James Duncan Anderson (born 17 December 1931) is an Australian former

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 and first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. Anderson played as a full-forward in the

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4. In addition there ...

(VAFA) from 1950 to 1954. He played four seasons with the

University Blues Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University, is an Australian rules football club based at the University of Melbourne. The club fields two teams, known as the "Blacks" and "Blues", who both compete in the Victorian Ama ...

, followed by a season with the Old Melburnians. He was noted for his prolific goalkicking and was the leading goalkicker in Section A in every season he played in, the only player to have done so. He was the vice-captain of the club during the 1952 season, where the Blues went on win their first Premiership title, defeating Ormond in the Grand Final, with Anderson scoring ten of the twenty goals that Blues put past Ormond. He took on a dual role in the 1953 season, acting as both captain and coach of the club, as the Blues finished as runners-up. Anderson also represented Victoria as an amateur in eight matches, including at the 1951 and 1953 AAFC Carnivals. In August 1954, Anderson left Australia to study in the United Kingdom, attending

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. In December, he was named Blue of the Game in the annual Australian rules match between Oxford and Cambridge, where he played alongside future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

. In May 1955, he played cricket in first-class two matches for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His highest score of 4* came against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. His best bowling of 4/68 came against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Despite having not played competitive football for two years, Anderson appeared in a demonstration match at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

. He was selected to play in a team representing the Victorian Amateur Football Association against a combined team of players from 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 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). Although the combined VFL/VFA team were favoured to win the match, some football journalists backed the VAFA team, citing Anderson's performances at both team training and in a "special" practice match as reasons for a potential upset. On 7 December, the VAFA team were victorious, defeating the combined team by 26 points. Anderson finished the match with three goals.

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* 1931 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Cricketers from Melbourne Australian footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Australian cricketers Oxford University cricketers Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Old Melburnians Football Club players {{england-cricket-bio-1930s-stub

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