Copper tells real story of Gabba’s pig
ENOUGH of the porkies. It’s time to tell the full story of Australian sport’s most mysterious pitch invader ... the Gabba pig.
A pig was let loose on the Gabba during a 50-over match between Australia and England in the 1982-83 summer. “Botham” was written on one side and “Eddie’’ on the other in reference to spinner Eddie Hemmings.
Former Brisbane Broncos strapper Ken Ragh was the policeman who caught the four-legged intruder as it trotted around the fence.
Catching it was easy; wrestling it to the ground a greater challenge.
Video footage of the pig remains a YouTube classic, but questions about it remain the subject of much debate — who brought it into the ground, how did they get it in and what happened to it later?
Ragh claims he can confirm the widely held suspicion that a group of vet students were the architects of the incident. “They were vet students who anaesthetised the pig and were initially planning to toss it over the wall at the Gabba behind the hill but realised that was too cruel.
“They ended up putting it in an Esky and putting ice and a heap of vegetables around it which they bought at the last minute from a shop at the Gabba. When it woke up they taped a Union Jack to its tail and put it over the fence.”
Ragh said the pig ended up going to a happy home.
“I found out a family down Logan way took it to their farm and it trotted around as a pet for a few years,” Ragh said.