Gilbert Roche Andrews Langley was an Australian Test cricketer, champion Australian rules footballer and member of parliament, serving as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1977 to 1979 for the Don Dunstan Labor government.
15 Facts About Gil Langley
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Gil Langley gained a reputation as an all round sportsman, starring in cricket and Australian rules football as a junior, being coached in both by former Test cricketer and leading footballer Vic Richardson.
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Gil Langley made his debut as a rover for South Australian National Football League club Sturt in 1939, playing 163 games and kicking 341 goals, captaining the club in 1945 and 1947 and winning Sturt's Best and Fairest award in 1945 and 1946.
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Gil Langley played 11 games for South Australia, including a stint as captain and, while stationed in Melbourne in the munitions department during World War II, Langley played four games for Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League, including an appearance in the 1943 VFL Grand Final.
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Gil Langley retired from football at the end of the 1950 season.
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Gil Langley made his first-class cricket debut as a specialist batsman for South Australia on 14 December 1945 against New South Wales and first kept wicket in first class cricket in December 1947.
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Gil Langley took three catches and four stumpings and, following Tallon's retirement in 1953, became the first choice wicket keeper for Australia until his retirement in 1956.
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Gil Langley had toured England in 1956 and was one of the few highlights in an outclassed Australian side.
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Gil Langley made headlines in England when he split his trousers while meeting with the Queen, forcing his teammates Keith Miller and Ian Johnson to hurriedly repair his trousers with safety pins.
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Gil Langley played his last Test match against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in November 1956 and retired from first class cricket a month later after scoring a century for South Australia against New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval.
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Gil Langley achieved a rare double, equalled only by Victor Richardson, of captaining Sturt in both cricket and football.
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Gil Langley entered the South Australian House of Assembly as a Labor Party representative for the Electoral district of Unley at the 1962 South Australian election.
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Gil Langley increased his popularity during constituent visits by performing electrical related tasks like fixing toasters.
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Gil Langley was succeeded by Labor's Kym Mayes at the 1982 election.
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Gil Langley spent much of his retirement playing lawn bowls and died after a long fight with Alzheimer's disease, survived by two sons, two daughters and nine grandchildren.