Furthermore, his bravery and leadership were celebrated, as evidenced by his captaincy roles at West Torrens, Sturt, and the South Australian state team.

[2] His impressive debut came in a win against South Melbourne in round 17, 1956[4] and led to an Essendon official quote that Shearman was "just like Dick Reynolds when he first came to us!

Despite Essendon's defeats to Melbourne on both occasions, Shearman's outstanding performances established him as a class act and crowd favourite, earning him recognition as one of the best players in each game.

[6] In 1961, Shearman followed the request of his Essendon coach, Dick Reynolds, to leave Melbourne and head to South Australia to join him at the West Torrens Football Club.

He quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league being appointed captain in just his second year at the club that included football greats such as Lindsay Head.

After finishing as runners-up to Port Adelaide in 1965, the Double Blues decisively defeated the Magpies by 56 points in the 1966 Grand Final, claiming their first flag in 26 years.

[10] Shearman was selected to represent South Australia in his debut year within the SANFL league, and his outstanding performance in the carnival led to his inclusion in the All Australian team.

Under Shearman's leadership, the team secured a hard-earned seven-point victory over a Victorian side that boasted an array of legendary players, including Polly Farmer, Bob Skilton, Darrel Baldock, Ron Barassi and John Nicholls, in front of nearly 60,000 spectators.

The South Australian team, coached by Fos Williams, featured notable players such as Lindsay Head, John Halbert and Neil Kerley.

[12] Bob was married to Francine Shearman, a leading fashion and photographic model between 1957 and the mid-1970s, business owner, and the first female television presenter for the Channel 9 Football Show.

[14] His Adelaide memorial service was conducted by his former five-time premiership-winning team-mate, the Reverend Keith Chessell at St Augustine’s Anglican Church in Unley.

[2]The former chief football writer of The Advertiser (from 1979–89), and former West Torrens five-time leading goalkicker and 1961 All-Australian, Geoff Kingston, said that “Bob Shearman was a fierce competitor”, and that "he was tough, hard, and strong.