The Footballers' Alphabet

On Saturday 23 July 1898, the Melbourne weekly newspaper The Leader published The Footballers' Alphabet.

The poem, which had been written by its influential (Australian Rules) football correspondent, "Follower", ^[1] delivered a brief comment on a number of the most prominent Australian Rules footballers playing in Melbourne in 1898 -- the second year of the VFL competition -- presented in the alphabetical order of their family names. ^[2]

Given the poem’s subject and its novelty, it was very popular, and it was republished in a number of different newspapers, including The Age, ^[3] and The Ovens and Murray Advertiser. ^[4]

A pastiche of the poem, centred on the players of the Sunbury Football Club in the Yorke Peninsula, was published in 1920, ^[5] and another, centred on the players in the Adelaide (SAFL) competition, was published in 1925. ^[6]

The Poem

A stands for Anderson, hard to beat back,

        Likewise for Adamson, also a crack;

B stands for Barry, who's clever and strong,

        And Brockwell, who plays on the wing for Geelong;

C is for Condon, the Collingwood flyer,

        And Conway, who's earnest and always a trier;

D for young Dando and Dowdell (sic) -- both smart;

E stands for Elder (kicks straight as a dart); ^[7]

F --- "Toby" Barton and Reid will go down, ^[8]

        Before "Tracker" Forbes will fade out of renown;

G is for Gavan (sic), who never says die,

        And for Gilligan too, who can mark very high;

H stands for Hogan, a better mark still,

        Also for Howson, who puts on no frill;

I stands for Ingram ^[9] -- from Brunswick he came --

J for Jackson and James, who are dabs at the game;

K for Gus Kearney, both brilliant and smart,

        As fresh at the end as he was at the start;

L stands for Lewis, a "centre" of fame;

M for M'Ginis, the boss of the game;

N stands for Noonan, who roves for Fitzroy;

O for O'Dea (sic), who's a broth of a boy;

P is for Pleass, unsurpassed in the ruck,

        And Proudfoot, renowned for his coolness and pluck;

Q stands for Quilligan ^[10] (plays with "Old Dick"); ^[11]

R is for Robinson, clever and quick;

S---stand aside, please, and let me proclaim,

        That Stuckey's the best captain playing the game;

        It's a fact I believe, though I think we must own,

        Fitzroy, for hard graft, has a daisy in Sloan;

T stands for South's clever back player, Trimm (sic)

        (They made no mistake when they got hold of him).

U stands for Upton, ^[12] a crack of the past;

V is for Vautin, who's dodgy and fast;

W for Wardill, a marvellous stayer;

X the x-ception, that can't claim a player;

Y stands for Young -- the Geelong one, I mean,

        A greater high marker there never was seen;

Z for old Zox, who at all football dinners,

        You'll find in white waistcoat proposing "The Winners".

See also

• Acrostic

Notes

1. 'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", The Leader, (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
2. Given the need for family names beginning with specific letters, several current and past prominent VFA players were also included.
3. The Footballers' Alphabet, by "Follower" of The Leader, The Age, (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.11.
4. The Footballers' Alphabet, by "Follower" of The Leader, The Ovens and Murray Advertiser. (Saturday, 20 August 1898), p.3.
5. 'A Young ‘Un', "The "Sunbury" Football Alphabet", The Southern Yorke Peninsular Pioneer, (Saturday, 4 December 1920), p.4.
6. The Football Alphabet, The (Adelaide) Saturday Journal, (Saturday, 28 March 1925), p.14.
7. Alfred John Elder (1868-1935), who played 38 Games (57 goals) for Richmond in the VFA 1897-1899. (see Alf Elder at the VFA Project).
8. This line, which contrasts their (comparatively) transient fame with the enduring fame of the renowned footballer "Tracker" Forbes, speaks of two of Australia's most eminent politicians of the day: Edmund "Toby" Barton, leader of the Protectionist Party, former Attorney General of New South Wales, member of the NSW Legislative Council, active campaigner for Federation and, in 1901, Australia's first Prime Minister and, in 1903, one of the first three Justices of the High Court of Australia; and George Reid, Leader of the Free Trade Party, Premier of New South Wales (1894-1899), the first Leader of the Opposition (1901-1904) in the Federal Parliament, and, in 1904, Australia's fourth Prime Minister.
9. Possibly James Ingram, who played for Carlton in the VFA (see Ingram at Blueseum) and went on to play for Mount Magnet in the West Australian Goldfields
10. James Quilligan (1875-1944) who played with North Melbourne in the VFA (see Jim Quilligan at The VFA Project; and Deaths: Quilligan, The Advocate, (Wednesday, 10 January 1945), p.2).
11. "Old Dick" refers to Richard Shinnock "Dick" Houston (1863-1921) who, at the time of publication, was still playing VFA First Grade Football with North Melbourne at the advanced age of 35 (see: Dick Houston, at The VFA Project).
12. Henry Upton (1855-1936) had played for a number of seasons with Geelong in the VFA in the 1870s, including two of Geelong's VFA Premiership teams (see: Obituary, The Age, (Saturday 26 September 1936, p.24).