Remove this Banner Ad

Resource List thread - Inaccuracy in official records

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

RedmanWasHere said:
Off topic a bit the croucher but does the Google News archives cover all years from 1960 onwards?

Likewise BDM AU and NZ.
Click to expand...

Regarding the years after Trove coverage (i.e. from 1 Jan 1955) Google News Archive has The Age from 1955 to 1989.
1950s and 1960s pretty full coverage
1970s and 1980s patchy, some months better than others, and less and less coverage near end of period.
Be aware too that the back page of a daily issue is part of the double-page spread loaded for the next day.
And frustratingly, many Saturday issues are missing - so the back page of the Friday's paper is not shown - no League Teams !

The Herald is on Google News Archive from partway through 1898 to partway through 1902.
Again it is pot luck which edition will be visible - final edition of the Saturday issue for example would include team lists and match descriptions, unfortunately, many issues are the first edition of the afternoon, so don't have any match coverage.

Sydney Morning Herald is on Google News Archives from Jan 1955 to Dec 1989.
Like The Age 1950s and 1960s most issues (scattered years less so); 1970s and 1980s very inconsistent,
still, gives some coverage of The Swans once the club moved to Sydney.
 
the croucher said:
Regarding the years after Trove coverage (i.e. from 1 Jan 1955) Google News Archive has The Age from 1955 to 1989.
1950s and 1960s pretty full coverage
1970s and 1980s patchy, some months better than others, and less and less coverage near end of period.
Be aware too that the back page of a daily issue is part of the double-page spread loaded for the next day.
And frustratingly, many Saturday issues are missing - so the back page of the Friday's paper is not shown - no League Teams !

The Herald is on Google News Archive from partway through 1898 to partway through 1902.
Again it is pot luck which edition will be visible - final edition of the Saturday issue for example would include team lists and match descriptions, unfortunately, many issues are the first edition of the afternoon, so don't have any match coverage.

Sydney Morning Herald is on Google News Archives from Jan 1955 to Dec 1989.
Like The Age 1950s and 1960s most issues (scattered years less so); 1970s and 1980s very inconsistent,
still, gives some coverage of The Swans once the club moved to Sydney.
Click to expand...

Google News Archive is also a nightmare to search through, it's been broken for years. You have to know what you're looking for (I.e. A particular issue) or it's just a crapshoot
 
35Daicos said:
This is worth reading, bearing in mind the Essendon past player profile says "Gilligan transferred to the Perth Football Club in June, 1906.":-

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/82406570 (Jun 28 1906)

At the last meeting an application for a permit from Essendon to Perth had been refused to A. Gilligan. A strong point in the opposition to Gilligan on that occasion was the similarity of the signatures in ink in the Perth and Subiaco forms.

"In the matter of an application made to the Western Australian Football Association for a permit by Arthur Herbert Gilligan I, Arthur
Herbert Gilligan, of Perth, in the State of Western Australia, make oath and say:— (1) That I am the applicant set forth in the annexed permit form
marked 'A,' now produced and shown to me, and the signature A. H. Gilligan' appended thereto is in my handwriting.

"In the matter of an application made to the Western Australian Football Association for a permit by Arthur Herbert Gilligan. I William Watson Gilligan, of Perth, in the State of Western Australia, make oath and say:— 1. That Arthur Herbert Gilligan is my brother, and I am informed that he has applied for a permit to play football in this State.
Click to expand...

Well done, good find.

I've checked the New Zealand BDM's and found details which confirm that Arthur and William Watson were brothers.
Seems to prove the AFL details are accurate.

I'll get in touch with Essendon in next week or two and suggest the Gilligan entry needs a couple of corrections made to it.
 
the croucher said:
Regarding the years after Trove coverage (i.e. from 1 Jan 1955) Google News Archive has The Age from 1955 to 1989.
1950s and 1960s pretty full coverage
1970s and 1980s patchy, some months better than others, and less and less coverage near end of period.
Be aware too that the back page of a daily issue is part of the double-page spread loaded for the next day.
And frustratingly, many Saturday issues are missing - so the back page of the Friday's paper is not shown - no League Teams !

The Herald is on Google News Archive from partway through 1898 to partway through 1902.
Again it is pot luck which edition will be visible - final edition of the Saturday issue for example would include team lists and match descriptions, unfortunately, many issues are the first edition of the afternoon, so don't have any match coverage.

Sydney Morning Herald is on Google News Archives from Jan 1955 to Dec 1989.
Like The Age 1950s and 1960s most issues (scattered years less so); 1970s and 1980s very inconsistent,
still, gives some coverage of The Swans once the club moved to Sydney.
Click to expand...


Thank you Croucher.

That can help me look for relo's and relo's of relo's.

Cheers.
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

the croucher said:
Regarding the years after Trove coverage (i.e. from 1 Jan 1955) Google News Archive has The Age from 1955 to 1989.
Click to expand...


Update Croucher, I've found the death notice for my 3G-aunt.

She married former Carlton and Melbourne player Albert Bickford.
 
In Rounds 3 & 4 of 1898 on 21st/28th May, William “Poss” Watson is recorded as playing for Essendon (and scoring a goal in the second game according to The Argus report although not the official record). Some sources only credit him with playing Round 3. (Essendon FC site & AFL Encyclopedia record one appearance, but AFL tables & AustralianFootball.com record two)

William “Poss” Watson did play for Essendon from 1891-1894 before heading to Western Australia. From 1895 -1899 he was captain of Fremantle in the WAFA competition and played in each of the first ten Rounds of 1898, including a match on the second day he is credited as playing for Essendon. He is mentioned in match reports for the WAFA matches on 14 May and 28 May. (note WAFA did not schedule matches for 21 May, but he is reported as having been sick in this report of the 28 May game)

It seems highly improbable Poss Watson played in the VFL for Essendon:
  • He definitely did not play for Essendon in Round 4
  • I can't locate any evidence of him travelling between WA and Victoria for Round 3
  • In theory at least he would have needed a permit
  • A prominent player returning would have been likely to attract some comment and I can see no mention in any newspapers
It seems likely that the Watson who played for Essendon in 1898 was someone else. There is very little evidence to identify who this player actually was.
 
WhiteHartLane23 said:
In Rounds 3 & 4 of 1898 on 21st/28th May, William “Poss” Watson is recorded as playing for Essendon (and scoring a goal in the second game according to The Argus report although not the official record). Some sources only credit him with playing Round 3. (Essendon FC site & AFL Encyclopedia record one appearance, but AFL tables & AustralianFootball.com record two)

William “Poss” Watson did play for Essendon from 1891-1894 before heading to Western Australia. From 1895 -1899 he was captain of Fremantle in the WAFA competition and played in each of the first ten Rounds of 1898, including a match on the second day he is credited as playing for Essendon. He is mentioned in match reports for the WAFA matches on 14 May and 28 May. (note WAFA did not schedule matches for 21 May, but he is reported as having been sick in this report of the 28 May game)

It seems highly improbable Poss Watson played in the VFL for Essendon:
  • He definitely did not play for Essendon in Round 4
  • I can't locate any evidence of him travelling between WA and Victoria for Round 3
  • In theory at least he would have needed a permit
  • A prominent player returning would have been likely to attract some comment and I can see no mention in any newspapers
It seems likely that the Watson who played for Essendon in 1898 was someone else. There is very little evidence to identify who this player actually was.
Click to expand...

Clear enough that it couldn't have been Watson.

Wonder if Thurgood played under an assumed name ? see notes below:

West Australian Monday 16 May 1898 p6
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/762994

“Fremantle on Saturday were also without the services of Thurgood, the crack goal sneak, who has gone East on a holiday trip”

Melbourne Herald 20 May 1898 p3 column 2 about halfway down
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=EVKlETVVbN8C&dat=18980520&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

“There has been a bit of a flutter in South Melbourne this week owing to a rumour that Thurgood - Albert the Great of years ago - may play for Essendon tomorrow”

Thurgood plays in a match at Albany on the way back on Saturday 11 June 1898 see Albany Advertiser 14 June 1898 p3
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69904915

“the North also had the assistance of some of the passengers (amongst whom was the champion goal kicker, Thurgood, of Essendon fame)”
 
the croucher said:
Clear enough that it couldn't have been Watson.

Wonder if Thurgood played under an assumed name?”
Click to expand...
Surely if Thurgood played it would have attracted some comment in the press - even the rumour that he might was reported before Rd 2.

It doesn't help that Essendon played Carlton and St Kilda in Rds 3 & 4 of 1898 so reports are pretty low on detail (those teams being the bottom two) but I have looked at The Argus, The Age, The Australasian, The Herald, Table Talk, Leader, Sportsman and The Weekly Times (I think they are all - except The Herald - tagged with 1898 VFL season in Trove).

note: Thurgood played in Rds 5-7 of the 1898 WAFA season for Fremantle before returning to Victoria and seeking a permit to play with Essendon - a fact that is missing from most reference books/sites. It means he played for premiership winning teams in 3 of the four seasons he played in WA.
 
WhiteHartLane23 said:
Surely if Thurgood played it would have attracted some comment in the press - even the rumour that he might was reported before Rd 2.

It doesn't help that Essendon played Carlton and St Kilda in Rds 3 & 4 of 1898 so reports are pretty low on detail (those teams being the bottom two) but I have looked at The Argus, The Age, The Australasian, The Herald, Table Talk, Leader, Sportsman and The Weekly Times (I think they are all - except The Herald - tagged with 1898 VFL season in Trove).

note: Thurgood played in Rds 5-7 of the 1898 WAFA season for Fremantle before returning to Victoria and seeking a permit to play with Essendon - a fact that is missing from most reference books/sites. It means he played for premiership winning teams in 3 of the four seasons he played in WA.
Click to expand...

Yes, it would be incredible for him to play and not have any comment made. Just an extraordinary coincidence that he happened to be in Melbourne in late May just at the time this "mystery" player appears for Essendon.

Such a pity that the issues of The Herald on Google News Archive at that time rarely include the "final edition" of the day because they would have the team lists in them (and that the copies that are there are of barely readable quality). Hopefully we will see better quality microfilm used for the editions loaded onto Trove later in the year.
 
the croucher said:
the North also had the assistance of some of the passengers (amongst whom was the champion goal kicker, Thurgood, of Essendon fame)
Click to expand...


Interesting to note the term passenger was used all those years ago.

I wonder if it had the same derogatory meaning of today.
 
Another one to consider.
Is Charlie Byrne, who is recorded in AFL Tables as playing Rd 6 1916 for Fitzroy against Collingwood, really the same player who didn't play again til Rd 1 1917 for Fitzroy.
The reason I ask, is that the Footy Record in 1917 calls that match his first game. (Obviously, there may have forgotten he played 1 game the year before).
But so too does The Winner http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154547699

So, searching for match reports of Rd 6 1916, I can't really find Byrne, but there is a Burns.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154795709
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155074600
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154556549 (this says he was a late call-up, but again the spelling is Burns

Now it's possible the press typed his name wrong, but I can't seem to find a Byrnes anywhere around Rd 6 1916.
So, I'm just wondering if a player did play called Burns, instead of Byrne
 
Last edited:

Remove this Banner Ad

rbartlett said:
Another one to consider.
Is Charlie Byrne, who is recorded in AFL Tables as playing Rd 6 1916 for Fitzroy against Collingwood, really the same player who didn't play again til Rd 1 1917 for Fitzroy.
The reason I ask, is that the Footy Record in 1917 calls that match his first game. (Obviously, there may have forgotten he played 1 game the year before).
But so too does The Winner http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154547699

So, searching for match reports of Rd 6 1916, I can't really find Byrne, but there is a Burns.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154795709
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155074600
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154556549 (this says he was a late call-up, but again the spelling is Burns

Now it's possible the press typed his name wrong, but I can't seem to find a Byrnes anywhere around Rd 6 1916.
So, I'm just wondering if a player did play called Burns, instead of Byrne
Click to expand...


Looks like Byrne played both in 1916 and 1917.

The VFL Record for 24 June 1916 see page 5
http://digital.slv.vic.gov.au/view/..._RULE_ID=4&divType=&usePid1=true&usePid2=true
mentions that he didn't have a permit to play the Round 6 match v Collingwood, so it was thought better not to play him the next week.

Seems his "papers" to play for Fitzroy did not come through until the start of the next season.
In the meantime he must have received a permit to move from Brighton to Preston in 1916
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154553642
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154553661

and then at start of 1917 a permit from Preston to Fitzroy.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154976781
 
the croucher said:
Clear enough that it couldn't have been Watson.

Wonder if Thurgood played under an assumed name ? see notes below:

West Australian Monday 16 May 1898 p6
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/762994

“Fremantle on Saturday were also without the services of Thurgood, the crack goal sneak, who has gone East on a holiday trip”

Melbourne Herald 20 May 1898 p3 column 2 about halfway down
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=EVKlETVVbN8C&dat=18980520&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

“There has been a bit of a flutter in South Melbourne this week owing to a rumour that Thurgood - Albert the Great of years ago - may play for Essendon tomorrow”

Thurgood plays in a match at Albany on the way back on Saturday 11 June 1898 see Albany Advertiser 14 June 1898 p3
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69904915

“the North also had the assistance of some of the passengers (amongst whom was the champion goal kicker, Thurgood, of Essendon fame)”
Click to expand...
Fremantle were without the services of Thurgood for their 21 May 1898 game.

Evening Star Boulder - Thursday 26 May 1898

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page22539633

It should be remembered that at this time, the Kalgoorlie League rivaled the then WAFL.

He is recorded as playing for fremantlle in mid June 1898.

Interesting in this report of the Australasian of 3 September 1898, it records Thurgood as returning to Victoria in early June 1898

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138604023

The return is not listed as in May 1898.

His death is incidentally described here in the age of 9 May 1927.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page18711842

However I have a possible, stressing the possible, candidate. Pos watson is listed as having played his first game on 24 May 1898, a Tuesday.

This report of the Sportsman of 24 May 1898 refers to a Watson who played for Melbourne in 1897, presumably Bert Watson, who took up lacrosse

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227741951

It appears that a Mr Watson may have played lacrosse for the Essendon club

The Age 11 July 1898
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191494283
Noting the bugbear about the name Bert - does it mean Herbert or Albert or is it just a nickname, it seems strange, though not unprecedented that a footballer plays 11 games in 1897 and then disappears from the game.

Windy Hill did indeed host Lacrosse from 1897 ( although whether that team was Essendon Lacrosse Team at this time, I do not know) but Essendon only played at Windy Hill from 1922 as from 1897 to 1922 it played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.

There is one fly in the ointment. A Watson is listed as playing for the juniors in a lacrosse game on 24 June 1898 at the Warehousman's Cricket Ground ( now the Albert Park ground)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191492248

though it may be that if Watson, ex Melbourne, played for Essendon, he may have done so after a last minute call out.

The bottom line- more work is required.
 
Harry Hook said:
However I have a possible, stressing the possible, candidate. Pos watson is listed as having played his first game on 24 May 1898, a Tuesday.

This report of the Sportsman of 24 May 1898 refers to a Watson who played for Melbourne in 1897, presumably Bert Watson, who took up lacrosse

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227741951

It appears that a Mr Watson may have played lacrosse for the Essendon club

The Age 11 July 1898
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191494283
Noting the bugbear about the name Bert - does it mean Herbert or Albert or is it just a nickname, it seems strange, though not unprecedented that a footballer plays 11 games in 1897 and then disappears from the game.

Windy Hill did indeed host Lacrosse from 1897 ( although whether that team was Essendon Lacrosse Team at this time, I do not know) but Essendon only played at Windy Hill from 1922 as from 1897 to 1922 it played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.

There is one fly in the ointment. A Watson is listed as playing for the juniors in a lacrosse game on 24 June 1898 at the Warehousman's Cricket Ground ( now the Albert Park ground)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191492248

though it may be that if Watson, ex Melbourne, played for Essendon, he may have done so after a last minute call out.

The bottom line- more work is required.
Click to expand...
The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers has this player as Charles G. M. 'Bert' Watson and says "From Melbourne Grammar School, he later was an Australian chess champion."

Charles "Bert" Watson later became an Australian chess champion. http://demonwiki.org/Bert+Watson

C.G. Watson, with his many retirements and reappearances and his penchant for winning lost games, was indestructible. He first won the Victorian championship in 1898 and last won the title in 1936. His name appears on the board now and then during the intervening years; in 1902, 1904, 1905, 1914, 1921, 1924 and 1931. http://www.melbournechessclub.org/members/history/club-history/chapter-6-those-who-have-come-before
 
Official AFL records for night series/pre-season cup goals are actually incorrect for Jason Dunstall and Tony Lockett.

DUNSTALL
The AFL have him on 116 goals from 29 games.
It should actually be 120 from 30 (they have omitted the 4 goals he kicked for Queensland vs St Kilda in the 1985 series opener):

http://www.hardballget.net/afc-1985-night-series--pre-season-cup-afl.html

LOCKETT
The AFL have him on 55 from 17 games
It should actually be 59 from 19 games (they have omitted goals he kicked for St Kilda vs Queensland in 1984 [1] and 1985 [3])

http://www.hardballget.net/afc-1984-night-series--pre-season-cup-afl.html
http://www.hardballget.net/afc-1985-night-series--pre-season-cup-afl.html

These 2 missing games also mean that when he briefly came back in 2002, the pre-season cup game against Port Adelaide was incorrectly celebrated as his 300th game (278 premiership, 17 NS-PSC, 5 interstate) when it was actually his 302nd!

His actual 300th was the Swans pre-season cup game against Collingwood three weeks earlier.

http://www.hardballget.net/afl-night-series--pre-season-cup-records--statistics.html
 
Rainier Wolfcastle said:
Official AFL records for night series/pre-season cup goals are actually incorrect for Jason Dunstall and Tony Lockett.

DUNSTALL
The AFL have him on 116 goals from 29 games.
It should actually be 120 from 30 (they have omitted the 4 goals he kicked for Queensland vs St Kilda in the 1985 series opener):

http://www.hardballget.net/afc-1985-night-series--pre-season-cup-afl.html

LOCKETT
The AFL have him on 55 from 17 games
It should actually be 59 from 19 games (they have omitted goals he kicked for St Kilda vs Queensland in 1984 [1] and 1985 [3])

http://www.hardballget.net/afc-1984-night-series--pre-season-cup-afl.html
http://www.hardballget.net/afc-1985-night-series--pre-season-cup-afl.html

These 2 missing games also mean that when he briefly came back in 2002, the pre-season cup game against Port Adelaide was incorrectly celebrated as his 300th game (278 premiership, 17 NS-PSC, 5 interstate) when it was actually his 302nd!

His actual 300th was the Swans pre-season cup game against Collingwood three weeks earlier.

http://www.hardballget.net/afl-night-series--pre-season-cup-records--statistics.html
Click to expand...
Could it simply be that as the two St Kilda vs Queensland clashes were qualifying games for the competition proper that the AFL has chosen not to include the games played/goals kicked in them in their records?

I see the old Historical Statistics website did not include those two games on their results page. Lockett was shown (on the Club Player List page) as having played 2 games for 9 goals in pre-season games after the 1984 season (0/0 after 1983). Just comparing another players' details, though Daryl Cunningham kicked 2 goals against Qld. and 2 against South Fremantle, after the 1984 season he is shown with (career total) 3 games for 2 goals (1/0 after 1983).
 
Last edited:
35Daicos said:
Could it simply be that as the two St Kilda vs Queensland clashes were qualifying games for the competition proper that the AFL has chosen not to include the games played/goals kicked in them in their records?

I see the old Historical Statistics website did not include those two games on their results page.
Click to expand...

Yet the same site includes the 1983 Tasmania v Footscray qualifying match.

I'd be interested to see if they've credited Ian Morrison's 8 goals for Footscray in that match in the player records.

I suspect the two Queensland-St Kilda games from 84-85 were either accidentally overlooked or otherwise deliberately omitted due to a lack of info at AFL House at that time.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Rainier Wolfcastle said:
Yet the same site includes the 1983 Tasmania v Footscray qualifying match.

I'd be interested to see if they've credited Ian Morrison's 8 goals for Footscray in that match in the player records.

I suspect the two Queensland-St Kilda games from 84-85 were either accidentally overlooked or otherwise deliberately omitted due to a lack of info at AFL House at that time.
Click to expand...
Good point regarding that 1983 game, and it hadn't occurred to me to check to see if they'd included any other qualifying game(s) on the results page! Morrison's 8 goal haul was in a 1979 game, according to what you have on the site. You have it as a Round 1 (Qualifying) game. After the 1978 season they had him with 1 game/1 goal, 3/9 after 1979. He didn't score any more goals in the other Footscray 1979 game so they've obviously added that on.

Back to the 1983 Footscray (vs Tasmania) game, checking Robert Groenewegen (who kicked 4) the Historical Statistics site had him with 3 games/0 goals after 1982, after 1983 4/4. He didn't score in their other game that year, so they must have included details from the first match in the records.

As I've noted in another thread, the AFL site (results page) left out the 1980 game between Glenelg and North Adelaide, presumably not intentionally. So I'm not really sure what has gone on here, but there's clearly a strong chance the 84-85 games were overlooked by accident. It would be interesting to see what the AFL had to say on the matter.

Finally, it's great to see all the information from the pre-season/night series games over the years in the one spot. Really good effort.

Edit: Interestingly, AFL Record Season (Guide) 2017 shows just four players (Dunstall, Loewe, Lockett, Carey) on 9 goals under Most Goals In A Game (they show a top 9), whereas you have six (adding Roach and Kingsley).

http://www.hardballget.net/afl-night-series--pre-season-cup-records--statistics.html

They still have Dunstall with a career (pre-season) tally of 116 goals and Lockett on 55.
 
Last edited:
35Daicos said:
Good point regarding that 1983 game, and it hadn't occurred to me to check to see if they'd included any other qualifying game(s) on the results page! Morrison's 8 goal haul was in a 1979 game, according to what you have on the site. You have it as a Round 1 (Qualifying) game. After the 1978 season they had him with 1 game/1 goal, 3/9 after 1979. He didn't score any more goals in the other Footscray 1979 game so they've obviously added that on.

Back to the 1983 Footscray (vs Tasmania) game, checking Robert Groenewegen (who kicked 4) the Historical Statistics site had him with 3 games/0 goals after 1982, after 1983 4/4. He didn't score in their other game that year, so they must have included details from the first match in the records.

As I've noted in another thread, the AFL site (results page) left out the 1980 game between Glenelg and North Adelaide, presumably not intentionally. So I'm not really sure what has gone on here, but there's clearly a strong chance the 84-85 games were overlooked by accident. It would be interesting to see what the AFL had to say on the matter.

Finally, it's great to see all the information from the pre-season/night series games over the years in the one spot. Really good effort.

Edit: Interestingly, AFL Record Season (Guide) 2017 shows just four players (Dunstall, Loewe, Lockett, Carey) on 9 goals under Most Goals In A Game (they show a top 9), whereas you have six (adding Roach and Kingsley).

http://www.hardballget.net/afl-night-series--pre-season-cup-records--statistics.html

They still have Dunstall with a career (pre-season) tally of 116 goals and Lockett on 55.
Click to expand...

2017 AFL Season Guide page 1106 has Peter Hudson listed (Hawthorn/Tasmania) as 70 goals in pre-s/night series games.
That tally includes the four goals he kicked for Tas v Footscray in 1979.

So, yes, Dunstall & Lockett figures do need to be corrected.
But we are talking about the AFL History Dept and Publications Dept, so consistency not being their best forte,
I won't hold my breath waiting for an update !
 
Just in case people aren't aware of it this page exists and is worth checking every now and then:-

http://www.afl.com.au/afl-hq/afl-season-guide-updates

AFL Record Season 2017 Updates

The following is a list of updates to the AFL Record Season 2016 since publication.

If you see further corrections that need to be made, please e-mail ~~
 
*Paul* said:
Here's a little one
Foots. v Fitz R2,1975
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Footscray verses Fitzroy at the Western Oval April 12, 1975&search_type=
There's a number 33 for Footscray, but I don't have a 33 playing. I do have John Reid playing one game in 33 later on in the season. So it's either just a number stuff up, or possibly Reid played and somebody else didn't.
Click to expand...
Yes, you can spot number 33 for Footscray in the last quarter. The Age has McMillan and Whitten (both are named in the official line-up - and can be seen in the video) coming on as last quarter replacements. They don't mention Reid as a late replacement in the team. Having seen a fair bit of the first half I think all the other named players are accounted for, but maybe I've missed one.

https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19750414&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Ted Whitten jnr. came on wearing number 22 (not 34). The commentator couldn't identify player #33, saying "someone wearing an unfamiliar jersey" which was interesting. Could it have been that a player simply changed number during the game? Reid is not mentioned in The Age's Reserves best players or goalkickers, incidentally. Also, Fitzroy's Chris Smith is in 35 (not 8).

There's a photo of John Reid playing for Footscray on the Football Record 1977 Rd. 21 edition cover, for comparison sake.

Edit: I'm almost positive this is the answer! Ian Low, who wore no. 28 for the first three quarters, is not mentioned by the commentators in the last quarter, nor is that number anywhere to be seen. Mystery player wearing #33 suddenly appears in the final quarter, playing in the same position Low occupied (right wing or forward flank). Low wasn't one of the two players replaced in that last quarter, and the player wearing 28 and the one in 33 do look pretty similar!!! Also, he was playing only his second game, so perhaps it was understandable that the commentators didn't recognise him with a different jumper number.
 
Last edited:

Remove this Banner Ad

Resource List thread - Inaccuracy in official records

Similar threads

L
old night series footy records
Replies
1
Views
816
the croucher
T

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top