Archibald Murray Baxter (4 August 1921 – 1 August 2012) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) during the 1940s. Baxter had an intermittent career at

, which began in the

1941 VFL season The 1941 VFL season was the 45th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 26 April until 27 September, and comprised an ...

when he was their third most prolific forward with 16 goals. He didn't appear again until 1944 and missed the entire 1945 season before returning to action the following year. Baxter then captained Oakleigh to two VFA premierships, in 1950 and 1952. Archie's mother was of Irish descendency and his father was born in Scotland. He had one brother and two sisters. During World War II, Archie was posted with the 2/4 Independent Company Commando Unit in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

. He served during the ages of 17–21 years old in the Pacific and the Middle East. Following a shrapnel wound to the shoulder he was discharged from the army in 1942. Archie Baxter was also employed as Chief Aircraft Production Engineer for 40 years with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC).

References

*Personal Information added by Glenn Baxter. Taken from articles and newspaper clippings found by family members.

External links

*
Archie Baxter's playing statistics
from The VFA Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Archie 1921 births Sydney Swans players Oakleigh Football Club players 2012 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers People from Brunswick, Victoria Australian people of Scottish descent Australian people of Irish descent Military personnel from Melbourne 20th-century Australian sportsmen