Ivan Alexander Walsh (29 December 1924 – 12 May 2005) was an association football player who represented New Zealand at international level as a forward. He was also a first-class cricketer.
Football career Walsh was born in 1924 at Dunedin and was educated at the Christian Brothers School there.McCarron, Tony (2010). New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 135. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)Ivan Walsh, CricInfo. Retrieved 16 February 2024. He played soccer for Northern AFC in the city and by 1948 was playing for the Otago representative side.Association code: I Walsh to join NZ team, The Press, volume LXXXVII, issue 26511, 28 August 1951, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)Soccer code: Association's meeting, Otago Daily Times, issue 26810, 29 June 1948, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)
Walsh scored on his full New Zealand debut in a 6–4 win over New Caledonia on 22 September 1951 and ended his international playing career with four official A-international caps and four goals to his credit, scoring a hat-trick in his final appearance, a 9–0 win over New Hebrides on 4 October 1951.
Cricket career
Walsh also played cricket at a representative level. A right-arm medium paced bowler, he played for the North East Valley club in Dunedin alongside his brother Brian."I Walsh included", Otago Daily Times, issue 26976, 11 January 1949, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)"Well-balanced Grange team deserves honours", Otago Daily Times, issue 27042, 29 March 1949, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.) Considered "one of the most promising medium-paced bowlers" that Otago had "had for some years" with "exceptional promise",Giantkiller in Shield cricket, Otago Daily Times, issue 26984, 20 January 1949, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.) he played three times for Otago in the Plunket Shield.Ivan Walsh, CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 February 2024. He made his debut for the side in January 1949, opening the bowling and taking seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings, against Wellington at Carisbrook.Wellington out for 245, The Press, volume LXXXV, issue 25703, 15 January 1949, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)Walsh, Ivan Alexander, Obituaries in 2005, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2006. (Available online at CricInfo. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)
The Otago Daily Times felt that he was the "find of the match" and it was expected that he would become one of the "mainstays" of the Otago side in future seasons. After taking seven wickets against Southland in a non-first-class match in December 1949, Walsh was included in the Otago side for the season's Shield matches in 1949–50.Otago should have strong and well-balanced side in Plunket Shield games, Otago Daily Times, issue 27262, 13 December 1949, p. 10. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.) He played in the first two matches but took only one wicket and was left out of the side for the final Shield match of the season against Canterbury.Shield cricket: Canterbury match, Otago Daily Times, issue 27281, 6 January 1950, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.) He was not selected in the Otago practice squad later in the season and did not regain his place in the side in future seasons.Several newcomers in cricket practice group, Otago Daily Times, issue 27298, 26 January 1950, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 16 February 2024.)
Later life Walsh worked as a teacher. He died at Dunedin in 2005 aged 80. Obituaries were published in the 2005 New Zealand Cricket Almanack and in the 2006 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
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