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