Capalaba Honours Industry Stalwart Syd Norris

CAPALABA will honour Queensland and Australian greyhound racing stalwart Syd Norris at its race meeting on Sunday.

Norris, 86, and his family have spent lifetimes in the industry and have had a dramatic impact on Queensland racing which continues today.

Syd will be presented with an honorary life membership of Capalaba Club during a day in which each race is named in his honour.

He has been fighting health problems for some time but his memory for all things greyhound racing and rugby league have never wavered.

Norris prepared Queensland greyhound of the year Solar Beach, but he had his late father Perc were regulars at Capalaba in days gone by.

Their kennel star Rusty Ole Reno won the inaugural running of the Capalaba Straight Track Classic decades ago.

Norris played top grade rugby league and was close friends with many legends of the game including the immortal Clive Churchill who he had attend Capalaba to “work the commission” on one of the Norris-trained runners.

Syd remembers Churchill as a legend in rugby league but the worst commission agent he ever employed.

The club has invited Syd's family to a special function in his honour and grandson Rylee Broxham is flying from Mackay for the day.

Rylee's brother Dan is a steward with QRIC but has got the day off to celebrate with his grandfather.

Syd has forever had a litany of greyhound and league yarns.

At one time he wrote a monthly and hugely popular memories column for Qld's Greyhound Journal for seven years.

He was a long-time Brisbane rugby league selector and instrumental in getting Hall of Famer Mal Meninga into his first Brisbane team as a youngster playing for Souths.

Syd also served for years on the Qld greyhound Hall of Fame selection panel.