NEIL Sachse - who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in just his second game of VFL football for Footscray - has sadly passed away at age 69.
After a glittering start to his career for North Adelaide in the SANFL, Sachse crossed to the Bulldogs for the 1975 season.
During his second game, he collided with a Fitzroy opponent which left him a quadriplegic in a devastating end to his playing career.
In 1994, Sachse founded an organisation to raise funds for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
It was later named the Neil Sachse Foundation and it has raised millions of dollars for research.
In 2015, Affirm Press released his biography, Playing On, with a photo of Sachse on the cover holding his No.6 Footscray jumper (see above).
Vale Neil Sachse. We're incredibly saddened by the loss of this great man who was an inspiration to so many, and who achieved so much - not only through the Neil Sachse Foundation, but through his zest for life and positive energy. He'll be dearly missed. pic.twitter.com/UGown7zXVc
— Affirm Press (@AffirmPress) August 26, 2020
Prior to arriving at the Bulldogs, Sachse was a premiership star with North Adelaide.
He played 89 games and kicked 114 goals for the Roosters in five seasons from 1970-74, and represented South Australia on five occasions.
In 2009, Sachse was presented with the South Australia's Premier's Award for Outstanding Community Achievement.
In a statement on the Western Bulldogs' website, the club says "its thoughts are with the Sachse family during this sad time".
