Sam Loxton

Samuel John Everett Loxton (29 March 1921 – 3 December 2011) was an Australian cricketer, footballer and politician.

Loxton was born on 29 March 1921 at Albert Park, Victoria, the son of Sam Sr. and Annie.

The elder Sam Loxton was an electrician who played second grade cricket for Collingwood.

The younger Sam started his education at Yarra Park State School, where he learned to bat, using a pine tree in the schoolyard as the stumps; the same tree was used for the same purpose years earlier by Test players Vernon Ransford and Ernie McCormick, and long-serving Victorian batsman Jack Ledward.

The family moved to Armadale, and young Loxton attended Armadale Public School before completing his secondary education at Wesley College, Melbourne, an elite private boys’ school.

One of his colleagues at Wesley College was Ian Johnson, a future teammate for Victoria and Australia.

The boys’ school coach was P. L. Williams, a renowned mentor of teenagers who had earlier coached Ross Gregory and future Test captain Lindsay Hassett.

Away from his sporting commitments at school, Loxton played district cricket for Prahran's third grade team when he was just 12.

The young cricketer's parents were stalwarts of the club; Sam Sr. was the scorer and served as a transport man, driving the matting and equipment to matches, while Annie made cucumber sandwiches for 25 years —due to the economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression and World War II, meat catering for players was a luxury even at first-class and international matches.

At the age of 16, the younger Loxton was selected in the Victorian Cricket Association Colts team that played in the first grade competition in 1937–38; he played three seasons with the outfit, which was effectively a state youth team.

The squad was coached by Bert Cohen and former Test batsman and captain Jack Ryder, and Loxton credited the latter as the biggest influence on his career, saying

"He was an inspiration so far as I was concerned. He had so much to do with my early grounding. Old Jack never had a drink and never smoked a cigarette in his life and nobody walked so tall as that man. He was my cricket father, no doubt about that at all."

Loxton improved significantly in his third season with the Colts, scoring his first century and taking 21 wickets, having managed only seven scalps in the two previous summers.

The elder Sam was a member of the club committee from 1941 until his death in 1974, and was a vice-president for the last 17 years of his life.

After debuting in 1942, he played 41 games in the VFL for St Kilda as a forward, kicking a total of 114 goals before retiring at the end of the 1946 season to concentrate on his cricket career.

In 1944, he headed St Kilda's goal-kicking aggregate with 52 goals and placed second in the club's Best and Fairest.

Up until 1946, Loxton also played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for St Kilda as a forward.

In all three arenas, he was known for his energetic approach.

Educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, Loxton first gained prominence as an Australian rules football player.

Loxton served in a tank division during World War II and made his first-class cricket debut in 1946–47.

He scored 232 not out, which remains a record for any Australian player on his first-class debut.

After a strong first season, Loxton was selected to make his Test debut in the final match of the 1947–48 home series against India.

Australia had already won the series and used the last match to trial their young talent.

Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 Tests for Australia from 1948 to 1951.

A right-handed all-rounder, Loxton was part of Don Bradman's Invincibles, who went through the 1948 tour of England undefeated, an unprecedented achievement that has never been matched.

As well as being a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, Loxton was a right-arm fast-medium swing bowler who liked to aim at the upper bodies of the opposition, and an outfielder with an accurate and powerful throw.

After being dropped from the national team, Loxton represented Victoria for seven more seasons before retiring from first-class cricket.

He served as an administrator after his playing days were over and spent 24 years as a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

Loxton seized his opportunity, scoring 80 and taking three wickets, securing himself a position on the 1948 England tour.

After a slow start to the historic campaign, Loxton struck form midway through the English summer and forced his way into the team for the last three Tests.

He played a prominent role in the Fourth Test, scoring an aggressive and counterattacking 93 that helped Australia pry the initiative from England; the tourists eventually won the match.

In 1949–50, Loxton cemented his position in the national team, playing in all five Tests in South Africa and scoring his only century at international level.

He remained a regular member of the Test team until a form slump during the 1950–51 home season; he was dropped after three Tests against England and never played for Australia again.

A member of the Liberal Party, Loxton entered politics and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Prahran from 1955 to 1979.

During this time, Loxton was also active in cricket administration at club, state and international level.

Loxton continued to play for Victoria in domestic competition until retiring at the end of the 1957–58 season.

He was also the team manager for Australia's tour of the subcontinent in 1959–60, overseeing a successful campaign despite a spate of serious illnesses to personnel.

He was a state selector for over two decades, and served at national level for ten years, starting in 1970–71.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1979 Birthday Honours for service to the parliament of Victoria and sport.

Loxton had to deal with a variety of tumultuous events on and off the field during his tenure, often relating to player misconduct, and retired from cricket administration in 1981 following the underarm incident.