Ablett family

The Ablett family is one of the most prominent in Australian rules football, with many members playing in the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League.^[1]

Family members

Alf Williamson was the first VFL/AFL player related to the family. He played 19 games for Carlton from 1912 to 1914, and Melbourne in 1914. Nicknamed Lofty, he was killed in action in World War I in 1917.^[2]

The first family member with the surname Ablett to play in the VFL/AFL was Len Ablett. Born in 1916, he played for Richmond from 1939 to 1943, winning a premiership in his final year. He played 70 games for Richmond before returning to play and coach for Myrtleford Football Club. He was later the club president and is a member of the Ovens & Murray Football League Hall of Fame.^[3]

The next to make their mark in the VFL were three brothers – Geoff, Kevin and Gary – sons of Alf Ablett, who was Len's first cousin.^[3] In a career which started in 1973 with Hawthorn before a stint with Richmond, and ended with St Kilda in 1985, Geoff played 229 games for 163 goals.^[4][5] Kevin made his VFL debut in 1977 with Hawthorn and played with Richmond and Geelong before his last game in 1985.^[6] By far the most prominent of the three brothers was Gary. He played for Hawthorn from 1981 to 1983, but only played six games during his time there, scoring nine goals. He then moved to Geelong for the 1984 season. He stayed at Geelong until 1996, playing 242 games and scoring 1021 goals.^[7] He finished his career as the fifth highest-scoring player in VFL/AFL history.

Geoff's son Ryan was on Hawthorn's rookie list for at least 2000, but left the club without having played a game. After playing for Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football League, East Fremantle in the West Australian Football League and West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League, he died in 2009, aged 27.^[8] Kevin's son Luke played 133 games for Sydney from 2001 to 2009.^[9] Gary Sr. had two sons who played VFL/AFL football – Gary Jr. and Nathan. Gary Jr. played for Geelong from 2002 to 2010, playing 192 games and scoring 262 goals before moving to Gold Coast in 2011, where he plays to this day, and has played, as of the end of the 2015 season, 82 games, scoring 106 goals.^[10] Nathan joined Geelong in 2005, playing alongside his brother for three seasons before retiring. He had played 32 games, scoring 46 goals.^[11] He made a brief comeback in 2011 with Gold Coast, once again joining his brother, playing two games and scoring one goal before being delisted. Another Ablett, presumably from this generation, Michael, was on North Melbourne's rookie list for at least 2000 and never made his AFL debut.

Michael Tuck became an extended member of the Ablett clan when he married Fay, sister of Geoff, Kevin and Gary Sr.^[12] Michael played 426 games for Hawthorn, scoring 320 goals in a lengthy career which lasted from 1972 to 1991.^[13] He holds the record for most VFL/AFL games in history.^[14] Michael, like Gary Ablett Sr., had two sons who played senior AFL football. Shane played for Hawthorn from 2000 to 2002, without playing a game. He then signed for Richmond in 2004, where he stayed until 2013, having played 173 games and scored 72 goals.^[15] Travis played for Hawthorn from 2006 to 2009, playing 20 games and scoring one goal.^[16]

Family tree

An asterisk denotes that the family member was never VFL/AFL-listed. Non-VFL/AFL-listed family members were not included in the family tree unless they were necessary to provide a connection between family members. Michael is disconnected because, while he is part of the family, it is unknown how he is related to the other members. When the family member's surname is not stated, their surname is Ablett.

References