Ray Gibb (5 December 1928 – 10 September 1953) 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 with

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 ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

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). Gibb, a utility player, was the son of former

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and Collingwood footballer

Reg Gibb Reginald Norman Gibb (10 November 1892 – 15 July 1981) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Gibb was the third of three brothers to play for Collingwood. He mad ...

. He was used as a fullback for much of his league career. Originally from Balwyn Amateurs, Gibbs made five appearances for Hawthorn in the

1950 VFL season The 1950 VFL season was the 54th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 22 April until 23 September, and comprised an ...

before suffering a hand injury which kept him out for the rest of the year. He had to have one of his nails removed by a doctor. He was a regular fixture in the side throughout 1951, playing 16 of a possible 18 games.AFL Tables: Ray Gibb
/ref> Gibb appeared in the opening round of the 1952 season with Hawthorn, but it would be his final game for the club. He was given permission to train at Richmond and was selected in their senior side for their round 15 encounter with

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 ...

, one of five games he played for them that season. Having played just once for Richmond in 1953, Gibb applied for and was granted a clearance to Box Hill in June. Three months later he was involved in a road accident when his motor cycle crashed into a milk cart in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He died from his injuries the following day, at St Vincent's Hospital. A benefit game to raise money for his family was played later that month between a combined Richmond–Hawthorn team, and a Box Hill team augmented with other VFL and VFA star players.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibb, Ray 1928 births 1953 deaths Hawthorn Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Box Hill Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Victoria (state)