William Joseph McSpeerin (25 September 1874 – 3 June 1943) 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 for the

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...

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).

Family

The son of James McSpeerin (1846-1909), and Catherine McSpeerin (1842-1890), née Reid, William Joseph McSpeerin was born at

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km north of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of Vic ...

on 25 September 1874. He married Mary Anna "Marie" Rau (1876-1961) in 1906.

Football

A rover, McSpeerin debuted with Fitzroy when the club was still in the

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) and was a member of their 1895 premiership side. When the Victorian Football League was formed in

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...

, McSpeerin was a key member of the team and appeared in 10 out of 14 games that season, including one match against St Kilda where he reportedly ran the entire length of the oval to kick a goal. McSpeerin became one of the leading players of the early VFL years, playing in Fitzroy premierships in

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

and 1899, being appointed club captain in

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

, and in

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

becoming the first Fitzroy footballer to play 100 VFL games. McSpeerin retired at the end of 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 ...

, his last game being Fitzroy's

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

win over

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 ...

. At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for ''The Argus'' ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition:
Backs:

Maurie Collins Maurie Ignatius Collins (21 July 1876 – 8 November 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Collins played his early football at both Albert Park and Xavier College. He was in ...

(Essendon),

Bill Proudfoot William Henry Proudfoot (11 June 1868 – 11 January 1931) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Victorian Football Association (VFA). Family Bill is the uncle ...

(Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong); Halfbacks:

Pat Hickey Patrick Hickey may refer to: * Patrick Hickey (artist) (1927–1998), Irish visual artist * Pat Hickey (ice hockey) (born 1953), Canadian ice hockey player * Pat Hickey (footballer) (1871–1946), Australian rules footballer * Pat Hickey (politicia ...

(Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne); Centres:

Fred Leach John Frederick Leach (6 March 1878 – 14 April 1908) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Thomas Leach (1847-1916), and Emma Bunkin Leach ...

(Collingwood),

Firth McCallum Firth William McCallum (27 December 1872 – 11 July 1910) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL). At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player" ...

(Geelong),

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...

(Essendon); Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood),

Eddie Drohan Edward Patrick Drohan (17 July 1876 – 28 July 1938) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club and Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) before becoming an umpire and a coach. Droha ...

(Fitzroy),

Herb Howson Herbert Howson (11 August 1872 – 8 May 1948) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football A wingman, Howson played with South Melbourne for four seasons in the Victorian ...

(South Melbourne); Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon),

Eddy James Edwin Ernest 'Eddy' James (14 February 1874 – 16 September 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong Football Club, Geelong in the years before and following the formation of the Australian Football League, VFL. Footbal ...

(Geelong),

Charlie Colgan Charlie Colgan (9 February 1878 – 25 July 1935) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the ...

(South Melbourne); Ruck:

Mick Pleass George Victor "Mick" Pleass (12 November 1874 – 27 August 1925) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Essendon in the VFA and Victorian Football League (VFL). Football Pleass was a follower and played his ear ...

(South Melbourne),

Frank Hailwood Frank Hailwood (3 April 1873 – 21 May 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family One of the eight children of Joseph Hailwood (1834–1912), and Ellen ...

(Collingwood),

Joe McShane Joseph Francis McShane (29 November 1868 – 26 July 1950) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Philip McShane (1835-1908), and Mary Ann McShane (1836-1912), née McCabe, Joseph Francis ...

(Geelong); Rovers:

Dick Condon Richard Condon (19 March 1876 – 27 December 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and Richmond in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1894-1900, 1902-1906 a ...

(Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy),

Teddy Rankin Edwin Walter "Teddy" Rankin (11 March 1872 – 31 July 1944) was an Australian rules footballer, originally with Riversdale, who began playing with Geelong in the VFA in 1891, and later played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family ...

(Geelong).
From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — he selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.
'Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p.6
.

Death

He died at

East Brunswick East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...

on 3 June 1943. Rowell, Ted
"Great Man Gone", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 12 June 1943), p.4.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. . * * Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014), ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.)'', Melbourne: Bas Publishing.

External links

* * 1874 births 1943 deaths Fitzroy Football Club (VFA) players Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club premiership players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne VFL/AFL premiership players People from Carlton, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1870s-stub