Recived life membership in 1999.
Jim Keegan was born in Canberra on the 13th June 1931. He attended Ainslie Primary School and Canberra High School. “He was introduced to Australian Rules by Alan (Ginty) Stevens who lived nearby. Ginty also gave him his first pair of football boots in 1946 – they were army boots.” He played with the Ainslie Juniors in 1946 and 1947 and was selected to represent Canberra in the Schoolboy Carnival side in Melbourne, 1947. He progressed onto the Intermediate grade and then onto the Ainslie Seniors. He played until 1955 when he retired because of injury.
Jim Keegan first took an interest in Junior football administration in 1953. He first managed teams at Turner and then followed the Ainslie teams his sons played with. He was a delegate from Ainslie Juniors to the Junior League from 1955 and took on roles with the Junior League. He was Publicity Officer, Secretary and Vice-President. In 1960 he became President of the Junior League, a post he held for 3 years. He played a large role in getting football played in Canberra schools.
Jim Keegan was assistant secretary of the Ainslie Football Club and was part of the Ainslie Veterans from its inception. He took on the post of Treasurer and Convenor from 1995-1999 and through his efforts along with Jim Backen the veterans are still thriving today. He was passionate about Junior football and it was his idea to have a Veterans Award for the Junior Club and also to support the Stan Ray Scholarship.
He was a member of the Memorabilia Committee from 1992 and the front foyer is a fitting memorial to his enthusiasm and dedication to the Ainslie football Club. It was his knowledge of the early history of the Club and the people involved that helped preserve and tell the history of the Club through the many displays in the foyer and elsewhere. His involvement with the Football and Social Club spanned a fifty year period. He died in 2000.
Jim Keegan was awarded Life Membership of the ACTAFJL in 1960. In 2000 the Junior League introduced the J.P. Keegan Medals which are awarded to the players judged as best players on the ground in youth football grand finals.
(From information supplied by Clare Palmer and Barbara Marshall)