Bob Hay (general)

Major General Robert Arthur "Bob" Hay, CB, MBE (9 April 1920 – 26 January 1998) was an Australian Army general. He also played Australian rules football and made two appearances in 1942 for Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Bob Hay
Born	9 April 1920 Bendigo, Victoria[1]
Died	26 January 1998 (aged 77) Geelong, Victoria
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1940–1977
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Royal Military College, Duntroon (1973–77) 1st Division (1970) Australian Forces Vietnam (1969–70) 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1955)
Battles/wars	Second World War Vietnam War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Member of the Order of the British Empire

Bob Hay
Personal information
Original team(s)	Collegians[2]
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	81 kg (179 lb)
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1942	Richmond	2 (1)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1942.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Both of Hay's VFL games were finals.[3] He made his debut in Richmond's semi-final win over Essendon at Princes Park and also played in the 1942 VFL Grand Final two weeks later against the same opponent, as a half forward flanker.[3] Richmond lost the grand final by 53 points and Hay never played again for the club.[3]

Hay went on to have a distinguished career in the Australian Army, serving as Commander of Australian Military Forces in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. He was Commandant of the Royal Military College in Duntroon.[4]

References

1. "World War Two Nominal Roll". Government of Australia.
2. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
3. AFL Tables: Bob Hay
4. Ramsey, Alan (5 July 2008). "The honour of working for Mr Curtin". Sydney Morning Herald.