Harold John Robertson (9 April 1895 – 19 March 1935) was an

Australian rules 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 ...

footballer who played for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km 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 t ...

in the

VFL 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 ...

Family

The second child, and eldest son of John Christian "Chris" Robertson (1868-1949), and Mary Robertson (1872-1954), née Reardon, Harold John Robertson was born at Kensington Hill, Victoria on 9 April 1895. He married Rebecca Mary Shaw (1896-1967) (later Mrs. Patrick Corbett) at

Middle Park, Victoria Middle Park is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. Middle Park recorded a population of 4,000 at the 2021 ce ...

, on 21 April 1920. His brother, Austin Robertson, Sr., and his nephew,

Austin Robertson, Jr. Austin Christopher Robertson (born 29 April 1943) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). He is the son of former South Me ...

, were also champion footballers. Another brother, Hans Joseph Robertson (1905-1969), was a champion amateur swimmer.

Football

South Melbourne (VFL)

Full-forward Harold Robertson kicked 38 goals in 1919, which was enough to top South Melbourne's goalkicking. Robertson played in South Melbourne's 1918 premiership team, kicking two goals from a half forward flank in their five-point victory 9.8 (62) to 7.15 (57) over Collingwood in the

1918 VFL Grand Final The 1918 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 7 September 1918. It was the 21st annual Gra ...

26 July 1919

He set a VFL record in the match against St Kilda, at the Lake Oval, on 26 JUly 1919 when he kicked 14 goals, half of them in the final quarter. It easily beat the previous league record of 11 goals shared by

Dick Lee Richard Lee Peng Boon (born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, playwright and film director. Early life Lee was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who wrote for ''The Straits Times'') and his wife , Elizabeth Tan. He was th ...

and

Jim McShane James McShane (28 February 1871 – 25 October 1946) was an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club. McShane was the first player in the VFL/AFL competition to kick ten goals or more in a match when he scored eleven goals agai ...

. Robertson's VFL record was not bettered until

Gordon Coventry Gordon Richard James Coventry (25 September 1901 – 7 November 1968) was a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Accorded "Legend" status in the Australian Footb ...

kicked 16 goals against Hawthorn, at Victoria Park, on 27 July 1919. Robertson's 14 goals was the first time that a South Melbourne player had kicked 10 or more goals in a match. It was not until 1933 that his record was equalled, with

Bob Pratt Harold Robert Pratt Sr. (31 August 1912 – 6 January 2001) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Asso ...

kicking 10 goals twice 10 goals on 8 July 1933 and 11 goals on 15 July 1933 and, then, setting a new record with his kicking 15 goals against Essendon, at the Lake Oval, on 19 May 1934.

Swimming

In his youth, Harold, like his younger brother Hans, was an accomplished swimmer.

Death

Following his retirement from football, he suffered with illness over a long period of time, and died at

Albert Park, Victoria Albert Park is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District. The suburb is named after Albert Park, a large lakeside urban park located within the City of Port Phillip local government ar ...

, on 19 March 1935, at the age of 39.Death of Crack Goalkicker: Harold Robertson's Untimely End: Held V.F.L. Record for Many Years; A Versatile Athlete, ''The (Emerald Hill) Record'', (Saturday, 23 March 1935), p.4.
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References

External links

* * 1895 births 1935 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans Premiership players One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Albert Park, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1895-stub