William Henry Proudfoot (11 June 1868 – 11 January 1931) 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

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

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) and

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).

Family

Bill is the uncle of Collingwood player Norm Crewther, and the third great uncle of the former Federal Member for Dunkley, Chris Crewther MP.

Football

A solidly built fullback, Proudfoot was a member of Collingwood's inaugural VFA side in 1892. He became the first-ever Collingwood player to represent Victoria when he was selected to play against South Australia in 1894. Proudfoot was involved in an infamous incident during a game for Collingwood against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

in July 1896 when at half-time a riot occurred with the crowd invading the field and turning on the umpire Roberts.Atkinson, pp. 11-12. Proudfoot, while attempting to stop the umpire from getting injured, was himself badly beaten in the melee. Following the formation of the Victorian Football League in 1897, Proudfoot was Collingwood captain 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 also had the role for the latter half of 1899 and 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, ...

. Proudfoot played in Collingwood's first two VFL premiership winning sides; in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

and 1903. Off the football field Proudfoot was a police constable and was banned from playing football by his commissioner. He continued to play however under an assumed name. 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 (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong); Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (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 Leac ...

(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 in the years before and following the formation of the VFL. Football James started his career as a backman, playing ...

(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", th ...

(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 ea ...

(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 William Joseph McSpeerin (25 September 1874 – 3 June 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of James McSpeerin (1846-1909), and Catherine McSp ...

(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
.

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. .
'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.)''. Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proudfoot, Bill 1868 births 1931 deaths Australian people of Scottish descent Police officers from Melbourne Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club Premiership players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players

Family

Football

See also

Notes

References

External links