Merv Agars

Mervyn Stanley Agars (12 June 1925 – 8 August 2017) was an Australian rules footballer and journalist. He played with West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). An eight-time state representative, Agars went on to have a significant career in sports journalism and in 2002 was inducted into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame.^[3] In 2018, Agars was posthumously inducted into the SA Media Awards Hall of Fame.

Merv Agars
Personal information
Full name	Mervyn Stanley Agars[1]
Date of birth	(1925-06-12)12 June 1925
Place of birth	Elliston, South Australia
Date of death	8 August 2017(2017-08-08) (aged 92)
Place of death	Nuriootpa, South Australia
Original team(s)	Prince Alfred College
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)[2]
Position(s)	Follower[2]
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1946–1952	West Adelaide	106 (92)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1948-1950s	South Australia	8
Career highlights
West Adelaide premiership player: 1947 West Adelaide leading goalkicker: 1951 SA Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2002
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Born to John and Margaret, on a sheep farm close to Elliston, South Australia, Agars grew up as one of 10 siblings, with seven brothers and two sisters.^[4] Aged 13, he began boarding at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and studied there for three years before returning to the family farm.^[4] Towards the end of World War II, Agars served in the Air Force Reserve.^[4]

Career

Agars, a follower, began playing for West Adelaide in 1946 and in his second year of senior football was a member of their 1947 premiership team. He also played cricket for East Torrens and scored a century on his A-Grade debut in 1947.^[5]

In 1948, he joined The Advertiser and worked in the printing office, while he continued to play football for West Adelaide and at representative level for South Australia.^[4] He married his wife Margaret—the sister of state cricketer Phil Ridings—in a ceremony at an Anglican church in Adelaide in 1949.^[6] Agars topped the goalkicking at West Adelaide in 1951, his penultimate season.

Retired from football, Agars transferred to the editing section of The Advertiser in 1953 and began work as a sports journalist.^[4] He later became sports editor, a position he held for close to 20 years, the longest serving in the newspaper's history.^[7]

During his journalism career, Agars covered four Summer Olympics.^[4] He is the author of the book West Adelaide Football Club, Bloods, Sweat and Tears, a history of the club which was published in 1987.^[3]

The Advertiser annually awards the Merv Agars Medal to the best player from the Australian Football League's two South Australian clubs.^[8]

Personal life

One of Agars' West Adelaide teammates, Don Taylor, was his brother-in law, and a nephew, Leon Lovegrove, played in the club's 1961 premiership team.^[8]

Agars' son, Graeme, is a noted golf and tennis commentator.^[7]

Death

Agars retired and resided in the Barossa Valley until his death in 2017.^[4]