Alexander Robinson (19 August 1886 – 4 October 1967) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). He also had a noted football career in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, during which time he became a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er for the state team.

Early years in Victoria

One of four Robinson brothers to play in the VFL, he was just 17 when he played for Essendon in the

1904 VFL season The 1904 VFL season was the eighth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 7 May until 17 September, and comprised a 17 ...

. Robinson, who was a former Brighton junior, played nine games over the course of the year. Eight of those games were with brothers

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and Fred Robinson. His other sibling was Gordon Robinson, who made a single appearance for St Kilda in 1911. Robinson had two sons, Alexander William and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, who both played first-class cricket in Western Australia.

Goldfields football

A follower, Robinson later moved to Western Australia and played football for Boulder City in the

Goldfields Football League The Goldfields Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Founded in 1896 as Hannans District Football Association, the league enjoyed a seat and full voting rights on the Australi ...

. He was the league's best player award winner in 1907 and a member of five premiership teams. He represented

in the

1908 Melbourne Carnival The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition, held in Melbourne in August 1908. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival b ...

, withdrew from the

1911 Adelaide Carnival The 1911 Adelaide Carnival was the second edition of the Australasian Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It took place from 2 to 12 August at Adelaide Oval. A crowd of 20,000 witnessed South Australia convin ...

through injury and represented the state once more at the

1914 Sydney Carnival The 1914 Sydney Carnival was the third edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was held between Wednesday 5 August and Saturday 15 August 1914. Victoria was the winning state, ...

Cricket

Robinson was a right handed middle order batsman who batted at four in his only first-class match, which was played against the touring

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

of England in 1907/08. Playing on the Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Robinson scored 23 in the first innings and just one in the second. He was dismissed by English Test cricketer Jack Crawford both times.

Coaching career

After the war ended, Robinson had served as non-playing coach at Boulder City. He was appointed senior coach of Subiaco, in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

, for the 1928 season and remained there for two years.''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'',
Club Jottings
, 20 April 1928 p. 15 In his first season in charge he guided the club to third position and in 1929 steered them to fourth.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Alex 1886 births 1967 deaths Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Essendon Football Club players Boulder City Football Club players Subiaco Football Club coaches Australian cricketers Western Australia cricketers Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Cricketers from Melbourne People from Brighton, Victoria

Early years in Victoria

Goldfields football

Cricket

Coaching career

See also

Footnotes