Harry Bruce McGregor (7 January 1903 in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

– 21 March 1990) 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 West Adelaide and

South Adelaide The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium South Australian National Football League 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 ...

(SANFL). His son

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

also played for West Adelaide and was a successful

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. Former Crows player, Ken McGregor is not related.

Career

McGregor made his debut at the age of 16 for West Broken Hill in the

Broken Hill Football League The AFL Broken Hill (formerly, Broken Hill Football League) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Broken Hill region of New South Wales, Australia. Although located in the state of New South Wales the league is an affiliated m ...

where he was a Hurley Medallist in 1922. McGregor was recruited by West Adelaide in 1923 after attempts were made for his signature by both Norwood and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

. McGregor played 102 games for West Adelaide between 1923 and 1929 and was appointed captain-coach of the team in 1926, leading them to the 1927 SANFL Premiership with a 10.10 (70) to 8.10 (58) win over

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

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 1926 and 1927 McGregor became the first and as of 2011 West Adelaide's only dual

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

list and the club's only player to win the award back-to-back. He represented

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 ...

at the interstate level 22 times during his career. Records vary, but it is possible that McGregor also won as many as six Best All Round Player Awards during his time at Westies. What is known is that he won the award in 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1927. With the economic privations of the Depression beginning to hit home in 1930, McGregor, along with team mate Bob Snell, the 1929 Magarey Medallist, was lured to Tasmania where the money on offer was significantly better than in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. After two seasons as captain-coach of

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in the ...

in the

Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the "Tasmanian Football League (TFL)" (formerly known as the "Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL)" and several other short-term names) is the highest ranked Australian ru ...

(TFL) where the team finished as beaten Grand Finalists in both 1930 and 1931, he returned to the SANFL and joined

South Adelaide The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium wooden spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) ** Australian rugby league wooden spooners ** County Championship Wooden Spoons ** List of Australian Football League wooden spoons ** MLS Wooden Spoon * Wooden Spoon Soci ...

by finishing eighth. In 1933 he was appointed coach of the

Glenelg Football Club Glenelg Football Club is an Australian rules football team, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. The club is known as the "Tigers" (or the "Bays"), and their home ground is ACH Group Stadium (formerly Glenelg Oval), lo ...

and in 1934 he coached the club to their first ever SANFL Premiership. McGregor then returned to West Adelaide to coach the team in 1937 but his three seasons in charge saw the Wests finish seventh in each season. He was replaced for 1940, but returned in 1941, and along with Colin Smith, coached the vastly improved team to finish third with a 12-5 record. West then won their semi-final clash with Port Adelaide before ending their season with a loss to eventual SANFL Premiers Norwood in the preliminary-final at the Adelaide Oval.

Family

Bruce McGregor and his wife Winnifred had two children. His daughter Betty was born in 1927 on the day Bruce won his second Magarey Medal and son Ken McGregor (born 1929) who went on to play for both West Adelaide and South Australia with distinction in the 1950s. Ken also played tennis at the highest level including representing Australia in three

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

-winning sides (

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

) and won the 1952 Australian Open tennis – Men's Singles title at Adelaide's Memorial Drive, as well as the 1951 and 1952

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

and 1951 US Open men's doubles championships with

Frank Sedgman Francis "Frank" Arthur Sedgman (born 29 October 1927) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Over the course of a three-decade career, Sedgman won five Grand Slam singles tournaments as an amateur as well as 22 Grand Slam doubles ...

Footnotes

External links

WAFC Magarey Medallists - Harry Bruce McGregorSA Football Hall of Fame - H (Bruce) McGregor
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Bruce 1903 births 1990 deaths West Adelaide Football Club players South Adelaide Football Club players North Hobart Football Club players West Adelaide Football Club coaches North Hobart Football Club coaches Glenelg Football Club coaches South Adelaide Football Club coaches Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from New South Wales South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees West Broken Hill Football Club players

Career

Family

See also

Footnotes

External links