{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1942}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox AFL biography | name = Ross Oakley | image = | fullname = Ross Graham Oakley | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|9|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Australia | death_date = | death_place = | originalteam = Wesley College | height = 178 cm | weight = 81 kg | position = | statsend = 1966 | years1 = 1962–1966 | club1 = St Kilda | games_goals1 = 62 (38) | careerhighlights = }}
'''Ross Graham Oakley''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} (born 30 September 1942) is an Australian businessman and former Australian rules footballer with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He is CEO of the Victorian Rugby Union<ref>{{cite web | title = VRU Staff & Board of Directors | url = http://www.vicrugby.com.au/ | publisher = Victorian Rugby Union | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref> and was appointed CEO of the now defunct Melbourne Rebels rugby union franchise in September 2010.<ref name = "New Management Structure">{{ cite press release | date= 9 September 2010 | title = Victorian Rugby Announces New Management Structure | url = http://www.melbournerebels.com.au/ArticleDetails/tabid/270/ArticleID/351/Default.aspx | publisher = Melbourne Rebels | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref><ref name = rebels-land-former-afl-boss>{{cite web | first = Leo | last = Schlink | date= 9 September 2010 | url = http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/rugby-union/melbourne-rebels-land-former-afl-boss-ross-oakley/story-e6frfgkf-1225916577640 | title = Melbourne Rebels land former AFL boss Ross Oakley | work = Herald Sun | publisher = News Limited | accessdate = 9 September 2010}}</ref><ref name = oakley-appointed-ceo-of-melbourne-rebels>{{cite web | first = Bret | last = Harris | date= 10 September 2010 | url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/ross-oakley-appointed-ceo-of-melbourne-rebels-and-victorian-rugby-union/story-e6frg7mf-1225916764852 | title = Ross Oakley appointed CEO of Melbourne Rebels and Victorian Rugby Union | work = Australian | publisher = News Limited | accessdate= 10 September 2010}}</ref><ref name = "ABC rugby union">{{cite web | date= 10 September 2010 | work = ABC Sport | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/10/3008048.htm | archive-url = https://archive.today/20121231111319/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/10/3008048.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 31 December 2012 | title = Rebels turn to former AFL chief | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Commission | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref>
==Playing career== Oakley attended Wesley College, Melbourne,<!-- Oakley's 'peer year' is 1961--><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2204007/A-Brief-History-of-Wesley-College-Sport | title = A Brief History of Wesley College Sport | publisher = Wesley College | location = Melbourne, Australia | accessdate = 3 October 2010}}</ref> and began his senior VFL footballing career with the St Kilda Football Club in 1962. He went on to score 38 goals in 62 games.<ref name =afl-profile-ross-oakley>{{cite web | first = Jennifer |last = Witham | date = 21 May 2009 | title = Ross Oakley profile | work = AFL News | publisher = AFL BigPond Network | location = Melbourne, Australia | url = http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/77256/default.aspx | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090527184335/http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/77256/default.aspx | url-status = dead | archive-date = 27 May 2009 | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://stats.afl.com.au/public/statistics/personlist/o/person_r_o.shtml |title=AFL Statistics |access-date=8 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706100821/http://stats.afl.com.au/public/statistics/personlist/o/person_r_o.shtml |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His career was marred by unfortunate knee injuries; the first came in 1965 in St Kilda's semi-final victory, which meant Oakley missed the Grand Final.<ref>{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Warner|title=The Boys' Club|publisher=Hachette Livre|page=55|isbn=978 0 7336 4841 0|url=https://www.hachette.com.au/michael-warner/the-boys-club}}</ref> He suffered déjà vu in 1966, missing not only the Grand Final but St Kilda's first VFL premiership.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harvey |first=Sam |date=2022-05-12 |title=Ex-AFL boss calls for change in premiership tradition |url=https://www.zerohanger.com/ex-afl-boss-calls-for-change-in-premiership-tradition-120124/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=Zero Hanger |language=en-US}}</ref> Following a further injury before the start of the 1967 season, Oakley retired at the age of 24.
==Executive career== Oakley was appointed chairman and CEO of the then troubled Victorian Football League in 1986, taking over the role from Jack Hamilton, remaining as chairman until the role was separated in 1993, and remaining as CEO until the end of the 1996 season.<ref name =afl-profile-ross-oakley />
He oversaw the transformation of the VFL into the Australian Football League, and under Oakley's guidance, five new clubs from outside Victoria: Brisbane and the West Coast Eagles (1986), Adelaide (1990), Fremantle (1994), and Port Adelaide (1996) all joined the more professional, national competition.<ref name = afl-hall-of-fame-age />
In 1993, he oversaw the transfer of administrative control of the league from the clubs (via the AFL Board of Directors) to the AFL Commission,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|pages=38, 34|author=Stephen Linnell|date=2 March 1993|title=Clubs give up their control}}</ref> and the formal transfer of control of the code from the ANFC to the AFL Commission.
During his time with the VFL/AFL, he was deeply involved in mergers; his administration believed that eleven Victorian clubs, many of which were in a poor financial state, was unsustainable in a national competition. Victorian clubs were offered incentive packages of up to $6 million to merge during his tenure, but the only merger completed during his tenure was between {{AFL Fit}} and {{AFL BB}}, with proposed mergers between Fitzroy and Footscray in 1989 and Melbourne and Hawthorn in 1996 coming very close to fruition.
However, these merger attempts caused great off-field discord among clubs and fans, and the strategy was abandoned after Oakley was succeeded by Wayne Jackson as CEO at the end of 1996.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Herald Sun|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|title=Clubs death fear|pages=1–2|author1=Mike Sheahan|author2=Michelle Edmonds|date=4 October 1996}}</ref>
In 2009, Oakley was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame as an administrator.<ref name = "New Management Structure" /><ref name = afl-hall-of-fame-heraldsun>{{cite web | date = 22 May 2009 | first = Mike | last = Sheahan | title = Ross Oakley admitted to the hall he created | work = Herald Sun | publisher = News Limited | location = Melbourne | url = http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ross-oakley-admitted-to-the-hall-he-created/story-e6frf9n6-1225714443124 | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref><ref name = afl-hall-of-fame-age>{{cite web | date = 22 May 2009 | first = Martin | last = Blake | title = Oakley makes Hall of Fame | work = Age | publisher = Fairfax | location = Melbourne | url = http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/oakley-makes-hall-of-fame-20091124-j8om.html | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref> His previous career included management of insurance companies (e.g. AAMI), and he was chief executive of Royal Insurance.<ref name = "New Management Structure" />
Oakley's appointment as Melbourne Rebels' CEO was announced 9 September 2010, when the Rebels also said the franchise was to join forces with the Victorian Rugby Union to build rugby union in Victoria, at both professional and amateur levels.<ref name = "New Management Structure" /><ref name = rebels-land-former-afl-boss /> Oakley became CEO to fill the gap left by the resignation of Rebels' founding CEO Brian Waldron who resigned in early 2010 in the wake of the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal.<ref name = oakley-appointed-ceo-of-melbourne-rebels />
Oakley holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Melbourne Business School.{{Citation needed | date = September 2010}} He is a former<!-- <ref>http://janusconsulting.com.au/content/?page_id=13 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> --> Adjunct Professor at Deakin University's Faculty Business and Law,<ref><!-- appointed 1999 -->{{cite web |date = July 2008 |url = https://www.deakin.edu.au/buslaw/clmr/docs/annual-report-2007.pdf |title = Annual Report 2007 |publisher = Deakin University |location = Australia |accessdate = 10 September 2010 }}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> where he also lectured.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.icmi.com.au/Speaker/Leadership/Ross_Oakley/Biography | title = Ross Oakley Biography | publisher = ICMI Leadership Speakers | location = Melbourne, Australia | accessdate = 10 September 2010}}</ref>
==Board positions==
Ross Oakley is a former Chairman of Royal Australian Holdings Ltd, Royal Life Insurance Australia Ltd, and the State Training Board of Victoria<!-- but check current chair? -->. He is listed as Chairman of the Get Going Sport Foundation, and he has served as director on the boards of AAMI Ltd and Tisdall Wines.<ref>{{cite web | title = Ross Oakley | work = Motivational Guest Speakers | publisher = Sports Corp Elite | location = Queensland, Australia | url = http://www.sportscorpelite.com/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=25&pid=86 | accessdate = 11 September 2010}}</ref><ref> {{cite web | title = About Get Going | work = Get Going | publisher = Get Going Sport Foundation | location = North Balwyn, Vic, Australia | url = http://www.getgoing.org.au/index.php?id=19 | accessdate = 11 September 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110223121720/http://www.getgoing.org.au/index.php?id=19 | archive-date = 23 February 2011 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }} </ref><!-- And there may be OTHERS! --> Between 1997 and 2001 Oakley was a director of Harris Scarfe.{{Citation needed | date = September 2010}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{AFL Tables|R/Ross_Oakley}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090527184335/http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/77256/default.aspx Australian Football League profile] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110223121720/http://www.getgoing.org.au/index.php?id=19 Get Going Sport Foundation biography] * [http://www.sportscorpelite.com/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=25&pid=86 Sports Corp Elite biography] * [http://www.icmi.com.au/Speaker/Leadership/Ross_Oakley/Biography ICMI Leadership biography]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, Ross}} Category:1942 births Category:St Kilda Football Club players Category:Hawthorn Football Club administrators Category:VFL/AFL administrators Category:Australian chief executives Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Living people Category:People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen