Sam Carpenter (born 1987) is an Australian rules football player notable for reaching the level of the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

despite the loss of an arm. Carpenter, recruited from

Hastings, Victoria Hastings is a town on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Hastings recorded a population ...

, played for the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vic ...

side

Dandenong Stingrays The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. 1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regional ...

, where he debuted in 2004. When Carpenter was four years old, he got his hand caught in a meat mincer at his father's

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

shop, requiring the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on ind ...

of half of his left arm just below the elbow. Carpenter has a short, blunt stump of his forearm, which he is able to hold and manipulate objects with. Despite this handicap, he says he has become accustomed to living without it and has forged a career in Australian rules football. In 2006 Carpenter made his

debut for the

Frankston Dolphins Frankston Football Club, nicknamed the ''Dolphins'', is an Australian rules football club based in Frankston, Victoria. The club, formed in 1887, has played in the Victorian Football Association/League almost continuously since 1966. Histo ...

and his talent has given hope to many handicapped youngsters willing to play football. Carpenter left Franskton Dolphins at the end of 2007, and went on to play suburban and country football for a variety of clubs, including Corowa Rutherglen,

Wangaratta Rovers The Wangaratta Rovers, officially known as the Wangaratta Rovers Football & Netball Club, is an Australian rules football club based in Wangaratta, Victoria and play in the Ovens & Murray Football League. Their nickname is the Hawks. Their ho ...

, Chelsea and Aspley. In 2009, while playing for Corowa Rutherglen, he was runner-up for the Morris Medal (the

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

Best and Fairest award).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Sam 1987 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australian amputees Sportspeople with limb difference Frankston Football Club players Dandenong Stingrays players Corowa-Rutherglen Football Club players Chelsea Football Club (Australia) players Wangaratta Rovers Football Club players Aspley Football Club players People from Hastings, Victoria