Harold Robert "Bob" Pratt (31 August 1912 – 6 January 2001) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
Considered "arguably the best full-forward in the history of Australian rules", Pratt was one of the inaugural Legends inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996.Cresswell & Trenoweth, p. 703Australian Football Hall of Fame Legends
Known for spectacular diving and high-flying marks, Pratt topped South Melbourne's goalkicking for the first time in 1932 with 71 goals and for the next three seasons passed 100 goals. His total of 150 goals in 1934 was a VFL/AFL record which stood alone until Peter Hudson equalled it in 1971. Pratt also kicked ten or more goals in a game eight times, including 15 goals in a single game. His son, Bob Pratt Jr., also played for South Melbourne.
Early life The son of Harold Robert Pratt and Olive Pratt (née Fosbrook), Pratt was born in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Brunswick West on 31 August 1912. He grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Mitcham, and was known as "Bob" to avoid confusion with his father.Main, p. 100.
Playing as a junior for local club Mitcham, Pratt attracted the attention of rival VFL clubs South Melbourne and . Whilst Hawthorn lost interest after a poor performance by Pratt in a match, South Melbourne signed him following a recommendation from the Mitcham coach.Main, p. 101
South Melbourne
1929 Recruited from Mitcham, Pratt played his first game for the South Melbourne seconds against Hawthorn on 15 June 1929.Second Eighteens, The Age, Friday, (14 June 1929), p.6. He was one of the best on the ground in a team that won 15.16 (106) to 4.9 (33), scoring four goals.Second Eighteens, The Age, Monday, (17 June 1929), p.6.
Pratt played in the forward pocket for the seconds in the 1929 first semi-final against , and was one of the best players for South Melbourne.Second Eighteens, The Age, (Friday, 6 September 1929), p.13.Junior League, The Age, (9 September 1929), p.6. He was replaced in the team for the preliminary final match against by Jack Richardson, most likely because Richardson had played 10 senior matches that year, rather than due to any disappointment in Pratt's performance (it was the prevailing wisdom that it was always better to play experienced senior players in seconds finals matches); Geelong won the match.Second Eighteens, The Age, (Friday, 20 September 1929), p.6.Jack Richardson VFL Statistics
1930 Pratt's senior VFL career began in the first round of the 1930 season, when—aged 17 years, 245 days—he played at centre half-forward for South Melbourne against Melbourne at South Melbourne's home ground, Lake Oval.Old Boy, "Football: League Season Opens: Teams and Prospects", The Argus, (Friday 2 May 1930), p.10. Although South lost the match by 25 points, Pratt kicked four goals, and was considered to be his side's best player on the day.Melbourne's Steadiness, The Argus, (5 May 1930), p.15.
He played the entire season of 18 home-and-away matches, kicking 43 goals for the season—his best score was five goals in round 10 against Fitzroy—and was second on South Melbourne's goalkicking list to full-forward Austin Robertson.Main, p. 102.
Pratt was thus considered to have "immense promise".
1931 Still playing at centre half-forward, Pratt played 15 games and kicked 23 goals, becoming the equal third highest goalkicker for South.Football: Club News and Teams: North Melb. v. South Melb., The Argus, (Friday 1 May 1931), p.12.Main, p. 104. Leading VFL footballer turned journalist Wallace Sharland complimented Pratt on his pace, stating that he had plenty of "toe". South Melbourne finished seventh with nine wins from eighteen matches.
1932 South Melbourne selected Roy Selleck, a recruit from Springvale, at full-forward, and selected Pratt at centre half-forward for the opening match of the 1932 season.Optimism at South Melbourne, The Age,, (Friday, 29 April 1932), p.7.The Teams: South Melbourne v. Melbourne, The Age, (Friday, 29 April 1932), p.7. Selleck was not a success (in fact, he only played three senior VFL games), and he was moved to the forward flank for the second match, while Pratt was moved to full-forward for the first time.The Teams: Carlton v. South Melbourne, The Age, (Friday, 6 May 1932), p.6. In his first game as full-forward, Pratt kicked seven goals and one behind.Very Decisive Victory, The Age, (9 May 1932), p.12.
Pratt topped South Melbourne's goalkicking for the first time in 1932 with 71 goals, 50 of them coming by round nine.Main, p. 106. His tally broke the previous record for goals scored in a season by a South Melbourne player, held by Ted Johnson, who kicked 60 goals in each of the 1924, 1925 and 1928 seasons.Main, p. 107.
On 2 July 1932, in the round nine match against Fitzroy, playing at full-forward, Pratt kicked seven goals in a more accurate South Melbourne's 12.10 (82) win over Fitzroy 10.15 (75).The Teams: South Melbourne v. Fitzroy, The Age, (1 July 1932), p.6. The Argus noted that "Pratt was keen and accurate [up] forward", whilst The Age remarked on Pratt's "extraordinary marking and kicking".Southerners Hard Pressed, The Age, (4 July 1932), p.12. After the match, Pratt was reported by goal umpire Greenwood and boundary umpire Treloar for striking Fitzroy's back-pocket Frank Curcio in the back, near the right kidney, in the third quarter. At the VFL tribunal hearing on Thursday, 7 July 1932, the charge against Pratt was not sustained, as Curcio said that he had no recollection of having been struck.Player Reported, The Age, (4 July 1932), p.12.Football: Pratt (South Melbourne) Reported, The Argus, (4 July 1932), p.11.Football: Rough Play Inquiry: Charge Against Pratt Dismissed, The Argus, (Friday, 8 July 1932), p.10. This was the only occasion that Pratt was reported in his entire VFL career.
1933 South Melbourne underwent a massive recruiting drive prior to the 1933 VFL season, recruiting Laurie Nash and Frank Davies from Tasmania, Wilbur Harris and Ossie Bertram from South Australia and Western Australians Joe O'Meara and John Bowe.Main, p. 108. After a slow start, the team melded well together to win the 1933 premiership. Pratt, who kicked 109 goals for the season from eighteen matches, was "idolised by all South fans ... (who) flocked to the Lake Oval and other grounds to see him in action."Main, p. 111. Pratt kicked three goals in the grand final to overtake Gordon Coventry as the VFL's leading goalkicker for the season (however, the medal was presented based on regular season tallies only).
1934 Pratt had a disrupted pre-season, barely training and playing only one practice match, yet he kicked eight goals in the first round against Collingwood. At the age of just 20, Pratt had already become a fan favourite at South Melbourne. Local newspaper the South Melbourne Record wrote of his performances, "Nothing gave South fans greater delight than to see Pratt soaring above the packs. The fruits of victory would not taste so sweet if Pratt failed to reap a bag of half a dozen majors."Main, p. 112Pratt in one of his Loftiest Moments, The Age, (Monday, 10 September 1934), p.6.
On 19 May, in the round 3 match against at Lake Oval, Pratt set a new club record for the most goals kicked in a game by an individual player, registering 15 goals and three behinds in a 42-point win. Eight of those goals came in a ten-minute spell, a club record only broken since by Tony Lockett in 1995 (kicking 16.0). Pratt also kicked 12 goals against Footscray (including seven in a quarter) and 11 against Carlton and Essendon. He reached 100 goals for the season in the third quarter of the round 13 match against Carlton,Main, p. 113 the fewest games ever required to reach 100 goals in a season. Pratt would eventually finish the regular season with 138 goals, winning his first VFL Leading Goalkicker Medal.
South Melbourne dominated the competition throughout the season and were considered the clear favourite to win the 1934 premiership. However, in the grand final, South were outplayed by Richmond, losing by 39 points,Main, p. 114 with Pratt kicking two goals to take his season tally to 150 goals. Post-match rumours of South Melbourne players accepting bribes to play poorly were so strong that Pratt and teammate Peter Reville confronted several players they suspected of playing poorly.
Pratt's total of 150 goals in 1934 is a VFL/AFL record haul, shared with Peter Hudson, who equalled it in 1971. In addition to his 150 goals, Pratt kicked 94 behinds, which is still the record for the most behinds kicked in a season (Pratt is also second on the second on that list, having kicked 93 points in 1933).Stevens, M. "MISSING IN ACTION; Why Buddy may score an unenviable record", Herald Sun (Melbourne), 6 August 2008, p. 81
Pratt had his best Brownlow Medal result in 1934, polling 14 votes to finish eighth, six votes behind the winner, Essendon's Dick Reynolds. For all of this, Pratt did not win South Melbourne's best and fairest award (won by Terry Brain). When Pratt asked a committee member why, he was given the response "You're very spectacular but not very effective."Carter, R. "Pratt... or Hudson?", The Age, 21 September 1971, p. 14. He did, however, receive the 2021 equivalent of A$1,133 from South Melbourne in recognition of his feat.
1935
Pratt was again a star performer in 1935, kicking 103 goals for the year and, for the third year in a row, finished atop the VFL's goalkicking list after finals (an outstanding feat, given that his teammates Roy Moore and Laurie Nash scored 52 and 51 goals respectively for the 1935 season as well).
Following a convincing win in the second-semi final against , when Pratt kicked six goals, South Melbourne were again considered favourite to win the premiership. However, Pratt missed the 1935 VFL grand final through bizarre circumstances. On the Thursday night prior to the game he was clipped by a truck carrying five tonnes of bricks moments after he stepped off a tram on High Street, Prahran.Hobart Mercury, "Truck tackle sidelined Pratt", 2 April 2008, p. 54 Pratt injured an ankle and lacerated both legs due to the accident and was unable to play.Main, p. 117.
In response to the accident, the South Melbourne Record wrote: The initial attack on the inhabitants of Adowa by Benito Mussolini's invading army upon Emperor Haile Selassie, is no greater shock than that received by SMFC officials when they learned on Thursday afternoon, through the press, that Bob Pratt had been involved in a collision with a motor truck.
The truck driver, a South Melbourne supporter, offered Pratt a packet of cigarettes as a way of apology. In Pratt's absence, Collingwood won the grand final by 20 points.
1936
Pratt's son Bob junior was born on 24 March 1936, and Pratt suddenly found himself unemployed when the newspaper he worked for, The Star, unexpectedly folded.Main, p. 118.
Annoyed at what he considered unfair treatment by club management towards him compared to interstate recruits, Pratt first sought to leave South Melbourne for another club in June 1936, stating that he was unemployed and believed another club could find him employment.The Argus, "Bob Pratt seeks clearance", 19 June 1936, p. 17 Pratt relented when local politician Robert Williams MLC found him a job in a brewery.