Our Youngest First Year Player By Bill Forrest

Our Youngest First Year Player – Sam Sloss:

Sam Sloss was born in Horsham, Victoria on 15 March 1891, the son of Othel and Eliza Sloss. The family moved over to W.A. during the gold rush (about 1895) and they had several children born in Coolgardie before moving to Perth in about 1905. 

Sam Sloss played his first game for East Perth in the game against Perth, Played at North Fremantle Oval, on 11 August 1906. East Perth 9-3 (57) defeated Perth 2-7 (19). This was the highest number of goals the team kicked in the seventeen games played in their inaugural year of 1906.

A search of the records and results of the game published in the ‘West Australian’ on Monday 13 August 1906 disclosed that a combined college team made up of players from Guildford Grammar, Christian Bros College and Scotch College played a club named Newcastle Football Club at North Fremantle Oval as a curtain raiser to the league game. Sam Sloss played for the college team and kicked two goals. It was stated that the college game was considerably curtailed due to the starting time of the league game.

Sloss was then selected and played in the league game and kicked another two goals. He was only 15 years and 149 days of age and that made him, as far as our records are concerned, the youngest first year player to debut in an East Perth league team and the first player still attending Scotch College. Sloss played in one more home game in 1906 followed by four games in 1907. He missed the first game in 1908 due to a rowing commitment in the Secondary Schools championship race, but managed to participate in fourteen games and be the club’s leading goal kicker with 31 goals for the season, while still attending Scotch College where he was acknowledged as an outstanding athlete.

Profile – Sam Sloss
1906-1912, 80 games, kicked 123 goals
Club’s leading goalkicker:-
1908 - 31 goals
1909 - 30 goals
1910 - 28 goals
1912 – 20 goals

At the start of the 1913 season Sloss was cleared to South Australia where he played 3 games and kicked 2 goals for the Sturt Football Club. Little is known of him from here until his untimely death in November 1916 aged 25 years and living as a farmer in Kellerberrin.

The club waited almost 50 years or more before our youngest first year player was followed by players from Scotch College of the calibre of Don Langdon, Angus Horwood, Keith Doncon, Malcolm Brown, Ross Glendinning and other fine players.