Stephen Boyle (born 4 September 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in 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 ...

(VFL). Recruited from Moe, Boyle was a half forward flanker who kicked at least one goal in each of his six appearances for Footscray in the

1972 VFL season The 1972 VFL season was the 76th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 1 April until 7 October, and comprised a 22- ...

.AFL Tables: Stephen Boyle
/ref> Just a week after the infamous

John Greening John Greening (born 25 December 1950 in Burnie) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL. Greening attended Montello Primary School and Parklands High as he grew up in the industrial town of Burnie in n ...

incident had taken place, Boyle also suffered a career-ending injury. Playing his sixth league game, against St Kilda at

Western Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administ ...

, he badly injured an eye after a collision with defender Kevin "Cowboy Neale. He was admitted to hospital with bleeding behind his eye and needed surgery to stop blood from reaching his brain. Doctors were unable to prevent him from permanently losing the sight of his right eye and although he attempted a comeback he never played another VFL game. He was the second of three family members who had their sporting careers ruined by injury. His mother,

Nancy Boyle Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

, was a short distance runner and briefly held the 440 yard world record in 1957. She missed out on qualifying for the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

when she stepped on a nail. He also has a son, Tim Boyle, who played for

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

but was forced into retirement at the age of 25, due to multiple injuries.''The Age'
"The warrior's blessing"
19 December 2009, Timothy Boyle

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Stephen 1953 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players Moe Football Club players Living people