Ray Baxter (born 24 February 1940) is a former

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 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). It ...

(VFL) Recruited locally, from Kingsville, Baxter was a follower and key position player. He topped Footscray's goal-kicking in the

1959 VFL season The 1959 VFL season was the 63rd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 18 April until 26 September, and comprised an ...

, with 35 goals, six of which came in a loss to

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

Windy Hill Windy Hill may refer to: Places * Windy Hill, Essendon, an Australian rules football ground in the Melbourne area * Windy Hill Wind Farm, a wind power station near Ravenshoe, Queensland, Australia * Windy Hill (Pennines), a hill on the Pennines w ...

. His efforts were rewarded with selection in that year's Victorian team which played

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He was the club's leading goal-kicker again in 1960, managing 37 goals, the seventh-biggest tally in the league that season. Playing as a

centre half-back In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-back line refers to the positions of the 3 players on the field that occupy the centre half-back and left and right half-back flank positions. Centre half-back The role of the centre half-back ...

, Baxter was a member of the Footscray team which won the 1963 Night Premiership. Ray continued in footy, by being both Captain and Coach of

Mordialloc Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . H ...

from 1965 to 1967. He was awarded Best & Fairest in both 1965 & 1966. Ray was successful in his career after football, being employed by

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

in 1963, and becoming general manager by 1979. In 1987, he brought the Lease Plan to Australia as the Managing Director. Ray was appointed Lease Plan Chairman for Australia & New Zealand in 1997, he held this position until his retirement in 2002. Ray always continued working with the

Footscray Football Club The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the ...

(eventually the Western Bulldogs). He was Vice President Of the WBFC (Western Bulldogs Football Club) Board from 1996 to 2001. Ray Baxter is currently a Director of the Forever Foundation (est. 1999) and is also Chairman and Trustee of the Western Bulldogs Society (Bequests). Darren Baxter, his son, would also play for Footscray.''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'
"Moore on Salmon"
15 June 1984, p. 28

References

http://www.foreverfoundation.com.au/about-us/

External links

* * 1940 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players Living people {{AFL-bio-1940s-stub