Merv Agars
Merv Agars | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Mervyn Stanley Agars[1] | ||
Date of birth | 12 June 1925 | ||
Place of birth | Elliston, South Australia | ||
Date of death | 8 August 2017 | (aged 92)||
Place of death | Nuriootpa, South Australia | ||
Original team(s) | Prince Alfred College | ||
Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
Weight | 76 kg (168 lb)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Follower[2] | ||
Playing career | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1946-1952 | West Adelaide | 106 (92) | |
Representative team honours | |||
Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
1948-1950s | South Australia | 8 | |
Career highlights | |||
| |||
Source: AustralianFootball.com |
Mervyn Stanley Agars (12 June 1925 – 8 August 2017) was an Australian rules footballer and journalist. He played with West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). An eight-time state representative, he went on to have a significant career in sports journalism and in 2002 was inducted into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame.[3] In 2018, Merv Agars was inducted into the SA Media Awards Hall of Fame.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born to John and Margaret, on a sheep farm close to Elliston, South Australia, Agars grew up as one of 10 siblings, with seven brothers and two sisters.[4]
Aged 13 he began boarding at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and studied there for three years before returning to the family farm.[4]
Towards the end of the war he served in the Air force reserve.[4]
Career[]
Agars, a follower, began playing for West Adelaide in 1946 and in his second year of senior football was a member of their 1947 premiership team. He also played cricket for East Torrens and scored a century on A Grade debut in 1947.[5]
In 1948 he joined The Advertiser and worked in the printing office, while he continued to play football, for both West Adelaide and the state.[4] He married his wife Margaret, who is the sister of state cricketer Phil Ridings, in a ceremony at an Anglican church in Adelaide in 1949.[6] He topped the goalkicking at West Adelaide in 1951, his penultimate season.
Retired from football, Agars transferred to the editing section of The Advertiser in 1953 and began work as a sports journalist.[4] He later became sports editor, a position he held for close to 20 years, the longest serving in the newspaper's history.[7]
During his journalism career he covered four Summer Olympics.[4] He is the author of the book West Adelaide Football Club, Bloods, Sweat and Tears, a history of the club which was published in 1987.[3]
The Advertiser annually award the "Merv Agars Medal" for the best player from the AFL's two South Australian clubs.[8]
Personal life[]
One of his West Adelaide teammates, Don Taylor, was his brother-in law and a nephew, Leon Lovegrove, played in the club's 1961 premiership team.[8]
His son, Graeme Agars, is a noted golf and tennis commentator.[7]
Agars retired and resided in the Barossa Valley[4] until his death in 2017.
References[]
- ^ "World War Two Nominal Roll". Government of Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ a b c "Who's Who With South Aussies". Call. Western Australia. 11 August 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 17 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Merv S Agars". Official website of the SANFL. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Barossa Village Grapevine (PDF) (100 ed.). July 2016.
- ^ "Agars's First Century". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 6 January 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 17 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Today's Social News for Women". The News. South Australia. 19 April 1949. p. 13. Retrieved 17 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b Young, Eric (12 September 2010). "Man of mystery behind the much-loved voice of sport". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ a b Lawrie, Maddison (26 March 2013). "For the love of the game". Coastal Leader. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
External links[]
- Merv Agars at AustralianFootball.com
- 1925 births
- 2017 deaths
- Australian rules footballers from South Australia
- West Adelaide Football Club players
- South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Australian sports journalists
- Australian newspaper editors
- Journalists from South Australia