Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Ronald Shapter

Known as
Ron Shapter

Born
1 July 1905

Died
3 November 1977 (aged 72)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 24y 306d
Last game: 30y 313d

Height and weight
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 82 kg

Senior clubs
South Melbourne; Fitzroy; Essendon

Jumper numbers
South Melbourne: 20, 18
Fitzroy: 24
Essendon: 29

Recruited from
South Melbourne (1932); Fitzroy (1936)

Ron Shapter

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
South MelbourneV/AFL1930-193126140.5454%18.00—3.000
FitzroyV/AFL1932-193418130.7256%12.67—3.330
EssendonV/AFL1936200.0050%———0
V/AFL1930-1934, 193646270.5954%13.43—3.290
Total1930-1934, 193646270.5954%13.43—3.290

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 3,659th player to appear, 4,516th most games played, 3,143rd most goals kickedSouth Melbourne: 433rd player to appear, 508th most games played, 394th most goals kickedFitzroy: 431st player to appear, 482nd most games played, 308th most goals kickedEssendon: 498th player to appear, 1,040th most games played, 1,052nd most goals kicked

A left footed ruckman and forward from Queenscliff, Ron Shapter was already 24 years of age when he made his league debut with South Melbourne in the opening round of the 1930 season. Also taking his bows for South that day was one of the greatest forwards the game has seen, Bob Pratt.

Shapter spent two seasons with South Melbourne, playing 26 games and scoring 14 goals. From 1932 to 1934 he added 18 appearances and 13 goals for Fitzroy before taking up the captain-coaching reins at VFA club Port Melbourne in 1935. The Borough had a disappointing year, finishing ninth of 12 clubs, while Shapter himself played 13 games and scored 38 goals. In 1936 Shapter had another stab at top level footy, this time with Essendon, but he only managed a couple more games before calling it a day, at least as far as the VFL was concerned. He returned home to Queenscliff as captain-coach in 1937.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.