Harold Robertson
{{Short description|Australian rules footballer (1895–1935)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Harold Robertson
| image =
| fullname = Harold John Robertson
| nickname = Diddlo
| birth_date = 9 April 1895
| birth_place = Kensington Hill, Victoria
| death_date = {{death date and age|1935|3|19|1895|4|9|df=yes}}
| death_place = Albert Park, Victoria
| originalteam = Middle Park CYMS
| height = 173 cm
| weight = 67 kg
| position =
| statsend = 1923
| years1 = 1917–1921, 1923
| club1 = South Melbourne
| games_goals1 = 64 (93)
| careerhighlights =
}}
Harold John Robertson (9 April 1895 – 19 March 1935){{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12220883 |title=Family Notices. |newspaper=The Argus |location=Melbourne |date=20 March 1935 |access-date=24 September 2014 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the VFL.
Family
The second child, and eldest son of John Christian "Chris" Robertson (1868-1949),[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243676133 Deaths: Robertson, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Monday, 29 August 1949), p.8.] and Mary Robertson (1872-1954), née Reardon,[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8722412 Marriages: Robertson—Reardon, The Argus, (Saturday, 6 January 1894), p.1.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205687096 Deaths: Robertson, The Age, (Monday, 19 July 1954), p.9.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164507415 Mrs. M. Robertson dies at Age of 82: Mother of South Melbourne's Greatest Sporting Family, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 24 July 1954), p.7.] Harold John Robertson was born at Kensington Hill, Victoria on 9 April 1895.
He married Rebecca Mary Shaw (1896-1967) (later Mrs. Patrick Corbett) at Middle Park, Victoria, on 21 April 1920.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203062230 Marriages: Robertson—Shaw, The Age, (Saturday, 24 July 1920), p.5.][https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z9RYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y5MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5379%2C4428199 Deaths: Corbett, The Age, (Monday, 26 June 1967), p.17.]
His brother, Austin Robertson, Sr., and his nephew, Austin Robertson, Jr., were also champion footballers.The Argus, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12221236 "Harold Robertson Dead"], 21 March 1935. p. 15. Another brother, Hans Joseph Robertson (1905-1969), was a champion amateur swimmer.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165177961 Swimming: Boy's remarkable display, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 31 January 1920), p.2.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article246126624 Sport in Brief, The (Sydney) Daily Pictorial, (Monday, 31 March 1930), p.23.],
Football
=South Melbourne (VFL)=
Full-forward Harold Robertson kicked 38 goals in 1919, which was enough to top South Melbourne's goalkicking.
Robertson played in South Melbourne's 1918 premiership team, kicking two goals from a half forward flank in their five-point victory {{em-dash}} 9.8 (62) to 7.15 (57) {{em-dash}} over Collingwood in the 1918 VFL Grand Final.
==26 July 1919==
He set a VFL record in the match against St Kilda, at the Lake Oval, on 26 July 1919 when he kicked 14 goals, half of them in the final quarter. It easily beat the previous league record of 11 goals shared by Dick Lee and Jim McShane. Robertson's VFL record was not bettered until Gordon Coventry kicked 16 goals against Hawthorn, at Victoria Park, on 27 July 1929.
Robertson's 14 goals was the first time that a South Melbourne player had kicked 10 or more goals in a match. It was not until 1933 that his feat was equalled, with Bob Pratt kicking 10 goals twice {{em-dash}} 10 goals on 8 July 1933 and 11 goals on 15 July 1933 {{em-dash}} and, then, setting a new record with his kicking 15 goals against Essendon, at the Lake Oval, on 19 May 1934.
Swimming
In his youth, Harold, like his younger brother Hans, was an accomplished swimmer.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81341098: Football: The Man who made a Record: an All-Round Athlete, The (Perth) Daily News, (Wednesday, 13 August 1939), p.2.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171905499 Passing of Harold Robertson; Champion Forward of 1919, The Advocate, (Thursday, 28 March 1935), p.25.]
Death
Following his retirement from football, he suffered with illness over a long period of time, and died at Albert Park, Victoria, on 19 March 1935, at the age of 39.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204286600 Deaths: Robertson, The Age, (Wednesday, 20 March 1935), p.1.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164481593 Death of Crack Goalkicker: Harold Robertson's Untimely End: Held V.F.L. Record for Many Years; A Versatile Athlete, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 23 March 1935), p.4.]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{AFL Tables|ref=H/Harold_Robertson.html}}
- {{AustralianFootball|ref=harold%2Brobertson/3523}}
{{1918 South Melbourne premiership players}}
{{Sydney leading goalkickers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Harold}}
Category:Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Category:Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
Category:Sydney Swans premiership players
Category:VFL/AFL premiership players
Category:People from Albert Park, Victoria
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
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