Arthur Best (18 October 1888 – 17 June 1960) 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 the
St Kilda Football Club
The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league.
The club's name originates fro ...
and
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
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).
His father was
Sir Robert Best, a prominent politician who served in the
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...
and
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...
.
In September 1914, Best enlisted in the
AIF to fight in World War I. He had been working as a salesman prior to enlistment. A member of the
58th Battalion, Best worked his way up from the rank of private to captain. In 1918, he was twice
mentioned in dispatches. Best returned safely to Australia in July 1919.
In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of ''The Argus'' as follows:
::"In 1914 the Melbourne football team,
after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded),
J. Hassett,
H. Tomkins (severely wounded),
J. Evans (seriously wounded),
W. Hendrie,
R. L. Park,
J. Doubleday (died), A. Best,
C. Burge (killed),
C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed),
J. Brake,
R. Lowell,
E. Parsons (seriously wounded),
A. M. Pearce (killed),
F. Lugton (killed),
A. George,
C. Armstrong,
P. Rodriguez (killed),
J. Cannole (viz., Connole),
A. Fraser (seriously wounded),
T. Collins.
These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — ''The Argus'', 16 May 1919.
'Old Boy', "Football: Notes and Comments", ''The Argus'', (Friday, 16 May 1919), p.8.
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Notes
External links
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1888 births
1960 deaths
People educated at Melbourne Grammar School
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
St Kilda Football Club players
Melbourne Football Club players
South Yarra Football Club players
Australian military personnel of World War I
People from Fitzroy, Victoria
Military personnel from Melbourne
Australian people of Northern Ireland descent
20th-century Australian sportsmen
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