Albert George Henry Why, known by the alias Alby Carr, (1899–1969) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1920s player for South Sydney, who played under his alias for most of his career.

Playing career

He was born at

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced 'bree-warren-ah'; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a s ...

in 1899. His family later moved to Redfern and he played his junior football in Wellington and later at Mascot. As Alby Carr, he played four seasons for South Sydney between 1924 and 1927, including winning the

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

and 1927 Grand Final's. Carr was also a premiership winner with South Sydney in 1925 as the club went the entire season undefeated. He represented

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1924 under his alias. He played one last season with South Sydney in 1930, this time under his correct name of

Alby Why Albert George Henry Why, known by the alias Alby Carr, (1899–1969) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s player for South Sydney Rabbitohs, South Sydney, who played under his alias for most of his career. Play ...

. He played one season as Alby Why in 1930 before retiring. He was the brother of Australian Kangaroo, Jack Why.

Coaching career

In 1950, Alby Why coached the

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...

team for a season before taking over from Vic Bulgin halfway through 1951. He continued to coach

in 1952.

Alias, and exposure

A newspaper report from 1929 exposed Alby Carr as a 'ring-in' , who was actually Alby Why, the brother of Jack Why. The report was tabled at the NSWRFL on 13 May 1929. Alby Carr's true identity was revealed at the meeting regarding the 'ring-in' allegations. Alby Why tells the story: "I commenced my footballing days at Wellington in 1917. In 1921 he was at Redfern Oval and was asked to play third grade for the Mascot team as 'A.Carr'. Alby Why candidly admitted that he was Alby Carr, in what was known in the turf-world as a 'ring-in'. Then selected as A. Carr, he played one year with Newtown in 1922, then joining the City Houses Competition before being graded with

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

in 1924. During this time and later in England playing with Huddersfield, he retained the name 'Carr', but by 1929 he wished to be recognized by his real name, as his brother Jack Why also played with Souths."

Death

Albert George Henry Why died on 29 December 1969, aged 70.Sydney Morning Herald: Death Notice- 31/12/1969

References

Sources

* 1899 births 1969 deaths Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players South Sydney Rabbitohs captains {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub