Ray Montgomery was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 umpire

Umpire (Australian rules football)

An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football.-Origins:Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football, the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an...

. Montgomery umpired in the West Australian National Football League

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 (now known as the West Australian Football League) and the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

.

Working life

He began his working life as a coach builder for the Western Australian Government Railways

Western Australian Government Railways

Western Australian Government Railways was most common name of the Western Australian government rail transport authority from 1890 to 1976. It is, in its current form, known as the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia....

 at the Midland Railway Workshops

Midland Railway Workshops

The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways for over 80 years.-History:...

. After going to teacher's college he become an art teacher, becoming an Arts Master at Churchlands College.

Playing career

Montgomery played football at school and in the Temperance League before playing reserve grade for Swan Districts

Swan Districts Football Club

The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia...

. His playing career was brought to an end by a cracked vertebra.

WANFL

Montgomery joined the WANFL umpiring panel in 1950 and was soon umpiring league football, making his debut in a match between East Fremantle

East Fremantle Football Club

The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The team's home ground is East Fremantle Oval...

 and Swan Districts

Swan Districts Football Club

The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia...

 at Fremantle Oval

Fremantle Oval

Fremantle Oval is a stadium in the centre of Fremantle, Western Australia. It currently has a capacity of 17,500 with terracing and a members area holding 750. Fremantle Oval was originally used for cricket, but in 1895 hosted its first game of Australian rules football...

 in Round 4 of the 1952 season.

In 1959 Montgomery officiated in his first grand final

Grand Final

Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...

, between East Perth

East Perth Football Club

The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club that is a member of the West Australian Football League...

 and Subiaco

Subiaco Football Club

The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League . It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAFL in 1901, along with North Fremantle...

 at Subiaco Oval

Subiaco Oval

Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia...

.

During Round 1 of the 1956 season Montgomery reported Jack Sheedy

Jack Sheedy (Australian rules footballer)

John Cameron "Jack" Sheedy is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for and in the Western Australian National Football League and in the Victorian Football League . Sheedy is considered one of the greatest ever footballers from Western Australia, and is a member of both...

 for using abusive language towards him, to which Sheedy responded at the tribunal by swearing

Oath

An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

 on a bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 that Montgomery had reported the wrong player. Despite the theatrics, Sheedy was found guilty of the charge.

In 1963 he made a complaint to the WANFL over an incident that occurred after he had umpired a match between East Fremantle

East Fremantle Football Club

The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The team's home ground is East Fremantle Oval...

 and South Fremantle

South Fremantle Football Club

The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...

 at East Fremantle Oval

East Fremantle Oval

East Fremantle Oval is an Australian rules football ground located in East Fremantle, Western Australia. The ground was opened in 1906, and underwent a large redevelopment in 1953. It current serves as the home ground of the East Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League...

. He alleged that as he was walking out of the ground, a player drove a car toward him, attempting to run him over.

He retired in 1972 having umpired 308 WANFL league matches including five grand finals.

VFL

While studying art at the Melbourne Technical College

RMIT University

RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....

 Montgomery umpired two league matches during the 1965 Victorian Football League season

1965 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1965.-Premiership season:In 1965, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...

.

Later life and legacy

Montgomery was responsible for redesigning the Swan Districts logo after Swans coach Haydn Bunton, Jr.

Haydn Bunton, Jr.

Haydn Austin Bunton was a player and coach of Australian rules football. He became the youngest ever coach in a major league of Australian rules, when he was appointed coach of Norwood Football Club in 1957....

 suggested it needed livening up.

After retiring Montgomery took up bowls and was a member of the Manning Bowls Club for over three decades.

The award for best WAFL field umpire is named the Ray Montgomery Medal in his honour.

In 2002 Montgomery was named as one of three field umpires in the WANFL Umpires Association Team of the Half Century.

In 2004 he was inducted into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame

West Australian Football Hall of Fame

The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise and enshrine those who have made a significant contribution to Australian rules football in Western Australia...

.