Michael Ah Matt

Michael Henry George Ah Matt (30 November 1942 – 14 February 1983) was an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player. He played for the Australian national basketball team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.^[1][2]

Michael Ah Matt

Personal information
Born	(1942-11-30)30 November 1942 Townsville, Queensland
Died	14 February 1983(1983-02-14) (aged 40)
Nationality	Australian
Listed height	188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Career information
Playing career	1959–1979
Career history
1959–1979	South Adelaide Panthers

Ah Matt was born on 30 November 1942 in Townsville, Queensland,^[2] and grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory.^[3] He represented the Northern Territory at the 1959 Australian Championships.^[3] After the Championships he moved to Adelaide, South Australia to play with the South Adelaide Panthers.^[3] He played a then record 588 games over twenty seasons with the Panthers.^[3]

In 1964, he was a member of the Australian team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In 1968, he was a member of the Australian team that participated in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Monterrey, though that team failed to qualify for the 1968 Summer Olympics.^[3]

Former Australian Olympian Darryl Pearce said of Ah Matt, "He had an amazing sense of where he was on the court and he could see players where no-one could understand how he could actually pass the ball the way he did."^[4]

Ah Matt died of a heart attack on 14 February 1983.^[5][6]

Achievements and recognition

• 1964: With Adrian Blair and Frank Roberts, the first Indigenous Australians to represent Australia at the Olympic Games in 1964^[1]
• !994: Inductee, Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame^[3]
• 2010: Inductee, Australian Basketball Hall of Fame^[3]