Ross Booth
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Ross Booth
| image = RossBooth1987.png
| fullname = Ross Booth
| birth_date = {{birth date|1952|03|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|6|3|1952|03|19|df=y}}
| death_place = Toorak, Victoria, Australia
| originalteam =
| height =
| weight =
| position =
| statsend =
| years1 = 1971−76
| club1 = Monash Blues
| games_goals1 =
| years2 = 1977−83
| club2 = University Blacks
| games_goals2 =
| games_goalstotal = 100+
| careerhighlights = * 2x Monash Blues best-and-fairest (1973, 1974)
- {{nowrap|Monash Blues captain (1973, 1974)}}
- {{nowrap|Monash Blues team of the half century (1962−2011)}}
}}
Ross Booth (19 March 1952 – 3 June 2024) was an Australian rules footballer and commentator.{{cite web |title=The Monash University Blues Football Club mourns the recent passing of Ross Booth |url=https://www.instagram.com/monashbluesfc/p/C73EqZxSAZ6/?img_index=1 |website=Instagram |publisher=Monash Blues |access-date=26 September 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240926142311/https://www.instagram.com/monashbluesfc/p/C73EqZxSAZ6/?img_index=1 |archive-date=26 September 2024 |date=6 June 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Jason |title=Ross Booth Remembered – “A champion footballer and even better bloke.” |url=https://www.vafa.com.au/news/2024/06/12/ross-booth-remembered-a-champion-footballer-and-even-better-bloke/ |publisher=Victorian Amateur Football Association |access-date=20 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612122842/https://www.vafa.com.au/news/2024/06/12/ross-booth-remembered-a-champion-footballer-and-even-better-bloke/ |archive-date=12 June 2024 |date=12 June 2024}}
Career
=VAFA=
Booth started his playing career at the Monash Blues Football Club in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), beginning in 1971.{{cite web |title=Vale Ross Booth |url=https://www.vafa.com.au/news/2024/06/05/vale-ross-booth/ |publisher=Victorian Amateur Football Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605063221/https://www.vafa.com.au/news/2024/06/05/vale-ross-booth/ |archive-date=5 June 2024 |date=5 June 2024}}
He captained the Blues and was the club's best-and-fairest winner in 1973 and 1974, and later came in second place in the VAFA A Section best-and-fairest in 1976.{{cite web |title=HONOUR ROLL |url=https://www.monashblues.com.au/the-club/history/honour-roll/ |publisher=Monash Blues |access-date=2 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802073418/https://www.monashblues.com.au/the-club/history/honour-roll/ |archive-date=2 August 2024}}
In 1977, Booth left the Monash Blues and joined the University Blacks, where he continued his playing career until the end of 1983. By the time of his retirement, he had played more than 100 games.
Booth was appointed a VAFA Executive/Board Member in 1986, serving in the role until 2010.{{cite web |title='Sad day': Victorian AFL commentator Ross Booth dead at 72 |url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/sad-day-victorian-afl-commentator-ross-booth-dead-at-72/news-story/9f0acd41778b284285320ce7fc6ebb24 |publisher=news.com.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605140905/https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/sad-day-victorian-afl-commentator-ross-booth-dead-at-72/news-story/9f0acd41778b284285320ce7fc6ebb24 |archive-date=5 June 2024 |date=5 June 2024}} He was awarded VAFA life membership in 2003, and was named in the Monash Blues' team of the half century in 2011.{{cite web |title=Ross Booth |url=https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/ross-booth |publisher=Monash University |access-date=5 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515033808/https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/ross-booth |archive-date=15 May 2024}}
=VFA/VFL commentary=
At the end of the 1987 VAFA season, Booth left his role at The Amateur Footballer and joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a commentator for the second-tier Victorian Football Association (VFA) competition.{{cite web |title=The Amateur Footballer, Week 1, 1988 |url=https://issuu.com/vafa_hq/docs/vafa-vol88.no01 |website=Issuu |date=17 January 2017 |publisher=Victorian Amateur Football Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606031925/https://issuu.com/vafa_hq/docs/vafa-vol88.no01 |archive-date=6 June 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Noakes |first1=Cameron |title=Beloved football commentator Ross Booth dies, aged 72 |url=https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/beloved-football-commentator-ross-booth-dies-aged-72-c-14918958 |publisher=7NEWS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605233531/https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/beloved-football-commentator-ross-booth-dies-aged-72-c-14918958 |archive-date=5 June 2024 |date=5 June 2024}}
He continued commentating when the VFA was renamed to the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1996, working alongside other prominent names including Phil Cleary (who had played for Coburg Amateurs against Booth in the early 1970s).
In addition to broadcast commentary, Booth was part of the VFA coverage in The Sunday Age.
Death
On 5 June 2024, Phil Cleary announced Booth's death in a Facebook post, stating he was found dead in his apartment in Toorak. He was 72.
VAFA president Paul Newton described it as a "sad day for the Association," and the VFL described Booth as a "much loved and highly respected figure in the football industry".{{cite web |title=Ross was a much loved and highly respected figure in the football industry who provided an enormous contribution to the game as part of the VFL’s commentary team for more than two decades. |url=https://x.com/VFL/status/1798493753944195576 |publisher=VFL / VFLW |access-date=20 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720123338/https://archive.md/aF4I9 |archive-date=20 July 2024 |date=6 June 2024}}
At the time of his death, Booth was a senior lecturer in the department of economics at Monash University.