Australian Football

Vic Bateman was a supremely talented centreman in the Vic Richardson mould whose career with Sturt was cruelly cut short by injury. He made his league debut in 1928, recruited from the Unley Methodist Football Club at the relatively advanced age of 23, and it was immediately obvious that the Blues had unearthed a potential champion. Pacy, abundantly skilled, and excellent overhead, his only obvious weakness early on was a tendency to kick blindly, but this flaw was eradicated as he gained in experience. Bateman won Sturt's best and fairest award in 1929 and again the following year. He played carnival football in Adelaide in 1930. 

In 1931 he was appointed club captain but in 1932 he began to suffer from serious muscular rheumatism, and missed half the minor round. He was fit again by the time the finals arrived, however, and had the great satisfaction of leading the Blues to their first flag since 1926 courtesy of an unexpectedly easy grand final win over North Adelaide. The following year brought a recurrence of his rheumatic problems though, and he managed just nine games for the season. Advised that the problems was only going to become aggravated if he continued playing, he reluctantly retired. He had played a total of 86 club games plus two for South Australia.

Author - John Devaney