Pavel "Paul" Vinar (24 March 1940 – 20 May 2009) 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 with

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

in the VFL during the 1960s.

Family

Vinar was born in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, and moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with his mother and four brothers after his father was killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Despite being Czech, his nickname was Swede.

Football

He was renowned for his long kicking ability. A highly regarded defender and occasional ruckman, he was also a nationally recognised long kicking champion considered to have the longest and most accurate kick of his era. Bob Davis, his coach during his time with the Geelong, thought Vinar had the best drop kick he had ever seen. He began playing for the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

's under-19s, and made his VFL debut on 15 June 1959, aged 19, against

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...

. Vinar was a utility player, often used at full back or in the ruck. He was a follower in the club's 1963 premiership side. On 6 July 1963 he was a member of the Geelong team that were comprehensively and unexpectedly beaten by Fitzroy, 9.13 (67) to 3.13 (31) in the

1963 Miracle Match The 1963 Miracle Match was an Australian rules football game contested in the second half of the 1963 VFL season home-and-away competition’s round 10 "split round" matches. The match, between the Fitzroy Football Club and the Geelong Fo ...

. Vinar moved to Tasmania in 1967 to take up the coaching role for Longford after which he became a regular Tasmanian representative, including at the 1969 National Carnival and in Tasmania’s historic victory over Western Australia in 1970 where he was named best player. Following his 5 seasons at Longford he moved to Launceston, which was also in the Northern Tasmanian Football Association. Right to the end of his senior playing career Paul Vinar was still able to kick the ball well over 65 metres. Vinar's playing record included: 132 games (Geelong, 1959–66); 104 games (Longford, 1967–71); 45 games (Launceston, 1972–74); 15 games (NTFA, 1967-72); 7 games (Tasmania, 1967–71). Paul Vinar was recognised with the Lefroy Medal as Tasmania's best representative player, is a Life Member of the Longford CLub and was inducted in the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.

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External links

* 1940 births 2009 deaths VFL/AFL players born outside Australia Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Geelong Football Club players Geelong Football Club premiership players Longford Football Club players Barwon Football Club players Czechoslovak emigrants to Australia Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees VFL/AFL premiership players {{AFL-bio-1940s-stub

Family

Football

See also

References

External links