Fact Laurie Nash's football career

[worbod]

Today is 35 years since Laurie Nash died.

Recently I borrowed from a library the Laurie Nash biography from 1998 “The Great Laurie Nash” by Ned Wallish. In reading through Nash’s football journey I became interested in all the other football he played outside the VFL with South Melbourne. The biography gives good details on Nash’s major achievements with other clubs and there is a statistical section at the end detailing games and goals. After having gone through some relevant microfilm at the Melbourne State Library as well as using Trove to read through relevant country newspapers, I have been able to discover pretty much all the info I wanted relating to Nash’s senior football career, but sadly not quite everything.

These are the major teams Laurie Nash played for:

City (Northern Tasmanian Football Association; 1930-1932)
South Melbourne (Victorian Football League; 1933-1937, 1945)
Southern Suburbs (Victorian Police Football Association; 1935-1936)
Camberwell (Victorian Football Association; 1938-1941)
Wangaratta (Ovens and Murray Football League; 1946)
Casterton (Western District Football League; 1947)


Nash’s game by game career for South Melbourne can be easily accessed through the well-known and oft-used AFL Tables.

AFL Tables - Laurie Nash - Stats - Statistics

In addition Nash played for Victoria in the following games:

August 11, 1934 vs South Australia at MCG (18 goals)
June 25, 1935 vs Western Australia at Leederville (1 goal)
August 8, 1936 vs South Australia at Adelaide (0 goals)
May 12, 1937 vs VFA at Junction Oval (5 goals)

 

[worbod]

The following link gives a game by game account of Nash’s career with City in Launceston. It also dates his interstate appearances when representing Tasmania, as well as his games representing the Northern Tasmanian Football Association.

Laurie Nash - Football Career in Tasmania

Summarises the Tasmanian career of Australian Football player Laurie Nash.

sportandhistory.com

 

[worbod]

Nash’s appearances for Southern Suburbs in the Victorian Police Football Association have proven the most difficult games to trace. As a result I have been able to unearth all but one of his games in this competition. The Police Association games were played on a Wednesday in between VFL appearances. Jack Dyer also played in the Police Association. There were just the four teams who competed over 12 home and away rounds before having a first semi-final, a second semi-final and then a grand final.

There was also a regular charity game between the Police Association and the Postal and Telegraph Football Association.
The Age proved to be the main source of weekly details on these games but I am still left with one gap for the 1936 season.
This is what I have discovered so far:


Victorian Police Football Association, 1935

Round 1 May 15 Southern Suburbs 11.20 (86) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 7.6 (48) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 2 May 22 Southern Suburbs 16.7 (103) d North & Western Suburbs 11.11 (77) at Brunswick Park (Nash 0 goals)
Round 3 May 29 Southern Suburbs 5.22 (52) drew with Russell Street 8.4 (52) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 4 June 5 Southern Suburbs 7.18 (60) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 5.2 (32) at North Port Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 5 June 12 Southern Suburbs 8.13 (61) lost to North & Western Suburbs 11.6 (72)at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 6 June 19 Southern Suburbs 7.12 (54) d Russell Street 3.7 (25) at North Port Oval (Nash did not play. With interstate squad in WA)
Charity match June 26 Police Association 5.8 (38) lost to Postal and Telegraph 9.12 (66) at the MCG (Nash did not play. With interstate squad in WA)
Round 7 July 3 Southern Suburbs 9.7 (61) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 7.12 (54) at Lake Oval (Nash did not play. With interstate squad in WA)
Round 8 July 10 Southern Suburbs 9.12 (66) lost to North & Western Suburbs 11.10 (76) at Brunswick Park (Nash 0 goals)
Round 9 July 17 Southern Suburbs 11.21 (87) d Russell Street 9.5 (59) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 10 July 24 Southern Suburbs 5.12 (42) lost to Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 5.18 (48) at North Port Oval (Nash 0 goals. Nash was not mentioned in The Age’s match review or in the best players but was mentioned as being in the team line-up in The Argus in the July 24, 1935 edition.)
Round 11 July 31 Southern Suburbs 10.9 (69) d North & Western Suburbs 5.12 (42) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 12 August 7 Southern Suburbs 4.15 (39) lost to Russell Street 5.10 (40) at North Port Oval (Nash 0 goals)
First semi-final August 14 Southern Suburbs 11.7 (73) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 7.11 (53) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Grand final August 28 Southern Suburbs 11.12 (78) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 8.6 (54) at Lake Oval (Nash 2 goals)
Charity match September 28 Police Association 14.29 (113) lost to Warracknabeal 19.13 (127) at Warracknabeal (Nash 6 goals)



Victorian Police Football Association, 1936

Round 1 May 13 Southern Suburbs 16.19 (115) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 6.9 (45) at Lake Oval (Nash 3 goals)
Round 2 May 20 Unknown whether Nash played. Presumably he did as he played for South Melbourne either side of this game. No match report was printed in The Age or The Argus, although the other Police Association game played was given a brief article.
Round 3 May 27 Southern Suburbs 12.11 (83) lost to Russell Street 14.12 (96) at Lake Oval (Nash 2 goals)
Round 4 June 3 Southern Suburbs 9.16 (70) lost to Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 11.11 (77) at Toorak Park (Nash 4 goals)
Round 5 June 10 Southern Suburbs 6.12 (48) lost to North & Western Suburbs 12.15 (87) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 6 June 17 Southern Suburbs 10.13 (73) d Russell Street 9.17 (71) at Toorak Park (Nash 0 goals)
Round 7 June 24 Southern Suburbs 7.4 (46) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 5.6 (36) at Lake Oval (Nash did not play)
Round 8 July 1 Southern Suburbs 17.16 (118) d North & Western Suburbs 10.13 (73) at Brunswick Park (Nash 0 goals)
Round 9 July 8 Southern Suburbs 5.7 (37) lost to Russell Street 13.8 (86) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Round 10 July 15 Southern Suburbs 10.11 (71) d Motorcycle & Traffic Branch 10.9 (69) at Toorak Park (Nash 0 goals)
Charity match July 22 Police Association 11.11 (77) d Postal and Telegraph 10.11 (71) at Lake Oval (Nash 6 goals)
Round 11 July 29 Southern Suburbs 15.20 (110) d North & Western Suburbs 8.5 (53) at Lake Oval (Nash 6 goals)
Round 12 August 5 Southern Suburbs 4.7 (31) lost to Russell Street 12.13 (85) at Toorak Park (Nash did not play)
First semi-final August 12 Southern Suburbs 8.6 (54) lost to Russell Street 22.23 (155) at Lake Oval (Nash 0 goals)
Second semi-final August 19 Southern Suburbs 10.16 (76) lost to North & Western Suburbs 13.18 (96) at Lake Oval (Nash did not play)


Does anyone have any details for the missing game in the Police Association from May 20, 1936?

 

[worbod]

LAURIE NASH FOR CAMBERWELL

Season	Games	Goals	Average	Most in a game	10 plus
1938	16	81	5.06	12	2
1939	20	100	5.00	11	3
1940	18	96	5.33	10	2
1941	20	141	7.05	14	4
TOTALS	74	418	5.64	14	11

BEST AND FAIREST: 1939

Camberwell did not play any finals during Nash’s four seasons


Eight or more goals in a match for Camberwell

Goals	Opponent	Venue	Game
14	Sandringham	Beach Road Oval	round 20, 1941
13	Northcote	Camberwell	round 19, 1941
12	Brighton	Elsternwick Park	round 8, 1938 (losing game)
11	Oakleigh	Camberwell	round 12, 1939
11	Port Melbourne	Camberwell	round 20, 1939
10	Sandringham	Beach Road Oval	round 4, 1938 (losing game)
10	Coburg	Camberwell	round 14, 1939 (losing game)
10	Yarraville	Camberwell	round 5, 1940
10	Oakleigh	Warrawee Park	round 12, 1940
10	Brighton	Elsternwick Park	round 16, 1941 (losing game)
9	Prahran	Camberwell	round 2, 1941 (losing game)
9	Brunswick	Camberwell	round 7, 1941
9	Preston	Camberwell	round 17, 1941
8	Yarraville	Yarraville	round 10, 1938
8	Williamstown	Camberwell	round 13, 1938
8	Williamstown	Williamstown	round 13, 1939
8	Sandringham	Beach Road Oval	round 15, 1939
8	Northcote	Northcote Park	round 2, 1940
8	Prahran	Camberwell	round 15, 1940 (losing game)
8	Sandringham	Camberwell	round 17, 1940
8	Williamstown	Camberwell	round 4, 1941 (losing game)
8	Brighton	Camberwell	round 5, 1941
8	Preston	Preston City Oval	round 6, 1941
8	Coburg	Camberwell	round 9, 1941

 

[worbod]

WANGARATTA (1946)

Date	Opponent	Nash's goals	team result
May 4	Benalla	0	won
May 11	Albury	0	won
May 18	Border United	0	won
May 25	Wodonga	1	lost
June 1	Yarrawonga	0	won
June 8	bye
June 15	Rutherglen	4	won
June 22	Benalla	10	won
June 29	Ovens and Murray vs Footscray	did not play (social match)
July 6	Albury	7	won
July 13	Border United	6	won
July 20	Wodonga	0	won
July 27	Yarrawonga	5	won
August 3	bye
August 10	Rutherglen	6	won
August 24	Wodonga	5 (2nd semi)	won
September 7	Albury	4 (grand final)	won

 

[worbod]

CASTERTON (1947)

Date	Opponent	Nash's goals	team result
May 3	Coleraine	5	won
May 10	Hamilton	1	won
May 17	Portland	5	won
May 24	Penshurst	4	won
May 31	Heywood	did not play
June 7	Coleraine	6	lost
June 14	Hamilton	12	won
June 21	Portland	4	lost
June 28	Penshurst	4	won
July 5	Heywood	did not play
July 12	Coleraine	did not play
July 19	Hamilton	did not play
July 26	Portland	4	won
August 2	no league games
August 9	Penshurst	4	won
August 16	Heywood	8	won
August 30	Coleraine	2 (2nd semi)	won
September 13	Hamilton	6 (grand final)	lost by 1 point

September 20 Western District FL vs Kowree FA, Nash 7 goals, lost (friendly)

October 4 Western District FL vs Geelong, Nash 6 goals, drawn (friendly)


In the 1998 biography author Ned Wallish states that Nash played 14 games for Casterton and kicked 63 goals. After searching through the microfilm for the Hamilton Spectator, my findings are that Nash played 13 games and kicked 65 goals.

 

[worbod]

Laurie Nash’s complete senior football career

Season	Club/team	State	Games	Goals	Avge	Most	10 plus	Finals	Finals Goals
1930	City	TAS	16	3	0.17	2	-	1	0
	Tasmania		5	0	0.00	-	-
	NTFA		5	1	0.20	1	-
	City (state final)		1	0	0.00	-	-
1931	City	TAS	14	12	0.85	4	-	1	2
	NTFA		2	0	0.00	-	-
	City (friendly)		1	0	0.00	-	-
1932	City	TAS	11	1	0.09	1	-	1	0
	NTFA		3	11	3.66	11	1
	City (state finals)		2	2	1.00	2	-
1933	South Melbourne	VIC	18	11	0.61	6	-	2	0
1934	South Melbourne	VIC	17	49	2.88	7	-	2	10
	Victoria		1	18	18.00	18	1
1935	South Melbourne	VIC	18	51	2.83	6	-	2	4
	Southern Suburbs		12	2	0.16	2	-	2	2
	Victoria		1	1	1.00	1	-
	Police Association		1	6	6.00	6	-
1936	South Melbourne	VIC	16	42	2.62	8	-	3	7
	Southern Suburbs		10	15	1.50	6	-	1	0
	Victoria		1	0	0.00	-	-
	Police Association		1	6	6.00	6	-
1937	South Melbourne	VIC	13	37	2.84	9	-	-	-
	Victoria		1	5	5.00	5	-
1938	Camberwell	VIC	16	81	5.06	12	2	-	-
1939	Camberwell	VIC	20	100	5.00	11	3	-	-
1940	Camberwell	VIC	18	96	5.33	10	2	-	-
1941	Camberwell	VIC	20	141	7.05	14	4	-	-
1945	South Melbourne	VIC	17	56	3.29	7	-	2	6
1946	Wangaratta	VIC	14	48	3.42	10	1	2	9
1947	Casterton	VIC	13	65	5.00	12	1	2	8
		TOTALS	288	858	2.97	18	15	21	48

(One game missing for Southern Suburbs from 1936)

 

[worbod]

ADDITIONAL FOOTBALL STATS


Best and Fairest awards:

1931 City
1932 City
1939 Camberwell


Club competition matches win-loss record:

City: Nash played in 26 wins, 14 losses and 1 draw
South Melbourne: Nash played in 71 wins, 27 losses and 1 draw
Southern Suburbs: Nash played in 12 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw
(One game missing)
Camberwell: Nash played in 41 wins and 33 losses
Wangaratta: Nash played in 13 wins and 1 loss
Casterton: Nash played in 10 wins and 3 losses


In total Nash played in 173 wins, 87 losses and 3 draws, a winning percentage of 66.34 (One game missing)


Premierships:
1930 City
1932 City
1933 South Melbourne
1935 Southern Suburbs
1946 Wangaratta

 

[worbod]

Eight or more goals in a match for all teams

Goals	Team	Opponent	Venue	Game
18.2	Victoria	South Australia	MCG	August 11, 1934
14	Camberwell	Sandringham	Beach Road Oval	round 20, 1941
13	Camberwell	Northcote	Camberwell	round 19, 1941
12	Camberwell	Brighton	Elsternwick Park	round 8, 1938
12	Casterton	Hamilton	Island Park	round 7, 1947
11.4	NTFA	NWFU	Latrobe	July 9, 1932
11.7	Camberwell	Oakleigh	Camberwell	round 12, 1939
11.8	Camberwell	Port Melbourne	Camberwell	round 20, 1939
10.3	Camberwell	Sandringham	Beach Road Oval	round 4, 1938
10.3	Camberwell	Coburg	Camberwell	round 14, 1939
10	Camberwell	Yarraville	Camberwell	round 5, 1940
10	Camberwell	Oakleigh	Warrawee Park	round 12, 1940
10	Camberwell	Brighton	Elsternwick Park	round 16, 1941
10	Wangaratta	Benalla	Wangaratta	round 7, 1946
9.3	South Melbourne	Footscray	Western Oval	round 9, 1937
9	Camberwell	Prahran	Camberwell	round 2, 1941
9	Camberwell	Brunswick	Camberwell	round 7, 1941
9	Camberwell	Preston	Camberwell	round 17, 1941
8.4	South Melbourne	Hawthorn	Glenferrie	round 6, 1936
8.0	South Melbourne	Collingwood	Victoria Park	round 13, 1937
8.5	Camberwell	Yarraville	Yarraville	round 10, 1938
8.6	Camberwell	Williamstown	Camberwell	round 13, 1938
8.5	Camberwell	Williamstown	Williamstown	round 13, 1939
8.4	Camberwell	Sandringham	Beach Road Oval	round 15, 1939
8	Camberwell	Northcote	Northcote Park	round 2, 1940
8	Camberwell	Prahran	Camberwell	round 15, 1940
8	Camberwell	Sandringham	Camberwell	round 17, 1940
8	Camberwell	Williamstown	Camberwell	round 4, 1941
8	Camberwell	Brighton	Camberwell	round 5, 1941
8	Camberwell	Preston	Preston City Oval	round 6, 1941
8	Camberwell	Coburg	Camberwell	round 9, 1941
8	Casterton	Heywood	Heywood	round 15, 1947

 

[worbod]

Votes in fairest and best awards

award	club	season	votes	position
Tasman Shield Trophy	City	1930	2	equal 4th
	City	1931	5	FIRST
	City	1932	20	FIRST
Brownlow Medal	South Melbourne	1933	8	equal 13th
	South Melbourne	1934	8	equal 23rd
	South Melbourne	1935	7	equal 24th
	South Melbourne	1936	10	equal 16th
	South Melbourne	1937	4	equal 42nd
Recorder Cup	Camberwell	1938	1	equal 24th
VFA Medal	Camberwell	1938	20	5th
Recorder Cup	Camberwell	1939	4	equal 2nd
VFA Medal	Camberwell	1939	30	2nd
Recorder Cup	Camberwell	1940
VFA Medal	Camberwell	1940
Recorder Cup	Camberwell	1941	29	5th
Morris Medal	Wangaratta	1946	10	4th
Hennessy Medal	Casterton	1947

Voting for the Tasman Shield during 1930 and 1931 was decided by one vote per game for best on ground. I am still hoping to come across voting details for Nash’s 1940 season with Camberwell and for his season with Casterton.

 

[worbod]

Might as well slip in Nash's cricket statistics:

BATTING

	matches​	innings​	not out​	highest​	runs​	average​	100​	50​	Catches​
First class	22​	36​	2​	110​	953​	28.02​	1​	5​	19​
Melbourne grade cricket	63​	58​	8​	103*​	1366​	27.32​	1​	8​	32​
Launceston grade cricket	27​	28​	6​	241*​	1295​	58.86​	5​	5​	20​
Melbourne sub districts	27​	33​	2​	118​	885​	28.54​	2​	4​	6​
North vs South	4​	8​	1​	51​	191​	27.28​	0​	2​	2​
TOTALS	143​	163​	19​	241*​	4690​	32.56​	9​	24​	79​

BOWLING

	wickets​	runs​	average​	best in an innings​	best in a match​	5wi​	10wm​
First class	69​	1955​	28.33​	7-50​	9-137​	3​	0​
Melbourne grade cricket	174​	2602​	14.95​	10-35​	13-77​	9​	1​
Launceston grade cricket	117​	1517​	12.96​	7-27​	9-42​	7​	0​
Melbourne sub districts	154​	1579​	10.25​	9-35​	15-64​	15​	3​
North vs South	19​	390​	20.52​	6-43​	8-50​	2​	0​
TOTALS	533​	8043​	15.09​	10-35​	15-64​	36​	4​

Nash played for Fitzroy and South Melbourne in Melbourne grade cricket, for Tamar in Launceston grade cricket and for Camberwell in Melbourne sub districts.
North vs South games were annual matches in Tasmania which were basically the best of Hobart versus the best of Launceston.

 

[worbod]

Centuries

Score	Game	4s	6s
135*	Tamar vs South Launceston, Launceston, 1929-30	19	1
110	Tamar vs Esk, Launceston, 1930-31	10	0
112*	Tamar vs Launceston, Launceston, 1930-31	10	0
110	Tasmania vs Victoria, Launceston, 1930-31	9	1
106	Tamar vs Launceston, Launceston, 1931-32	7	0
241*	Tamar vs Launceston, Cornwall, 1931-32	26	2
103*	South Melbourne vs Essendon, Lake Oval, 1933-34	13	1
105	Camberwell vs Preston, Camberwell, 1938-39	10	3
118	Camberwell vs Ivanhoe, Ivanhoe, 1939-40	15	0

Seven wickets in an innings

overs	maidens	runs	wickets	game
16.1	3	35	10	South Melbourne vs Prahran, Toorak Park, 1937-38
13.7	?	35	9	Camberwell vs Malvern, Malvern, 1939-40
11	1	27	8	South Melbourne vs Northcote, Lake Oval, 1936-37
14	2	35	8	Camberwell vs Malvern, Camberwell, 1938-39
12	2	38	8	Camberwell vs Port Melbourne, Camberwell, 1938-39
17	?	73	8	Camberwell vs Preston, Camberwell, 1938-39
10	1	26	7	Camberwell vs Port Melbourne, Camberwell, 1938-39
?	?	27	7	Tamar vs Esk, Cornwall, 1929-30
12	3	33	7	Camberwell vs Footscray, Western Oval, 1938-39
16	0	34	7	Tamar vs Esk, Cornwall, 1930-31
14	5	34	7	Camberwell vs Ivanhoe, Camberwell, 1938-39
15	3	35	7	Camberwell vs Richmond, Camberwell, 1939-40
16.7	5	50	7	Tasmania vs South Africans, Hobart, 1931-32
19	4	62	7	South Melbourne vs Collingwood, Lake Oval, 1937-38
21	?	78	7	South Melbourne vs University, University Oval, 1932-33
17	1	78	7	South Melbourne vs North Melbourne, Arden St, 1935-36

 

[worbod]

A century and five wickets in an innings of the same match

110 and 6-35 Tamar vs Esk, Launceston, 1930-31
110 and 5-76 Tasmania vs Victoria, Launceston, 1930-31
105 and 8-73 Camberwell vs Preston, Camberwell, 1938-39




A half-century and five wickets in an innings of the same match

89 and 6-38 Richmond Boys School vs Scotch College, Scotch, 1920s
57 and 5-62 Tamar vs Launceston, Launceston, 1929-30
51, 50* and 5-62 North vs South, Hobart, 1929-30
59 and 5-65 Tasmania vs Victoria, Melbourne, 1930-31
78 and 8-27 South Melbourne vs Northcote, Lake Oval, 1936-37
62 and 7-34 Camberwell vs Ivanhoe, Camberwell, 1938-39

 

[Catsace]

Got me thinking about Laurie Nash so I wiki'ed his cricket stats because i was sure he played test matches. He indeed did, playing two in the 1931-32 series against South Africa. Scored just 30 runs in 2 test but netted 10 wickets at a cost of just 12.6 in his two games. So he had reached top level cricket before his footy career had really kicked in. Reading from Wikipedia, despite Nash being a quick bowler, he wasn't selected in the following summer's Bodyline series as this except from Wikipedia suggests.

The 1932–1933 cricket season saw the Douglas Jardine-led England side tour Australia, with Nash expected to open the bowling.[44] English newspaper the News Chronicle stated that the emergence of Nash was "a grim prospect for England in its attempts to recover the Ashes."[45] Despite this, he was left out of what became known as the Bodyline series.

In the wake of England's tactics of sustained fast short pitched bowling at the body of the Australian batsman, Australian vice-captain Vic Richardson urged that Nash be brought into the Test team to "give the Poms back some of their own medicine."[46] Another Australian cricketer, Jack Fingleton, later wrote that the Australian selectors erred in not playing Nash, believing he was to be the best exponent in Australia of intimidatory fast bowling.[47] However, the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, which had been protesting to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) about the Bodyline tactics of Jardine, believed that the inclusion of Nash would only aggravate an already tense situation, and Australian captain Bill Woodfull thought Bodyline bowling to be unsportsmanlike and refused to use the tactic.[46]

Nash himself claimed that he could have ended Bodyline in two overs without needing to resort to a leg field, as he believed that the English batsman could not hook and a few overs of sustained, fast short pitched bowling would have caused England to abandon their Bodyline tactics.[48]

As it was, Nash only played one first-class game during the 1932–1933 season—for an Australian XI side against MCC at the MCG. Opening the bowling, Nash took 3/39 in the first innings and 0/18 in the second,[49] with reporters noting that he occasionally got a lot of bounce out of the wicket.[50] By this point Nash had played 17 matches for Tasmania, scoring 857 runs at 29.55 and taking 51 wickets at 31.96.[51] There was also talk, which proved unfounded, that Nash would be invited to join the touring team to Canada that Arthur Mailey was compiling.

I'd say that being overlooked that summer caused him to focus on his footy, and he joined South Melbourne as one of the 'Foreign Legion' stars in that era's powerful South Melbourne lineup.

 

[Todman]

In 1946 Nash was also co-coach of Greta in the Ovens & King FL. Greta didn't train mid week and Nash took charge of training on Sunday morning.
Nash used this time to pass on his wisdom. His good friend F O'Brien was in charge on match day. Greta won the flag that year.

In 1946 Nash coached two clubs from two different leagues to premierships.