Bob Skilton is one of the all-time greats of the Sydney Swans.
A triple Brownlow Medallist and nine-time Swans Club Champion, Skilton was an inaugural legend inducted into both the AFL Hall of Fame (1996) and Sydney Swans Hall of Fame (2009).
Next month, the Sydney Swans will pay a special tribute to the 79-year-old, by unveiling a Bob Skilton sculpture at Lakeside Stadium – the home ground where Skilton won the hearts of Swans and wider football fans alike.
Sydney Swans CEO and Managing Director Andrew Ireland said the sculpture has been made possible with assistance from philanthropist and long-time Sydney Swans supporter Basil Sellers, who was behind the Basil Sellers Sports Sculpture Project which installed bronze sporting heroes around the SCG.
“Basil has supported not only the sculptures here at the SCG, but also the ones at Adelaide Oval, so we’re really pleased that with his support we are able to install a sculpture of Bob at Lakeside Oval,” Ireland said.
“Bob has been a fantastic representative of our football club, both as a champion player and since then. As a player he was courageous and clearly one of the greats. Our players love spending time with him and I know all the players who have been able to win the Bob Skilton Medal are very proud of that.”
Basil Sellers said the artist behind the Paul Kelly and Paul Roos works at the SCG, Cathy Weiszmann, has again been commissioned for the Bob Skilton sculpture.
“We would love to have had Bob at the SCG, but when we installed those sculptures one of the criteria was that the person had to have played on the SCG – however it’s perfectly appropriate to have a sculpture of Bob Skilton at the Lakeside Oval where he played all his games,” Sellers said.
“Now that the Sydney Swans Melbourne office is back at the Lakeside Oval it’s the perfect opportunity for us to honour Bob, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Skilton’s remarkable career spanned 237 games between 1956-71. He was South Melbourne’s leading goalkicker in 1959, ’62 and ’63, and represented Victoria in 25 state games. He coached the Swans for 35 games in 1965-66 and was named captain of the Sydney Swans Team of the Century, as well as in the AFL Team of the Century.
In 1995, the Sydney Swans renamed their Club Champion award the Bob Skilton Medal, in honour of the man whose courage and leadership continues to inspire each generation of players who pull on the red and white jumper.
"It's an incredible honour," Skilton said. "The club means so much to me and always will. I never thought it would happen, but I am so glad it has.
"I can't thank the Swans or Basil Sellers enough for what they have done with this.”
The Bob Skilton sculpture is set to be unveiled at Lakeside Stadium on Thursday 26 July. The question that remains – in which famous pose will Skilton be immortalised?
The Sydney Swans would like to thank both Basil Sellers and the State Sports Centre’s Trust, the governing body who manages the Lakeside Stadium precinct, for their assistance in making the Bob Skilton sculpture possible.
