Michael Ah Matt

Michael H. G. Ah Matt (30 November 1942 – 14 February 1983) was an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player. He played for the Australian national basketball team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.[1][2]

Michael Ah Matt
Personal information
Born(1942-11-30)30 November 1942
Townsville, Queensland
Died14 February 1983(1983-02-14) (aged 40)
NationalityAustralian
Listed height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight73 kg (161 lb)
Career information
Playing career1959–1979
Career history
1959–1979South Adelaide Panthers

Ah Matt was born on 30 November 1942 in Townsville, Queensland,[2] and grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory.[3] He represented the Northern Territory at the 1959 Australian Championships.[3] After the Championships he moved to Adelaide, South Australia to play with the South Adelaide Panthers.[3] He played a then record 588 games over twenty seasons with the Panthers.[3]

In 1964, he was a member of the Australian team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and a member of the Australian team that participated in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Monterrey prior to the Mexico Olympic Games. The team failed to qualify for the 1968 Summer Olympics.[3]

Former Australian Olympian Darryl Pearce said of Ah Matt, "He had an amazing sense of where he was on the court and he could see players where no-one could understand how he could actually pass the ball the way he did."[4]

Ah Matt died of a heart attack on 14 February 1983.[5][6]

Achievements

References
  1. "Australian Indigenous Olympians" (PDF). Australian Olympic Committee website. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. "Michael Ah Matt". Sports Reference - Olympics. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. "Basketball Australia Hall of Fame". Basketball Australia. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. Coady, David. "Hall of Fame for Indigenous basketballer Ahmat". ABC News, 19 August 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  5. Spasaro, Josh (20 December 2018). "Indigenous Round can pave the way for NBL" (PDF). Northern Territory News. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  6. Turner, Matt (30 April 2015). "Grandson of basketball great Michael Ah Matt chases sporting dreams". The Advertiser. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
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