Robert Mainwaring Chitty (4 July 1916 – 4 April 1985) 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 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).

Family

The son of Alan Peter Chitty (1884-1981), and Hannah Evelyne Chitty (1887-1974), née Wilson, Robert Mainwaring "Bob" Chitty was born at

Corryong, Victoria Corryong is a town in Victoria, Australia, east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the Murray River and close to the New South Wales border. At the , Corryong had a population of 1,348. The post office opened on 1 February 1874 ...

on 4 July 1916. He married Hazel Irene Leggo (1907-1976) on 26 April 1941. Chitty's brother

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

played VFL football for St Kilda. Later, as a

prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

, Peter was awarded a "Brownlow Medal" for being the Best and Fairest player in the Changi Football League.

Football

Chitty played much of his junior and amateur football for his home town of

Cudgewa Cudgewa is a small town in the Australian state of Victoria. The town is located adjacent to the Murray Valley Highway, north east of the state capital, Melbourne. Part of the Shire of Towong local government area, at the 2006 census Cudgewa a ...

. Leaving the country for the city, Chitty played for Sunshine in the Victorian Sub-Districts before being signed by Carlton. Chitty made his debut for the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

in Round 7 of the 1937 season. While a brilliant, versatile player, Chitty built his reputation as one of the game's most fearsome hardmen: ::"Some players manufacture aggression, others seem born to it; as far as Bob Chitty was concerned, aggression oozed out of his every pore." — ''australianfootball.com''. Chitty captained Carlton to victory in the infamous 1945 "Bloodbath" Grand Final. Chitty's king hit of

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 ...

Ron Clegg Ron "Smokey" Clegg (17 November 192723 August 1990) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League. Clegg was recruited from the South Melbourne Under 19's after winning the 1944 Melbourne Boys Football League's bes ...

in the second quarter is seen as what triggered the succession of violent incidents that garnered the match its nickname. In the fourth quarter, Chitty was knocked out by opponent

Laurie Nash Laurence John Nash (2 May 1910 – 24 July 1986) was a Test cricketer and Australian rules footballer. An inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Nash was a member of South Melbourne's 1933 premiership team, captained South Melbou ...

. After the match, Chitty was suspended for eight weeks for elbowing Bill Williams. After leaving Carlton at the end of the

1946 VFL season The 1946 VFL season was the 50th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 20 April until 5 October, and comprised a 19 ...

, Chitty spent several years in country Victoria as captain-coach of the

Benalla Football Club The Benalla Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Saints'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Benalla, Victoria. Its football and netball teams currently compete in the Goulburn Valley Football League. History ;Benalla ...

in the

Ovens and Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...

from 1947 to 1949, during which time he led the goalkicking on two occasions. Chitty then moved to Tasmania in 1950, where he served as captain-coach of the

Scottsdale Football Club The Scottsdale Football Club is an Australian rules football club which competed in the old Northern Tasmanian Football Association (1886–1986), Northern Tasmanian Football Association (NTFA) between 1948 and 1986. Scottsdale joined the Northe ...

. He won the Northern Tasmanian Football Association goalkicking in 1952 with 40 goals. He finished his playing career with Ringarooma in the

North East Football Union The North Eastern Football Union (NEFU) was an Australian Rules football competition in North-Eastern Tasmania, Australia. History Competition football began in North-Eastern Tasmania in the early 1900s during the region's tin mining boom. The ...

; and, in 1956, he kicked 105 goals for the season.

Actor

In 1947, while he was living in Benalla, Chitty ("a good horseman and bushman") starred as

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

in the critically panned feature film, ''

The Glenrowan Affair ''The Glenrowan Affair'' is a 1951 film about Ned Kelly from director Rupert Kathner. It was Kathner's final film and stars VFL star Bob Chitty as Kelly. At the time of its release it was nominated as one of the worst films ever made in Austr ...

'', that was released in 1951.Gaunson, Stephen (2009), "B for Bad, B for Bogus and B for Bold: Rupert Kathner, ''The Glenrowan Affair'' and Ned Kelly", ''Colloquy'', No.18, (December 2009), pp.193-207.
/ref>

Death

He died at

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

on 4 April 1985.

Notes

References

World War Two Nominal Roll: Private Robert Main-Warring Chitty (V371762), ''Department of Veterans' Affairs''.
* B883, V371762: World War Two Service Record: Private Robert Main-Warring Chitty (V371762), ''National Archives of Australia''.

External links

* *
Bob Chitty, at ''Boyles Football Photos''

Blueseum Biography: Bob Chitty

Blueseum: Bob Chitty's Tribunal Record
1916 births 1985 deaths Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club premiership players John Nicholls Medal winners Scottsdale Football Club players Scottsdale Football Club coaches Benalla Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers VFL/AFL premiership players {{AFL-bio-1916-stub