Robert Henry Nash (22 April 1884 – 16 June 1958) was a leading

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 was captain of the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

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 captain-coach of the

Footscray Football Club The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

in the

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 ...

(VFA).

Family

The son of Michael Joseph "Mick" Nash (1862–1939), who played for Carlton when it was part of the VFA, and Mary Ann (a.k.a. "Marianne") Nash (1861–1940), née Tobin, Robert Henry Nash was born on 22 April 1884. He married Mary Anne Ryan in 1906. His uncle, Thomas M. Nash (1859–?), also played for Carlton when it was part of the VFA. Bob Nash is best known as the father of

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

er and leading footballer Laurie Nash.Wallish (1998).

Football

Northcote (MJFA)

Nash played for Northcote in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA) until he was recruited by Collingwood in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

Collingwood (VFL)

Nash became a leading player at Collingwood, playing 88 games and kicking 14 goals in six seasons Regarded as a powerful player who was a good mark and kick,australianfootball.com. he captained Collingwood in

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

and

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...

and represented Victoria at the first interstate carnival in Melbourne in 1908. In August 1907, due to an incident during the 17 August 1907 match that Collingwood lost 3.8 (26) to St. Kilda 8.19 (67), "Nash, of Collingwood, was disqualified for hree matches forassaulting ack Wells, of St. Kilda, though the latter was the aggressor in connection with that particular incident, previously to which Nash had been guilty of a grossly savage attack on immy

Matthews Matthews may refer to: People * Matthews (surname) Places * Matthews Island, Antarctica * Matthews Range, Kenya * Mount Matthews, New Zealand United States * Matthews, Georgia * Matthews, Indiana * Matthews, Maryland * Matthews, Missouri * Mat ...

— a diminutive St. Kilda player — for which he was not called to account at all." In June 1909, following the drawn 19 June match between Collingwood and Melbourne, Nash was reported for disputing the umpire's decision; and, although found guilty at the hearing, Nash was not suspended, but was "admonished" by the VFL's tribunal.

Footscray (VFA)

He left Collingwood at the end of the

1909 VFL season The 1909 VFL season was the 13th season of the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured ten clubs and ran from 1 May to 2 Octobe ...

, serving two years as captain-coach of VFA side Footscray (1910–1911), and one additional year as a player (1912), before retiring at the end of 1912.

Tasmania

Initially employed as a gas stoker, Nash became a policeman and, as such, participated in the

1923 Victorian police strike The 1923 Victorian police strike occurred in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In November 1923, on the eve of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, half the police force in Melbourne police strike, went on strike over the operation of a superviso ...

. Discharged from the force along with 633 others as a result of his participation in that strike,Flanigan, M. (1998) "Laurie Nash - The Genius", ''The Age'', 5 May 1998 he moved his family to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, and took over the hotel at Parattah.Shaw, I. (2006) ''The Bloodbath'', Scribe, Melbourne. . There he oversaw the sporting development of Laurie and his other son, Robert Jnr (also an accomplished footballer, who played for four seasons with the

Coburg Football Club The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg, Victoria, Coburg. It has been based at Coburg City Oval since 1915. Coburg's men's team currently plays in the Victor ...

in the VFA, from 1934 to 1937); and, initially, he encouraged Laurie to concentrate on cricket rather than football, refusing to allow Laurie to play senior football before he turned 19.

Death

Nash collapsed and died at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

, on Monday 16 June 1958, just before three-quarter-time, while watching a Melbourne-Collingwood match on the

Queen's Birthday The King's Official Birthday or Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the m ...

.Deaths: Nash, ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 17 June 1958), p.11.
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Footnotes

References

* Wallish, E. (1998) ''The Great Laurie Nash'', Ryan Publishing, Melbourne.

External links

*
Bob Nash, ''australianfootball.com''.

Bob Nash, ''Boyles Football Photos''.

Nash, Robert, ''The VFA Project''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Robert 1884 births Collingwood Football Club players Northcote Football Club players Footscray Football Club (VFA) players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne 1958 deaths People from Carlton, Victoria Police officers from Melbourne 20th-century Australian sportsmen