Vale Kevin Abley

VALE KEVIN ABLEY

Glenelg Football Club is in mourning after Tigers Hall of Fame great Kevin Abley passed away on Thursday, August 29. He was 89.
Glenelg Football Club player No. 394, the much-loved clubman shone out in 174 games and kicked 96 goals between 1954-64. He won the Most Consistent trophy in 1960 and was ahead of his time as a versatile footballer who was the Tigers’ leading goalkicker in 1957, with 41, but is best remembered as a strong, hard-to-beat full back.

Kevin is survived by his wife Rosemary, sons Nick and Anthony and daughter Sandy. 

Abley was inducted to Glenelg’s Hall of Fame in 2018 in recognition of his outstanding career and loyal and long service to the club, one of just 54 members of the Tigers’ elite.
He was full back of The Advertiser SANFL Team of the Year in 1962 and in 1963 played for South Australia against Tasmania. But, unfortunately, he didn’t regularly play in a winning side at the Bay.
“We are a great club,” Abley said in 2017, “but in my era it was unfortunate, we had some champion players but we just didn’t have the success”.
“I’ve always been competitive and always wanted to be in a winning side. It was pretty hard for 11 years of league football to accept defeat,” he said. “I was happy at Glenelg, I loved the place and we had some marvellous people and I have still got marvellous friends from those days.” Abley played in just three finals, for one win, but he said: “I never, ever gave up … we always gave 100 per cent.”
Abley kept on consistently doing that, an iron man who played 81 of a possible 82 games between late 1959 and early 1964. Glenelg’s lean years directly impacted Abley – “in 11 years I had seven coaches” – and the lack of depth at the club meant he was often thrown wherever a line-up most needed strengthening. “I played every position bar wing and rover,” he said.
Abley’s older brother John was a seven-time Port Adelaide premiership player and triple All-Australian full back but Kevin got the better of him. Glenelg kicked just six goals in a 107-point loss against the Magpies at Alberton in 1957 but Kevin at full forward booted four goals on John – something few full forwards managed against an all-time great. And when he and John were both playing at full back they kept records over three seasons of how many goals they conceded. Kevin conceded slightly less – just about a goal-and-a-half a game.
Abley continued to impact Glenelg after his league career ended, helping create history by lifting the Tigers to their first reserves flag in 1967 and kickstarting the careers of some future club greats.

The GFC Board, management, staff, players and volunteers extend their deepest condolences to the Abley family.