Sam Backo was born on 1 January 1961 and is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1980s and 1990s.
13 Facts About Sam Backo
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From 1984, Sam Backo was a regular member of the starting line-up at Canberra and in 1987 appeared in his, and the club's, first grand final, which was lost to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
3.
Sam Backo played in all three games at prop forward, scoring one try in game II and two tries in game III.
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In games II and III Sam Backo won consecutive man-of-the-match awards, one of only a handful of players to do so.
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Sam Backo went on to become the first Australian forward to score tries in all three Tests of an Ashes series, and at the time he was only the second Australian player to do so after legendary winger Ken Irvine.
6.
Sam Backo was selected to go on the 1989 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand.
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In total, Sam Backo played in six Tests and scored three tries.
8.
In 1991, Sam Backo made a short-lived return to football to play for Logan Scorpions in the Brisbane competition.
9.
Sam Backo was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for his contribution to Australia's standing in rugby league.
10.
The Indigenous Team of the Century was announced in 2001 with Sam Backo included in the starting line-up which included Arthur Beetson, Gorden Tallis and John Ferguson.
11.
In 2004, Sam Backo was named in the Canberra Raiders' All Indigenous team.
12.
On 2 April 2023, it was reported that Sam Backo had suffered a heart attack the previous day and was in a critical condition in a Cairns hospital.
13.
Sam Backo had a daughter with dancer Lillian Crombie, actress Elaine Crombie.