Career
McCarthy was the eldest of three brothers from Yea who played in the VFL. The youngest, Shane, played at Geelong and the other, Gavan, made two appearance for North Melbourne, one of them with Bernie in round five of the 1965 VFL season. A nephew, Matthew, was also a Geelong football player and another, John, played at Collingwood and Portuguese Adelaide. A centre half-forward, McCarthy partnered John Dugdale as North Melbourne"s key forwards throughout the 1960s.
He finished the 1971 season at Preston and was one of the club"s best players in the Grand Final loss to Dandenong that year.
His career then continued in the Bendigo Football League, where he captain-coached South Bendigo.
