Alfred Edward 'Topsy' Waldron (26 February 1857 – 7 June 1929) 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 mostly for Norwood in the

South Australian Football Association The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SAFA) during the 19th century. He also played two

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 ...

matches for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Early life

Waldron's nickname 'Topsy' was used by his brother and stayed with him throughout his football career.

Albert-Park (1875)

He started his career at Albert-park, playing most of that season in the Second Twenty before being chosen for a match against Melbourne.

Carlton Imperial (1876)

In 1876, Waldron played a season with Carlton Imperial.

Carlton (1877–1878)

When Carlton Imperial folded, he crossed to

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

in the newly formed

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

(VFA), playing in their 1877 VFA premiership side. At the end of 1878, Waldron was convinced by a friend to go to Norwood, and he joined them for their second season in the SAFA.

Norwood (1879–1892, 1896, 1898)

In 1888, Waldron captained Norwood to victory in the inaugural

Championship of Australia The Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian football leagues. The Championship took place three ti ...

. The club took on South Melbourne at

Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is a stadium located to the west of the capital city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. It is the pre-eminent sporting facility on the island and is primarily used for cricket. it has hosted many important and exciting c ...

for the title and won the series 3–0. He also captained South Australia in three inter-colonial games and played in six games in all. Waldron was captain of Norwood for a club record ten seasons, and played in nine of their early premiership teams, six as captain.

Records

His career total of ten premierships is a record for elite Australian rules football, equal with David "Dolly" Christy: given the nature of the modern game, this record is highly unlikely to ever be broken. Waldron was also the first player in elite Australian rules football to play 200 games, achieving this feat in 1890, while his 197 games for Norwood remained a club record until it was broken in 1957 by Douglas Olds.

Cricket

His two first-class cricket matches were played almost five years apart, in 1881/82 and 1887/88. Waldron failed with the bat in both but took 3 for 18 against Victoria at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

in what was the only innings he bowled in. One of those wickets was Test cricketer

Tup Scott Henry James Herbert "Tup" Scott (26 December 1858 – 23 September 1910) was an Australian cricketer who played first-class cricket for Victoria and Test cricket for Australia. He acquired his nickname during a cricket tour of England in 1884 f ...

Honours

When the South Australian Football Hall of Fame was opened to inductees in 2002, Waldron was one of the first added, and the oldest.

References

External links

*
Cricinfo: Alfred Waldron
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Alfred 1857 births 1929 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Norwood Football Club players South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricketers South Australia cricketers