Austin Patrick Robertson (21 November 1908 – 6 May 1988) 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 South Melbourne Football Club 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) and West Perth and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

(WANFL).

Football career

Robertson debuted with South Melbourne at the age of 18 and played for the club between 1927 and 1937. He was well regarded as a key position player at both ends of the ground. He was one of the few players still adept at

place kick The place kick is a type of kicking play commonly used in American football, association football, association football (soccer), Canadian football, rugby league, and rugby union. It was historically used in Australian rules football, but it was ...

ing during the 1930s, noted for the length and accuracy of his kicks; he made several attempts over his career to break

Dave McNamara David John McNamara (22 January 1887 – 15 August 1967) was an Australian rules footballer who played for in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Michael McNamara (1844–190 ...

's record for longest kick, often topping 70 yards but never breaking McNamara's mark of 86yds. While at South Melbourne, he was also a world

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

professional sprinter, winning the world title in 1930. In February 1933 at the Wangaratta Sports Carnival, at

The Showgrounds, Wangaratta The Wangaratta Showgrounds is situated on the banks of the Ovens River, close to central Wangaratta and provides a large venue for a host of local sports and community clubs. It has hosted the Wangaratta Agricultural Show since 1860 and the an ...

Robertson broke the world record for 140 yards in a time of 13.1&1/2 / 16 seconds. While Robertson only played in the first two rounds in 1933, he missed out on South Melbourne's 1933 premiership win because he was in America organising a head-to-head race with

Eddie Tolan Thomas Edward Tolan (September 29, 1908 – January 30, 1967), nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who competed in sprints. He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic recor ...

at the Chicago World's Fair. However, when he arrived in the United States, Tolan was not in training and was unable to race. During the 1937 season, Robertson was transferred to Perth by his employer, General Motors-Holden. He was cleared to West Perth and played there for the rest of 1937. In 1938, he switched to

, and served as its playing coach for the next two years. General Motors returned Robertson to Victoria in 1940 and, despite expectations that he would return to South Melbourne, he signed with

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

club Port Melbourne for a reported £6 per week, and crossed without a clearance from South Melbourne. He played for Port Melbourne under the VFA's throw-pass rules until 1941. He was the youngest son of Mr and Mrs John Robertson, was educated at Xavier College Kew and married Dorothy McDonald in Elwood on 22 June 1940. His brother, Harold Robertson, and son, Austin Robertson Jr. were also champion footballers. Robertson served 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 ...

with the rank of

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

* * * 1908 births 1988 deaths People educated at Xavier College Australian male sprinters Athletes from Melbourne Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Sydney Swans players Port Melbourne Football Club players West Perth Football Club players Perth Football Club players Perth Football Club coaches People from Albert Park, Victoria Australian Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Melbourne Australian twins Holden people Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1907-stub

Football career

See also

References

External links