In the 110-year history of Australian rugby league, only one individual achieved the remarkable feat of accumulating over 200 tries. Now there are two. This exceptional player is known as KEN IRVINE. The individual widely recognised as the most accomplished winger in the history of the sport, who represented both the North Sydney and Manly teams, accumulated a remarkable 212 tries over the course of his 236-game professional career. This achievement remains significantly higher than that of his closest competitor, Billy Slater, a prominent player for the contemporary Melbourne Storm team, who has amassed 190 tries in 309 games. It was only broken some 50 years later by ALEX JOHNSTON in March 2026 at Allianz Stadium, representing the South Sydney Rabbitohs in scenes that will last forever.

Born in Cremorne, Sydney, Irvine attended Marist Brothers College Mosman. He originally excelled in both baseball and sprinting, playing in the New South Wales junior baseball side alongside future New South Wales and Australian teammate Reg Gasnier, while also competitively running for the Randwick-Botany Club. After deciding to attend a trial at Wentworth Park for the North Sydney Bears rugby league club as a 17-year-old, their first-grade coach Ross McKinnon stated, "sign that kid for life", and Ken was signed and started playing for the club the following year.

Making his debut for the Bears on the wing in 1958, Irvine was an instant success for the club, proving to be a frequent try scorer. After only one full club season with Norths, Irvine was selected for New South Wales in 1959. He was the 1959 NSWRFL season's leading try-scorer with 19 and was rewarded with selection in the Australian side for the 1959-60 Kangaroo tour. 

Irvine's speed was such that he is still considered by many to be the fastest player ever to lace on a boot, and is favourably compared against other noted rugby league speedsters. In total, Ken Irvine was selected for three Kangaroo Tours. He toured in 1959–60, 1963–64 where he repeated his feat from 1962 of being the only Australian to score a try in each test of an Ashes series against Great Britain including 3 tries in the 50-12 second test win at Station Road in Swinton in a game that became known as the "Swinton Massacre". Irvine's Test career ended in 1968 when he suffered a broken leg against in the first test against France on the 1967-68 Kangaroo tour at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, ruling him out for much of the 1969 NSWRFL season.

Irvine had the honour of captaining the Bears on occasions, although he infamously threatened to lead his team off in protest of referee Keith Page during a 1970 match against Canterbury-Bankstown at Belmore Sports Ground (Norths won the game 9–8). He would go on to make 176 appearances for the side, scoring 171 tries. His stint with the Bears ended at the end of 1970 after disagreements with head coach Roy Francis. Irvine was quickly signed by Manly Sea Eagles club secretary Ken Arthurson in 1971. 

Irvine went on to make 60 appearances for the club, scoring 41 tries and showed he had lost none of his speed at the end of his career. He overtook Harold Horder as the NSWRFL's all-time top try-scorer, and was finally able to win a premiership when he helped Manly to claim successive premierships in 1972 (19-14 over Eastern Suburbs) and 1973 (110-7over Cronulla-Sutherland). Irvine didn't score a try in either of his Grand Final wins with the Sea Eagles. Ken Irvine retired after the 1973 Grand Final win over Cronulla, becoming the first player to score 200 tries in NSWRFL Premiership history. As of March 2026, Irvine held the record for tries scored in the premiership (212) in front of Billy Slater (190), Steve Menzies (180) and Brett Morris (176). Alex Johnston now becomes the greatest ever try-scorer on 213 and that record will be difficult to surpass in the modern era.

Tragically, Irvine died in 1990, aged just 50, after a long battle with leukaemia. His record lasted a lifetime for many and he will always be remembered for holding that distinction for so long, with Harold Horder holding the record prior with 152 career tries in the NSWRFL.