Richard Gibson (13 July 1866 – 28 October 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 with Hotham/North Melbourne and

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

, and later an umpire 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 George Thomas Gibson (1828–1879), and Margaret Gibson (1837–1882), née Slaven, Richard Gibson was born at

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census. H ...

on 13 July 1866. He married Abigail Mary Snow (1868–1936) on 23 July 1890.

Footballer

After playing for North Melbourne and South Melbourne in the VFA, Dick "Hockey" Gibson was a member of the inaugural South Melbourne VFL team in 1897 and vice-captained the club in his two VFL seasons.

Umpire

He became the first VFL player to umpire a Grand Final in 1903 when he was the field umpire for the

1903 VFL Grand Final The 1903 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 12 September 1903. It was the 6th annual Grand Fin ...

. In all he officiated in 98 VFL matches as a field umpire and also appeared as a boundary umpire three times.

Death

He died at his home in

Ascot Vale, Victoria Ascot Vale is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Ascot Vale recorded a population of 15,197 at the 202 ...

on 28 October 1943."Dick" Gibson, Famous Footballer, Dies: Great Ruckman in The 90's, ''The (Emerald Hill) Record'', (Saturday, 30 October 1943), p.1.
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Notes

References

*Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.

External links

*
Dick Gibson's umpiring statistics
from AFL Tables * 1866 births 1943 deaths Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Sydney Swans players Australian Football League umpires Australian rules footballers from Melbourne People from Williamstown, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1860s-stub