Reginald Wilmot
Encyclopedia
Reginald William Ernest "Old Boy" Wilmot (1911–1954) was a leading sports journalist in Melbourne
, Australia
in the early 20th century, well known for his writing on cricket
and Australian rules football
. Wilmot's writing on football and sport in general were authoritative and displayed wisdom and generosity.
Along with Hugh Buggy
, R.W.E. Wilmot was believed to have coined the term 'bodyline' during the 1932/33 Ashes Test cricket series. Wilmot also wrote several books on cricket including Defending The Ashes 1932-33 which gave a rare Australian perspective on this historic and controversial series.
R.W.E. Wilmot was a student of Melbourne Grammar School
. He would later be heavily involved in the organisation of amateur sport in Melbourne and often used his newspaper columns to promote the value of school sport, particularly as it was played in public schools. He supported amateur
ism in school sport strongly because, as he commented in an article on professional coaches in 1914, ‘the professional very often misses the spirit of sport in his desire to gain’.http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/SportingTraditions/1998/st1501/st1501f.pdf
His strongly held loathing of professional sport carried over to his love of football. In 1915 Wilmot, then the vice-president of the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association, used his position as the Argus
's football scribe, "Old Boy", to launch an attack on the mercenary nature of professional football, arguing that professional football did not improve the calibre of man and did nothing to improve the sport and, as such, was of no value to the community.http://www.awm.gov.au/journal/j28/j28-blai.htm
In July 1935 the Victorian Football League presented Wilmot with a mahogany log box for 46 years service to football as a journalist.
R.W.E. Wilmot's son, Reginald William Winchester "Chester" Wilmot
(1911–1954), was a famed World War II correspondent and historian.http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160666b.htm?hilite=wilmot
R.W.E. Wilmot was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame
in 1996, with his citation reading:
In 1998 Wilmot was inducted to the Melbourne Cricket Ground
's Rogues Gallery with his citation reading:
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the early 20th century, well known for his writing on cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and 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...
. Wilmot's writing on football and sport in general were authoritative and displayed wisdom and generosity.
Along with Hugh Buggy
Hugh Buggy
Edward Hugh Buggy was a leading journalist well known as an Australian rules football writer covering the Victorian Football League ....
, R.W.E. Wilmot was believed to have coined the term 'bodyline' during the 1932/33 Ashes Test cricket series. Wilmot also wrote several books on cricket including Defending The Ashes 1932-33 which gave a rare Australian perspective on this historic and controversial series.
R.W.E. Wilmot was a student of Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. He would later be heavily involved in the organisation of amateur sport in Melbourne and often used his newspaper columns to promote the value of school sport, particularly as it was played in public schools. He supported amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
ism in school sport strongly because, as he commented in an article on professional coaches in 1914, ‘the professional very often misses the spirit of sport in his desire to gain’.http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/SportingTraditions/1998/st1501/st1501f.pdf
His strongly held loathing of professional sport carried over to his love of football. In 1915 Wilmot, then the vice-president of the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association, used his position as the Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
's football scribe, "Old Boy", to launch an attack on the mercenary nature of professional football, arguing that professional football did not improve the calibre of man and did nothing to improve the sport and, as such, was of no value to the community.http://www.awm.gov.au/journal/j28/j28-blai.htm
In July 1935 the Victorian Football League presented Wilmot with a mahogany log box for 46 years service to football as a journalist.
R.W.E. Wilmot's son, Reginald William Winchester "Chester" Wilmot
Chester Wilmot
Reginald William Winchester Wilmot was an Australian war correspondent who reported for the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation during the Second World War. After the war he continued to work as a broadcast reporter, and wrote a well-appreciated book about the liberation of Europe...
(1911–1954), was a famed World War II correspondent and historian.http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160666b.htm?hilite=wilmot
R.W.E. Wilmot was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
in 1996, with his citation reading:
- Writing for The Argus in 1935, he was given an award by the AFL for 46 years of journalism. His work was characterised by authority, wisdom and generosity.
In 1998 Wilmot was inducted to the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
's Rogues Gallery with his citation reading:
- Wrote as "Old Boy" for The Argus and the Australasian from 1902 until the mid 1930s. Correspondent for The Times and Observer and The Times of Ceylon. Author of Defending The Ashes in 1932/33.