Arthur Thomas Leach (2 March 1876 – 1 October 1948) 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 ...
and
Collingwood during the early years of 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).
Family
The son of Thomas Leach (1847-1916), and Emma Bunkin Leach (1847-1893), née Stuckey, Arthur Thomas Leach was born in
Heidelberg, Victoria
Heidelberg is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, northeast of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Heidelberg recorded a population of 7,360 at the 2021 census.
Once a large ...
on 2 March 1876.
Brothers
His two brothers,
John Frederick "Fred" Leach (1878–1908) and
Edward Hale "Ted" Leach (1883-1965) also played for Collingwood.
Football
Leach was used either on the ball or up forward.
Essendon VFL)
He joined Essendon in 1897 (the inaugural VFL season). His first match was Essendon's defeat of Collingwood (the team included his brother Ted) 6.10 (46) to 5.7 (37) at
Victoria Park on 3 July 1897. In all he played in four games for Essendon and kicked 2 goals.
Collingwood VFL)
In 1898 crossed to Collingwood where he would spend the next 11 seasons. Leach played in a total of four Grand Finals, for premierships in 1902 and 1903.
He captained Collingwood for part of the 1906 season and for all of 1907.
Law
On 15 July 1897, the Full Court ("consisting of the Chief Justice,
Mr. Justice Holroyd, and
Mr. Justice Hood") admitted Leach to practice as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria; and, along with William Rogers Thomson (1872-1932) — who was also treasurer of the
Moonee Valley Racing Club
The Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) was founded by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox), in 1883 is located at The Valley Racecourse on McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds (a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'' ...
and, later,
Lord Mayor of Malvern (in 1914/15) — Arthur Thomas Leach was a partner in the firm of Leach and Thomson, Solicitors, 386 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Death
He died at Camberwell on 1 October 1948.
Deaths: Leach, ''The Age'' (Monday, 4 October 1948), p.9.
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Footnotes
References
* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
External links
*
*
Essendon Football Club profile
Arthur Leach, ''Collingwood Forever''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Arthur
1876 births
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Essendon Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club Premiership players
1948 deaths
Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players
People from Heidelberg, Victoria