Bob Skilton

In the 2018 Queens Birthday Honours, Skilton was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM).

Skilton made a speech in the post-match presentations of the 2005 AFL Grand Final following his team's first win in 72 years, and was tasked to present the trophy at the 2012 AFL Grand Final.

An extended series of graphic photographs displaying the true extent of Skilton's injury used to be on display at the team's rooms at the Lake Oval, prior to its move to Sydney (it is not on display in Sydney and it is commonly understood that it was first removed from display at the Lake Oval as part of the effort to get Tuddenham to coach South Melbourne in 1978).

He missed the entire 1969 VFL season after snapping an Achilles tendon in a pre-season practice match against SANFL club Port Adelaide.

It was his appearance on the front page of The Sun News-Pictorial in 1968 with two black eyes that earned him the Douglas Wilkie Medal. The black eyes were a consequence of a severe facial injury, which included depressed fractures of his cheekbones, due to collisions in successive weeks from Footscray's Ken Greenwood, his own teammate John Rantall and then Len Thompson.

After 16 years at South Melbourne, including two years as playing coach in 1965–1966, and nine club best and fairest awards, Skilton then played for his boyhood team, Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association and later coached Melbourne from 1974–1977, with a best finish of sixth. Since then, Skilton has been honoured by being named captain of the Swans' team of the century, and named in the AFL team of the century. He was also the player featured inside the cover of the booklets of stamps featuring the Swans released by Australia Post to commemorate the centenary of the VFL/AFL.

Chosen to represent his state in 25 games, Skilton captained the Victorian team in 1963 and 1965. The downside of his career was the lack of success of his club. He often said that he would trade any of his three Brownlow Medals for a premiership or even the chance to play in a Grand Final, and felt the highest point of his career was the one occasion South Melbourne made the finals in 1970 (under the great Norm Smith), finishing fourth after losing the first semi-final against St Kilda.

Playing as a rover, Skilton is one of only four players to have won the Brownlow Medal three times—in 1959 (when he tied with Verdun Howell), 1963, and 1968. His Brownlow record is shared by Fitzroy's Haydn Bunton, Sr (1931, 1932, 1935), Essendon's Dick Reynolds (1934, 1937, 1938), and Ian Stewart (1965, 1966, 1971).

Star of the 1953 Victorian Schoolboys' team (he kicked 8 goals against West Australia in one of the championship's matches), and best and fairest for the South Melbourne (under 17) Fourth XVIII which played in the Melbourne Boys League in 1955, Skilton made his senior debut at the age of 17 in round five, 1956 and went on to play 237 matches for South Melbourne before he retired in 1971, at the time a club record. He scored 412 goals in that time and was the club's leading goalkicker on three occasions. Nicknamed 'Chimp', he showed great grit and determination and became well known for giving maximum effort at all times.

Robert John "Bob" Skilton OAM (born 8 November 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

The son of Robert Herbert Skilton (1901-1987), and Rita Skilton (1904-), née McFarlane, Robert John Skilton was born on 8 November 1938.

His father, known as "Bobby", was a 440-yard professional athlete who also played 149 games for Port Melbourne in the VFA from 1922 to 1929. As a prisoner of war of the Japanese, he survived the ordeal of working on the infamous Burma Railway.