Sam Snell (8 May 1911 – 26 June 2002) 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 St Kilda 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). Snell, who was from

Barooga Barooga is a border town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, located in the Berrigan Shire local government area. It is situated just north of the Murray River which forms the border with Victoria. Barooga's population at the 2 ...

in New South Wales, played much of his football at St Kilda 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 ...

. He received eight Brownlow Medal votes in 1939. After appearing in the opening round of the

1940 VFL season The 1940 VFL season was the 44th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 27 April until 28 September, and comprised an ...

, Snell didn't play at all for the next four years. During that time he worked as a police constable and in 1942 was awarded a bronze medal from the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

after seizing the reins of two horses that had bolted from a delivery van on the busy

Bourke Street, Melbourne Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

. He returned to the side in 1944. The following year spent some time up forward and was St Kilda's joint leading goal-kicker with 21 goals, the only goals on his career. He transferred to Preston in 1946.''The Argus'
"Sam Snell returns to train with Preston"
18 June 1947, p. 27

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snell, Sam 1911 births Australian rules footballers from New South Wales St Kilda Football Club players Preston Football Club (VFA) players Police officers from Melbourne 2002 deaths