View source for John Abley

{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = John Abley
| image = File:John_Abley_Port_Adelaide_Practice_August_1957.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = John Abley at Port Adelaide training in August 1957.
| fullname = John William Abley
| birth_date = 18 October 1930
| birth_place = [[Melbourne, Victoria]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2011|8|19|1930|10|18}}
| death_place = [[Adelaide, South Australia]]
| originalteam = Melbourne District <br> Hawthorn Reserves
| height = 185 cm
| weight = 79 kg
| position = Full-back
| statsend = 1961
| years1 = 1950–1961
| club1 = [[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]]
| games_goals1 = 212 (1)
| sooyears1 = 1953–1961
| sooteam1 = [[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia]]
| soogames_goals1 = 23
| careerhighlights = 
'''Club'''
*7× {{AFL Por}} premiership player ([[1951 SANFL Grand Final|1951]], [[1954 SANFL Grand Final|1954]], [[1955 SANFL Grand Final|1955]], [[1956 SANFL Grand Final|1956]], [[1957 SANFL Grand Final|1957]], [[1958 SANFL Grand Final|1958]], [[1959 SANFL Grand Final|1959]])
'''Representative'''
*3× [[All-Australian team]] ([[All-Australian team#1956|1956]], [[All-Australian team#1958|1958]], [[All-Australian team#1961|1961]])
*23 games for [[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia]]
'''Honours'''
*[[Port Adelaide Football Club#Greatest Team|Port Adelaide's greatest team]] ([[Australian rules football positions#Full back|full back]])
*[[South Australian Football Hall of Fame]] (2002)
*[[SANFL|SANFL life member]]
*[[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide life member]] (1959)
*[[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] (2020)
}}

'''John Abley''' (18 October 1930 – 19 August 2011) was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played with [[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]] in the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL) between 1950 and 1961.

== Hawthorn reserves (1949) ==
John Abley grew up in Melbourne. During the [[1949 VFL season]] he played  reserves football with [[Hawthorn Football Club]] but turned his back on a possible career with the club in the seniors when he moved to [[Adelaide, South Australia]].

== Move to Adelaide ==
When Abley moved to Adelaide it looked as if he would be playing for [[Glenelg Football Club|Glenelg]] (as his younger brother [[Kevin Abley|Kevin]] did), as the area he planned on residing in was part of Glenelg's recruiting zone. Port Adelaide officials, at the suggestion of [[Bob McLean (Australian footballer)|Bob McLean]], hastily arranged accommodation in Port's zone in the hope of acquiring his services. Abley debuted for Port Adelaide in 1950.

== Port Adelaide (1950–1961) ==
A fullback, Abley first played in that position for Port in a "Challenge match" in [[Broken Hill, New South Wales|Broken Hill]] at the end of his debut season and after impressing was kept there for the remainder of his career. He was a member of the famed Port team which won six premierships in succession from 1954 to 1959, an Australian record.

{{Quote box
 |quote  = He has the habit of worry that makes for perfect concentration, <br/> sure-footedness (never a reckless throw for the ball),<br/> and the safest, most relaxed mark in the business. 
 |source = [[Jeff Pash]], {{SANFL NthA}} champion and journalist<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://australianfootball.com/players/player/john%252Babley/406#sthash.HTGZKjnx.dpuf|title=Australian Football - John Abley - Player Bio|website=australianfootball.com|access-date=2016-03-19}}</ref>
 |align  = left
}}

Abley was a regular South Australian interstate representative and played a total of 23 games for his state. On three occasions Abley was selected as an [[All-Australian]] for his performances at the carnivals, in 1956, 1958 and 1961.

In 1959, Abley was named as a life member of the Port Adelaide Football Club because of his talent, his warmth off the field and being one of only six players to play in all of Port Adelaide's premierships in the 1950s (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959).

== Personal life ==
Abley died on 19 August 2011, aged 81, after a short illness.

== Honours ==
In 1998, Abley was inducted into the [[South Australian Football Hall of Fame]].

In 2001 Abley was named as the fullback in Port Adelaide's official "Greatest Team", taking into account all players to have represented the club since 1870.

In 2020, Abley was inducted into the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{AustralianFootball | john+abley/406 }}
*[http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6038/newsid/121409/default.aspx Port Adelaide obituary]
{{Port Adelaide Football Club Greatest Team 1870–2000}}
{{1958 South Australia State Football Team}}
{{1951 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1954 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1955 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1956 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1957 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1958 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1959 Port Adelaide premiership players}}
{{1956 All-Australian team}}
{{1958 All-Australian team}}
{{1961 All-Australian team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abley, John}}
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Melbourne]]
[[Category:Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players]]
[[Category:Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions)]]
[[Category:All-Australians (1953–1988)]]
[[Category:South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Adelaide]]