William Keith Barnes AM (born 30 October 1934), also known by the nickname of “Golden Boots”, is a Welsh-born Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was a fullback for the Australian national team and for the Balmain Tigers. He played in 14 Tests between 1959 and 1966, as national captain on 12 occasions. After his playing days he became a referee and later co-commentated on the Amco Cup on Network Ten with Ray Warren in the 1970s.
He is considered one of the nation’s finest footballers of the 20th century. At the turn of the century Barnes was honoured with selection in the Balmain’s ‘Team of the Century’ and in the Wests Tigers’ ‘Team of the Century’. The yearly award for the best back at the Wests Tigers club is named the Keith Barnes Medal in his honour. In 2007 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame.
In February 2008, Barnes was named in the list of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code’s centenary year in Australia. On 26 January 1996, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia in “recognition service to rugby league as a player and administrator”.On 24 October 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his rugby league achievements.
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