Bradman’s Italian Heritage Revealed

``Don’’ Might Have Been ``Don Giovanni’’

Here’s another sporting coup for Italy. The soccer World Cup champions (yes, that penalty in the dying seconds of the game against Australia still rankles) can now claim the world’s greatest cricketer, the late Sir Donald Bradman.
There is a wonderful story in the News Ltd publication The Adelaide Advertiser that says Bradman had Italian blood.
The story explains that his great-grandfather, Emmanuel Danero (aka Neich) was one of the first Italians to migrate to Australia in 1826. The revelation of his Italian ancestry – a fact that even the Don Bradman Museum was unaware of - has been documented in Lina Moffitt's book on the quirky life of Genoa-born Danero.
Moffitt told `The Advertiser' the link was extraordinary, one that was not commonly known and one that showcased the depth of multiculturalism in the nation. ``It will come as a shock to most people, because most would think Bradman came from a long English line, considering he was such a gifted cricketer,’’ she said. ``Cricket is certainly not a sport you associate with Italy.’’