Arthur Olliver

{{Short description|Australian rules footballer and coach}}

{{distinguish|Arthur Robert Oliver|Arthur Ollivier}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}

{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox AFL biography

| name = Arthur Olliver

| image =

| fullname = Arthur Olliver

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|12|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Footscray, Victoria

| death_date = {{death date and age|1988|5|31|1916|12|10|df=y}}

| death_place = West Footscray, Victoria

| originalteam = Footscray Tech Old Boys

| height = 189 cm

| weight = 87 kg

| position = Ruckman

| statsend = 1963

| years1 = 1935–1950

| club1 = Footscray

| games_goals1 = 272 (354)

| coachyears1 = 1943–1950

| coachclub1 = Footscray

| coachgames_wins1 = 128 (68–59–1)

| coachyears2 = 1960–1963

| coachclub2 = West Perth

| coachgames_wins2 = 88 (48–37–3)

| careerhighlights = *Con Curtain trophy: 1941, 1944

• Footscray leading goalkicker: 1937, 1937, 1949
• Footscray captain-coach: 1943–1946, 1948–1950
• Footscray Team of the Century
• Victorian representative (2 games, 0 goals)
• West Perth premiership coach: 1960

}}

Arthur Olliver (10 December 1916 – 31 May 1988) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL), and coached successfully in the then Western Australian National Football League (WANFL).

A champion Footscray ruckman over 16 years with the club, Olliver held the games record for the Bulldogs prior to Ted Whitten.{{cite web |title=Hutchison finally among the greats |date=1 July 2003 |website=The Age |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113091813/https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/30/1056825333505.html |archive-date=13 November 2012 |url-status=live |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/30/1056825333505.html}} In seven seasons as captain-coach Olliver got the Bulldogs into the finals three times, and saw them narrowly miss out twice.

One of Footscray's longest serving players, Olliver played 272 VFL games and kicked 354 goals for the club.{{cite web|url=http://australianfootball.com/players/player/Arthur%2BOlliver/5867.html|title=Arthur Olliver|publisher=Australian Football|access-date=2015-06-02|last=Devaney|first=John}} Olliver was appointed captain-coach of New Norfolk in Tasmania, where he stayed for three years. In 1951 he won his club's best and fairest award, and captain-coached the Tasmanian state team. Olliver's last involvement in top-level football was as non-playing coach of West Perth Football Club in the WANFL between 1960 and 1963. In his first season, the Cardinals won their first WANFL premiership for nine seasons, but they were not able to keep up this form, finishing fifth, third and fifth in an eight-club competition for his final three seasons.

In 2003 Olliver was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.{{cite web|title= Olliver inducted into Hall of Fame| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030924045359/http://westernbulldogs.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=102838|url=http://westernbulldogs.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=102838|first=Matt|last=Burgan|date=30 June 2003|archive-date= 24 September 2003}} He has also been inducted into the Footscray/Western Bulldogs Hall of Fame and was named on the interchange in their Team of the Century.[http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/hall%20of%20fame/tabid/16305/default.aspx Hall of Fame] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210095203/http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/hall%20of%20fame/tabid/16305/default.aspx |date=10 February 2012 }}