The Geelong Football Club is deeply saddened at the passing of club legend Bob Davis.

Bob was an outstanding contributor to the club and the game, as a player, coach, media commentator and most importantly as a great person.

His ability to connect with people on all levels made him the person that we all came to love.

Bob was a champion player that was a driving force behind two premiership campaigns in 1951 and 1952, and of course he went on to coach our 1963 flag winning team. Bob captained the club from 1955-58; won the best & fairest in 1957, was All Australian in 1958 and represented Victoria 13 times. Over his 11 years as a player he played 189 games and kicked 149 goals.

Bob’s brilliance as a player was recognised by the AFL when he was an inaugural inductee to the Australian football hall of fame in 1996.

While his exploits as player and coach came largely before the advent of television coverage of games, he was a natural for the medium and through World of Sport, League Teams and Fox Sports his legend grew to new generations.

He understood that the game was fun and should be enjoyed by all those involved both on and off the field.

Bob was a regular visitor to the club over the years, and was immensely popular with a generation of players that wore his beloved navy and white hoops some 60 years after him.

His story telling, humour and recall of events always lit up the change rooms and the club whenever he was around.

One of the great recent memories of Bob was his joy in presenting the premiership cup to our team after the 2009 grand final win. The elation that Bob shared with the players that day on the MCG is something that will live long in the memory.

Bob will be deeply missed by all those who loved him, and indeed by all those that have been fortunate enough to know him or meet him.