Australian rules footballer (born 1953)
Australian rules footballer
| Stephen Boyle |
|---|
|
| Date of birth |
(1953-09-04) 4 September 1953 (age 71) |
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| Original team(s) |
Moe[1] |
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| Height |
178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
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| Weight |
71 kg (157 lb) |
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|
| Years |
Club |
Games (Goals) |
|---|
| 1972 |
Footscray |
6 (10) |
|---|
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1972. |
|
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Stephen Boyle (born 4 September 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Recruited from Moe, Boyle was a half forward flanker who kicked at least one goal in each of his six appearances for Footscray in the 1972 VFL season.[2] Just a week after the infamous John Greening incident had taken place, Boyle also suffered a career-ending injury. Playing his sixth league game, against St Kilda at Western Oval, he badly injured an eye after a collision with defender Kevin "Cowboy Neale. He was admitted to hospital with bleeding behind his eye and needed surgery to stop blood from reaching his brain.[3] Doctors were unable to prevent him from permanently losing the sight of his right eye and although he attempted a comeback he never played another VFL game.[4]
He was the second of three family members who had their sporting careers ruined by injury. His mother, Nancy Boyle, was a short-distance runner and briefly held the 440 yard world record in 1957. She missed out on qualifying for the 1960 Rome Olympics when she stepped on a nail. He also has a son, Tim Boyle, who played for Hawthorn but was forced into retirement at the age of 25, due to multiple injuries.[5]
References
