Outside Cricket
After retirement, Booth resumed full-time duties as a Sydney schoolmaster. He spent 12 years as a teacher in the government secondary schools of New South Wales before becoming an instructor in physical education at Sydney Teachers College in 1967. Before retiring in 1989, Booth served as the head of the Health and Human Movement Studies Department at the Sydney Institute of Education—the successor of the STC—for five years. In 1958, he married Judith Williams, whom he met at STC. They had two daughters, the first being born in 1961, and six grandchildren. Booth is the uncle of hammer thrower Brooke Krueger-Billett, who represented Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
In 1967, Booth was appointed as the founding chairman of the Youth Advisory Council, a body that sought to address community issues such as hooliganism. Booth was made a life member of the New South Wales Cricket Association (NSWCA) in 1974 and served as a vice-president for four years from 1973–74 onwards. He was awarded life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club, the home of cricket. Booth has remained involved in grassroots cricket with St George. He has served as the club president among other positions on the executive committee, and currently serves as a coach. The pavilion at the club's home ground, Hurstville Oval, is jointly named in his honour. He is also the patron of the St George Randwick Men's Hockey Club and the St George Women's Hockey Club.
In 1974, Booth gained preselection as the Liberal candidate for the Division of St George, standing against Science Minister William Morrison of the ruling Australian Labor Party in the federal election. The seat, which had changed hands at several elections in the past, was held by Morrison for Labor, who were returned to office. In 1982, Booth was awarded a MBE for "services to the community and sport".
In 2002, Booth returned to the public spotlight when he condemned the sledging, or verbal intimidation tactics, that are used in modern cricket. He stated "I can't remember in the games that I played in, I can't ever remember being sledged, and I can't ever remember sledging anybody", in reference to Steve Waugh's Australian team, which was perceived as being too hostile. In the Australian edition of the 2002 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, he wrote a chapter titled The Curse of Sledging.
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