| Keith Batchelor | |
| Fullname: | Keith Vincent Batchelor |
| Birth Date: | 4 October 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Death Place: | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Originalteam: | Murrumbeena |
| Debutdate: | 1952 VFL Grand Final, Collingwood vs. Geelong, at Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Height: | 183 cm |
| Weight: | 86 kg |
| Statsend: | 1957 |
| Years1: | 1952–1955 |
| Club1: | Collingwood |
| Games Goals1: | 21 (17) |
| Years2: | 1956–1957 |
| Club2: | North Melbourne |
| Games Goals2: | 21 (0) |
| Games Goalstotal: | 42 (17) |
| Careerhighlights: |
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Keith Vincent Batchelor (4 October 1930 – 24 September 2009) was a former Australian rules footballer, who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Collingwood and in the 1950s. He made his senior debut in the 1952 VFL Grand Final.[1]
The son of Collingwood footballer Vincent George Batchelor (1900-1981),[2] and Mary Alice Batchelor (1902-1970), née Wescott,[3] Keith Vincent Batchelor was born in Melbourne on 4 October 1930.
He married Claire Lavinia Kennedy (1931-2014) on 20 February 1954.
Batchelor came to Collingwood in 1949 as a forward from the suburban club Murrumbeena.[4]
Unable to secure a senior game with Collingwood, he was given a clearance to . Although he was listed by Carlton (1951), and although he played in the Carlton Reserves, he was unable to get a senior game.[5]
In 1952 he was cleared back to Collingwood.
Injuries late in the season allowed the selectors to play him as a defender in the Reserves. Due to his good form in the reserves, and injuries to senior players, he made his senior debut at full-back in the 1952 VFL Grand Final: his opponent, George Goninon, kicked five goals against him, and Geelong won the match by 46 points.
In the 1953 VFL Grand Final Batchelor was played at full-forward; he kicked 4 goals, and Collingwood won the match by 11 points.
He later was cleared to in 1956 and stayed for two years.[6]
He was 20th man in his last senior match for North Melbourne, against Collingwood, at Victoria Park, on 17 August 1957, the second-last home-and-away match of the 1957 season, and replaced an injured Ray Murphy in the third quarter of the match.[7] He played for the North Melbourne Reserves in the Second Semi-Final against Fitzroy, on 7 September; he injured his knee and was replaced in the third-quarter.[8] He also played at full-back in the Reserves Preliminary-Final against Essendon, on 14 September 1957,[9] [10] [11] and was one of North Melbourne's best players in its Reserves Grand Final win over Fitzroy on 21 September 1957.[12] [13] [14] He was selected as 20th man in the North Melbourne team that lost to Geelong in the 24 September 1957 Night Premiership match.[15] [16]
He was also a capable cricketer,[17] and played nine first XI district matches as a specialist bowler for Collingwood between 1949 and 1961.[18]
He died in Sydney, New South Wales on 24 September 2009.