Robert Snell (born 15 February 1903 in

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

– died April 1983 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

) 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

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL), West Adelaide in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL) and

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in the Tasmanian National Football League (TANFL) between 1923 and 1933.

Career

Snell started his career in 1923 with East Perth and the following season finished second in the

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and be ...

. He sought a clearance to join West Adelaide for the 1925 season but after East Perth refused he had to wait until 1927, playing amateur and junior competitions in the meantime. A centreman, Snell was a member of a West Adelaide premiership side in his debut SANFL season in 1927. In 1929 he won the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

, being the last medallist known to the man who donated the award,

William Ashley Magarey William Ashley Magarey (30 January 1868 – 18 October 1929) was a lawyer, sportsman and sports administrator. He was the first chairman of the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) (later named South Australian National Football League ...

, as Magarey passed shortly after the 1929 SANFL season. Snell then moved to

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

in 1931 to play for

in the TANFL. In the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Snell could earn up to

A£ The pound (Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol s ...

10 per game and the same in wages playing in the Apple Isle. He returned to West Adelaide in 1932 and stayed with the club until his retirement from playing in 1933 having played 84 games and kicking 16 goals for Wests. Snell represented

13 times in Interstate football between 1927 and 1929.

Post career

Having retired from football after 1933, his life post football was spent as a licensed bookmaker. Due to race meetings being held on Saturdays, Snell saw very little league football for many years. He retired from bookmaking in 1973 and spent his time playing lawn bowls twice a week at the

Adelaide Bowling Club Adelaide Bowling Club was founded in 1897 and is the oldest bowling club in South Australia. The club was founded as the result of a public meeting called by Henry F. Dench and chaired by J. H. Finlayson. The Governor, Sir T. Fowell Buxton acc ...

. Bob Snell died in

in April 1983 having recently turned 80. West Adelaide won their 8th and so far last SANFL Premiership in the same year.

References

WAFC Magarey Medallists - Robert Snell 1929
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snell, Robert 1983 deaths East Perth Football Club players West Adelaide Football Club players Magarey Medal winners 1903 births Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People from Collie, Western Australia Date of death missing