In Randwick’s booklet titled “Randwick Cricket-the First 100 Years” produced in 2000 to celebrate the club’s centenary, Randwick legend Phil Tresidder commented on Charlie McLaughlin who he classed as his favourite cricketer when he was a boy. Tresidder wrote: “Charlie was a super athlete and the fastest bowler I ever expected to see. Dark black hair, he raced in like an Olympic sprinter and with a flurry of arms hurled himself at the batsman. Unfortunately, accuracy and Charlie were comparative strangers. State selectors passed him by but the Coogee Beach ladies couldn’t hide their admiration.”
Charles John McLaughlin was born in 1919 and played junior cricket before joining Randwick. His introduction to the club, however, was far from traditional.