. I don't get tired. How would I like to be remembered? Simple. As someone who did things for others who were less fortunate than I have been throughout my life.

Have something to say? Send a letter to the editor at: editor@northernbeachesreview.com.au

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: