No 12 PETER SUTTON
5 feet 11 inch (181cm) Forward
1956 Olympic Games
The 24 year old Adelaide basketball player was having a busy time. The year was 1956. Not only was he training hard to represent Australia at the Melbourne Olympic Games in basketball but he and his wife were expecting a baby. On top of that he was working as a time-study engineer with Flavels Pty Ltd and studying engineering part-time. That left him some small time to do some junior basketball coaching and in particular to coach his Under 18 South Australian Team in preparation for the national titles later in the year. Somewhere in all that busy time he was pursuing one of his great passions which was flying. He was in the throes of gaining his pilot’s licence. 1956 was certainly a busy year for Peter Sutton.
Peter Joseph Sutton was born November 22ndin Adelaide, South Australia in 1931.His early days of basketball were with the Baptist Church and under the tutoring of Ken Pocock. As part of the “Sunday School” basketball Peter and the church group travelled around Adelaide playing basketball and introducing others to the game. Peter was an all round athlete and played Aussie Rules and tennis. He attended Unley High School in Adelaide. Living in Norwood he played with the Old Boys Institute(OBI) Club where he and future fellow Olympian Colin Burdett played alongside each other.
Peter first represented South Australia (SA) at seventeen years of age in 1949. He was to represent SA at the senior level for seven years and won an Australian Championship with SA in 1953 when it defeated Victoria 58-52 in the final held in Adelaide.
At the conclusion of the 1955 Australian Championships held in Sydney Peter was named to the Australian Basketball Squad for the 1956 Olympic Games.
Team-mate Colin Burdett comments, “Peter was a fabulous player. He was tremendous on the fast break.”
Peter played on the OBI club team that won the SA League Premiership in 1956 the year he represented Australia at the Melbourne Olympics. They had been runners-up the previous year.
He was named to the All Australian Second Team three times when he played for the senior SA team at the National Championships.
A 5ft 11 inch (181cm) forward Peter was 24 years of age when he played in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
The Olympics were a fantastic experience for Peter and all the team. The Olympic team was a mix of Australian born players and players who had learnt their basketball in war torn Europe. The team had little time together. The SA and NSW team-members trained by “correspondence” from Coach Ken Watson. The Olympic Team only came together some week or so prior to the Games. They trained hard and played some exhibition games against other nations.
The Olympic Games basketball tournament was a very tough competition. The players thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the Games as well as the basketball tournament. The Australian team and Peter played their hardest and finished the tournament in 12th place. Peter and the players were somewhat disappointed in the result but in light of the lack of team preparation and international competition (nil except for some practice games in Melbourne against other countries) the team performed remarkably well.
Peter returned to Adelaide after the 1956 Olympics invigorated by the experience and determined to pass on his experience to others and especially to youngsters.
While he was playing in 1956 Peter was also coaching and coached the South Australian (SA) Under 18 team to the National Title that same year. It was the first time that SA had won the Under 18 National Title. 1960 and 1964 Olympian and Australian team captain John Heard credits Peter with being a huge influence on John and his brother and fellow Olympian Malcolm. Peter coached the Heard brothers for South Australia and at the OBI club.
Peter continued to coach basketball after he retired from playing. Peter Sutton loved basketball and flying. His contribution to South Australian basketball is quite significant. Not only was he a great player for his State he put in many hours passing onto young players his experience and skills so that they could be the best that they could be. His other achievements along with his basketball typified Peter as a person who lived life to the fullest and helped others along the way.
Peter Sutton was killed in an aeroplane accident on the 9th of November 1985. He was 53 years of age.
Peter Sutton (5) scores for his OBI Club (Sutton family)
Peter Sutton (Coach SA Junior team) seated front row second from the left.
(Courtesy Sutton family)
Peter Sutton in his SA uniform in 1953
(Courtesy M. Dancis)