Bob Schmidt (Australian footballer)
Bob Schmidt (Robert Dennis Schmidt) was born in Adelaide on 22 January 1943 to Dot and Fred Schmidt. He was the first born and his other sibling, Eric Charles, was born a few years later.
Bob Schmidt is a "Legend in the South Adelaide Football Club (with) 162 games, 1965 Knuckey Cup, Hall of Fame, Best Team Ever, State Representative on 11 occasions'[1] . Neil Kerley said that 'Bob is up there with the best half-back flankers the State has ever produced'. He also won two Mail Medals by the time he was 30 and was South Adelaide Best and Fairest four times.
Bob played Australian rules football as a boy and got into the Black Forest school team in grade 4. He then went onto play in his high school team at Unley High for five years and then Bob moved to the Glandore Football Club where his captain was Tony Shaw. He continued his playing career when he entered teachers' college and then joined the South Adelaide Football Club.
In 1964 Bob played half back in the grand final between South Adelaide and Port Adelaide. This was the first grand final won by South Adelaide Since 1938 and they haven't won another one since.
Bob and Beverly married in 1965 and they had two children together, Leanne in 1971 and David in 1973.
He finished playing league football in mid 1971. In the late '70s he joined the Onkaparinga Valley Football Club where he was playing coach for four years.
Bob was also a keen sailer and was a runner-up in the 1964 state titles and sailed in the Australian titles. He also did a great deal of kayaking including competing in sever Murray Marathons (each 100km long).
Bob married Inger Gruennagel in 1982. Inger had a son Adrian from her first marriage.
Bob had a long career in teaching including teaching at Mount Barker High School, Ingle Farm High School and was the Dean of Studies at Adelaide University Senior School before he retired in January 2010. Inger was the Head of the International School at the University of Adelaide at the same time.
He also had a few breaks from teaching and undertook a diverse variety of career dirversions including as a pig farmer, insurance sales and an author. He was commissioned to write a book on the history of Mount Barker called Mountain upon the plain[2]