Arthur Best (18 October 1888 – 17 June 1960) 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
er who played for the
St Kilda Football Club
The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league.
The club ...
and
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
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). It ...
(VFL).
His father was
Sir Robert Best, a prominent politician who served in the
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.
The presiding ...
and
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
.
In September 1914, Best enlisted in the
AIF to fight in World War I. He had been working as a salesman prior to enlistment. A member of the
58th Battalion, Best worked his way up from the rank of private to captain. In 1918, he was twice
mentioned in dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
. Best returned safely to Australia in July 1919.
In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of ''The Argus'' as follows:
::"In 1914 the Melbourne football team,
after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded),
J. Hassett,
H. Tomkins (severely wounded),
J. Evans (seriously wounded),
W. Hendrie,
R. L. Park,
J. Doubleday (died), A. Best,
C. Burge (killed),
C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed),
J. Brake,
R. Lowell,
E. Parsons (seriously wounded),
A. M. Pearce (killed),
F. Lugton (killed),
A. George,
C. Armstrong,
P. Rodriguez (killed),
J. Cannole (viz., Connole),
A. Fraser (seriously wounded),
T. Collins.
These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — ''The Argus'', 16 May 1919.
'Old Boy', "Football: Notes and Comments", ''The Argus'', (Friday, 16 May 1919), p.8.
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Notes
External links
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1888 births
1960 deaths
People educated at Melbourne Grammar School
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
St Kilda Football Club players
Melbourne Football Club players
South Yarra Football Club players
Australian military personnel of World War I
People from Fitzroy, Victoria
Military personnel from Melbourne
Australian people of Northern Ireland descent
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