Regarded by many as the greatest spin bowler to have played cricket, Bill O'Reilly had an on field competitiveness that earned him the nickname “Tiger” O'Reilly. Playing for NSW and Australia throughout the 1930s he challenged the greatest of batsmen, including his career-long rival Sir Donald Bradman who rated O'Reilly as the greatest bowler he had ever faced or watched.
After his retirement in 1946 O'Reilly became a cricket columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald. His contribution to cricket and long standing relationship with the SCG was recognised in 1988 with the naming of the Bill O’Reilly Stand.