Sanford Matthew Wheeler (6 April 1970 – 10 March 2020) 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 ...

player for the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

. He is notable as being the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

-born player in the history of the AFL and one of few players from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to play in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

Early life

Wheeler was born in

Lynwood, California Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the central portion of the Los Angeles ...

, to an Australian father and

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

mother. He migrated with his family to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, at the age of 5. Wheeler briefly moved to

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 ...

during his

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

years before returning to Sydney. A supporter, Wheeler took an interest in playing multiple sports as a junior, from

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

. By the age of 13, Wheeler had migrated to playing Australian football for local club Seven Hills after spotting an advertisement at a shopping centre. After five seasons at the club, he transferred to

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

, from which he was recruited.

Playing career

Wheeler was recruited to the Sydney Swans via zone allocation in 1988 at the age of 18. However, he grew tired of coach

Tom Hafey Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

's training regimes and left the club mid-season. Wheeler was welcomed back to Sydney the following year under new coach Col Kinnear, and subsequently made his

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 ...

debut in a much-depleted Swans team in round 6, 1989, against . However, his first game was not notable, and he was dropped for the next couple of months. Showing some form in the reserves, Wheeler reappeared in round 20 against with a more satisfactory performance, kicking a goal. He began to establish himself in the senior side and would make 11 appearances the following season in the newly renamed Australian Football League. During his playing career, Wheeler was distinct for his bulky yet athletic frame and his braided ponytail, exhibiting dash and flair off the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, and he also served as a rugged rebounding defender off the half-back flank. His quick run and hard tackling were trademarks of his game. However, Wheeler's disposal skills let him down, and he had a tendency to get caught holding the ball. He also played the majority of his career during the Swans' darkest era, where they "won" three successive wooden spoons from 1992 to 1994 during a time of financial turmoil for the club. Wheeler's career highlight came in 1992, where he was selected in the

state team in their

state of origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

match against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Wheeler was again selected for the state team the following year, this time in a combined team with the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

for their match against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at the 1993 State of Origin Championships. At the time, Wheeler was the subject of an impromptu fan club, who took mock credit for his selection. Wheeler was considered by many to be the Swans' most improved player that season. After a serious knee injury and the tendency to be used sparingly by coach

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

, Wheeler was delisted following the 1994 season as part of a shake-up of the Swans' list.

After football

Following his football career, Wheeler returned to the United States and became a wealth management advisor for Merrill Lynch Bank of America in Indian Wells.

Personal life

During school and in his early football days, Wheeler went by his middle name—Matthew—to avoid being bullied for his uncommon given name; he continued to use Sanford around family and friends. Ahead of the

1993 season File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, Wheeler reverted to going by Sanford in everyday life.

Death

Wheeler died in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on 10 March 2020, aged 49.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Sanford 1970 births 2020 deaths American players of Australian rules football VFL/AFL players born outside Australia Sydney Swans players Australian rules footballers from New South Wales East Coast Eagles players American emigrants to Australia New South Wales Australian rules football State of Origin players Australian people of African-American descent