At the end of the last game of Newcastle's inaugural season, a victory over North Sydney in front of a capacity crowd, Leigh Maughan turned to fellow club founder Michael Hill and said: "We have lit a fire here, which will never go out."
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Maughan, who has been remembered as the Knights' "founding father" after passing away Wednesday night, was instrumental in the club's establishment.
From the mid-1970s when he first spurred the idea of a Newcastle side, through to when the city was granted a team and beyond in the club's early years, no one championed the cause more.
"Rest assured, without his efforts, his drive and persistence, the Knights would never have existed at all," Hill, a former club chairman, said of Maughan.
"Over 15 years or so, there were hundreds of visitations, discussions, meetings etc. I don't believe Leigh missed one of them.
"All the other workers, and there were many of them, were helpers, important and necessary, certainly, but Leigh was the main man."
More than 35 years on from that first season in 1988 and the Knights continue to shine, perhaps now more than they have in decades.
But Maughan's own fire has now dimmed.
His spirit, however, will not be forgotten.
No shortage of tributes have spilled for the man, who was aged in his 80s and had recently battled Alzheimer's disease.
Knights CEO Phil Gardner said Maughan had left "an indelible mark on our city, our club, and on rugby league".
"His place in history as a founding father of the Knights is secure and we will always be thankful for everything he did," Gardner said.
"In Leigh's honour, we will wear black armbands next Thursday against Canberra as a show of our deep respect.
"May he rest in peace."
Born and raised in Newcastle, Maughan played representative rugby league as a teenager and went on to become a referee, touch judge and Newcastle Rugby League board member multiple times.
He ran a Woolworths supermarket before entering the real estate industry, but ultimately moved into a career as a local sports commentator - first on radio station 2NX, then on NBN television.
Former presenter Mike Rabbitt worked with Maughan for years at NBN, both in reporting and sports commentary.
"Leigh and myself were country callers at best, but we were passionate about what we did," Rabbitt said.
"Leigh was just an enigma. Some of the things he used to come up with, there wouldn't be a commentary that would go by unless there was a favourite line somewhere.
"When we had the Falcons, there was a big bloke from Canberra - Andy Campbell - he was seven-foot-one and he had Coke-bottle glasses.
"If you took them off you'd start bushfires with these things, they were that thick.
"And Leigh, somewhere through the commentary, said: 'The only thing short about Andy Campbell is his eyesight'.
"You probably wouldn't be able to get away with it these days, but [fellow commentator] Terry Charlton couldn't speak for 10 minutes, he was laughing that hard."
Most of Maughan's efforts campaigning for the Knights occurred while he worked at NBN.
Rabbitt said it "used to drive us nuts".
"He would ring [then NSWRL administrators] John Quayle and Ken Arthurson every day of the week," he said.
"This went on from 1982 until they got accepted in 1987.
"Probably the only reason that the Knights got in was that they were sick to death of Leigh ringing. But it was because of that persistence that the Knights became what they are.
"Such was his passion, when the Knights were formed, he didn't hesitate in leaving NBN and the comforts of a television career. He just jumped straight in.
"A mentor, a great mate, a lunatic. He was just great to be around ... and we'll miss him dearly."
Foundation Knights player Tony Butterfield remembered Maughan as a "determined bastard".
"Whilst he could have the most fun, he was so tenacious," Butterfield said.
"And he had to be. He wasn't blessed with everything, but he was one of those entrepreneurs who can get around and connect with the right people and present a particular narrative in the right way, and keep pushing."
Maughan worked tirelessly to push for a side, and he continued to do so as the club's first marketing manager.
He worked for every sponsor, every dollar.
Butterfield, who played for Penrith before joining Newcastle, recalled a famous line from Warren Ryan, who was initially going to be the club's inaugural coach, that he thought summed up the efforts to launch the Knights.
"They were running on the smell of an oily rag," he said.
"I was playing in the '87 final series at the Sydney Cricket Ground for Penrith, and after each reserve-grade win I'd go up to the Brewongle [grandstand] and stand with Allan McMahon and Warren.
"And his line was: 'You could smell the chook-raffles on these blokes'.
"Even though that's in the pejorative, it probably has an insight into the amount of work Leigh had to get done."
Maughan was on the Knights' board from 1987 to 1999 and again from 2008 until 2015. He received a life membership for his work, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Maughan lost his wife Mary several years ago, but is survived by his children and grandchildren.
He spent his final years living at the Opal Care Community in Cameron Park, and most recently attended a Knights game last August, on Old Boys' Day.
Rabbitt believes Maughan's contribution is worthy of special recognition.
"I'd love the Knights, this game next Thursday, to rename the stadium for the day, the Leigh Maughan stadium," he said.
"Because from my point of view, he's built that.
"I'm sure McDonald Jones wouldn't mind.
"He was the driving force to get them in, the driving force to get them underway.
"He obviously had a lot of help along the way, with the Michael Hills, the Max Foxs, the Allan McMahons of the world that paved the way, but in the background was the number-one ticket holder Leigh Maughan who drove it.
"I'd love him to be remembered as the founding father of the Newcastle Knights, and the city of Newcastle owes him a debt of gratitude."
