Jack Oatey

Jack Oatey
Personal information
Nickname(s)Caleb
Date of birth29 August 1920
Place of birthAdelaide, South Australia
Date of death26 February 1994 (aged 73)
Place of deathAdelaide, South Australia
Original teamNorwood (SANFL)
Height/Weight168cm / 80kg
Position(s)Rover
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1940-43, 1945-52
1944		Norwood (SANFL)
South Melbourne (VFL)		181 (233)
5 (4)
186 (237)
Coaching career
YearsClubGames (W–L–D)
1945-56
1957-60
1962-82
Total -		Norwood (SANFL)
West Adelaide (SANFL)
Sturt (SANFL)		229 (147-81-1)
78 (52-26-0)
470 (314-152-4)
777 (513-259-5)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 1952 season.
Career highlights

Jack Oatey, AM (29 August 1920 – 26 February 1994) was an Australian rules football player and coach.

Playing career

Oatey played 181 games for the Norwood Football Club between 1940 and 1952 and acted as playing-coach from 1945 to 1952.

While on service for World War II in 1944, he played 5 games for the South Melbourne Football Club.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from playing in 1952, Oatey remained the coach of Norwood until 1956. In 1957, Oatey moved to West Adelaide where he coached until 1960, reaching the finals each year but never winning the premiership. Not involved in coaching at any team in 1961, Oatey saw the Bloods win the SANFL premiership, convincing him to return to the league. He went to Sturt, coaching there from 1962 to 1982, and leading the league team to 7 SANFL Premierships (a record at the time) including the famous five in a row from 1966 to 1970.

A long-standing coaching rival to Port Adelaide's Fos Williams, Sturt defeated Port Adelaide four times in Grand Finals under Oatey's tutelage.

Oatey was one of the instigators of the greater use of handball, which is often solely attributed to the VFL's Ron Barassi, particularly within Victoria. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Overall, Oatey coached 37 seasons in the SANFL, winning ten premierships (three with Norwood, seven with Sturt), reaching seventeen grand finals (six with Norwood, two with West Adelaide and nine with Sturt) and reaching the finals on 33 occasions. His ten premierships is still the record for the most premierships by one coach in top-level football.[1]

Accolades

Jack Oatey is the only person in SANFL history to coach over 500 wins in league football. He coached Norwood to 147, West Adelaide to 52 and Sturt to 303 wins from 777 league games coached.

Oatey is a Life Member of the Norwood Football Club, was awarded Life Membership of the Sturt Football Club in 1971 and SANFL Life Membership in 1981.

In 1981 the SANFL inaugurated the Jack Oatey Medal to be awarded to the best player in the SANFL grand final, the first time an SANFL award was named for a still active coach.

In 1978 Jack Oatey was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the sport of Australian football.[2]

Jack Oatey was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and in 2002 was one of 113 inaugural inductees into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame

Family

Oatey's eldest son Robert Oatey also played for and coached Norwood and later became a highly respected television commentator for Channel 7 and Channel 10's SANFL coverage in the 1980s, teaming with Bruce McAvaney, Ian Day, Peter Marker and Graham Campbell. Jack's youngest son Peter, was both a Norwood footballer and tennis player.

References

  1. ↑ Atkinson, Graeme (1989). 3AW Book of Footy Records. South Melbourne,: Magistra Publishing Company Pty Ltd. p. 278. ISBN 1863210091.
  2. ↑ Order of Australia (AM) Members - O

External links