OBITUARY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13584, 16 December 1907, Page 2

OBITUARY.

A FAMOUS FOOTBALLER. MR ALFRED BAYLY. It is with very great regret the public will read of the. death .of Mr Alfred Bayly. . It is principally on account of his football prowess that Mr Bayly was so widely known. He was the fourth son of the late* Mr Tfibnks Bayly 'an£ Mrs Bayly, of Waitara. Deceased was i a brother of Messts George and Fred Bayly, of New Plymouth, and nephew of Mr Isaac Bayly; He had a portion of his father's estate at Toko, and farmed there for several years*' A couple of years ago he sold out to the Government and settled in Stratfordi Nearly a year' ago he went to live in Wanganui for the benefit of his health. Mr Bayly has been in failing health for some time, and his death was not unexpected. / Of all the "heros" of the football field whom -New Zealanders adore, few had endeared themselves more to the public 1 than the fate Mr #ayly. He was one of the brightest of the many brilliant stars that were turned nut of Taranaki when the province was at the height of its football iame. He was almost incomparable "as .a five-eighth or three-quarter^ a^d w.as..,a> svondefful skipper: *;;*«* :; represented .T*ranaki every: year' 'from- 18S£ % im . iadusive — a^ecoijd'tjiai wjU/Mw^Bxtalce a, jppwer of beating': 'lii AiV lMlffiSh; against Wanganui Jie iJW,»-l&™Jmr r 'fl« had not inteH^d^Mj^af in the match, but was managirig ig^gyua. . The^team was a player t and the veteran donned the amb,er i»n<t)itack rather than see his province trndeiWairned. Cheers greeted the ldof?«?A# c as he took, the field. One of the most painful incidents- in Mr: "Bayly's football career was the Accident which resulted in the death of Barney Armit. In a match against Otago in 1899 Armit was running with the ball. Bayly faced him to collar him. .Armit, always an adept at hurdligg a low collarer, jumped. Bayly was too seasoned to be deceived, and' rose and took Armit around the ankles. A fearful fall resulted.. Armit seriously injured his spine, and in a. few weeks died. Bayly was in no way responsible for the accident, but was terribly cut up about Armit's death. ,He,is said to have wept like a child. r He watohed over the injured man constantly in his last lingering days, of life, and was the essence of kindness to his widowed mother. This event made a deep impression on Mr. Bayly. He was ever a changed man after it. , In. short, it hastened his end. Besides being a representative of Taranaki, Mr. Bayly was one of New Zealand's most famous backs. He was a member of the New Zealand teams of 1893, 1894 and 1897. He was 41 years of age at the time of his death.