Name/Title1887 Music Score - "On the Ball"
About this objectWritten in Palmerston North in 1887 by English-born rugby pioneer and part-time musician Ted Secker, On the Ball became one of the country’s best-known rugby folk songs…Ted, as captain of the 1887 Manawatū "Unscorables", wrote this ditty to boost his team’s morale. It later sprang to fame around the world – first sung by the 1888 Native Team on tour, then by the 1905 ‘Originals’, and then across New Zealand at schools, clubrooms and matches. After World War II the printed score became quite scarce, but a rare copy was presented to the museum in 1975 after being rescued from the wall lining of a shearer’s hut. “On the Ball, On the Ball, On the Ball! Thro’ scrummage, three-quarters and all, Sticking together, we keep on the leather And shout as we go ‘On the Ball’!"
MakerE. W. Secker
Maker RoleComposer
Date Made1887
Place MadePalmerston North
Medium and MaterialsInk on paper
Measurements27.5 x 35cm
Credit LineDonated by Trevor Squires
Object TypeSheet Music
Object number95/71/1
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved
