Edward Patrick Drohan (17 July 1876 – 28 July 1938) 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 ...

and

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) before becoming an umpire and a coach. Drohan made his debut for Fitzroy 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 played in their premiership side that year and the following season. In both Grand Finals he played on a wing, the position he occupied for most of his career. 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 (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 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 McSpe ...

(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
. Drohan crossed to Collingwood 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 ...

and finished the season as a member of another premiership winning side, becoming the first person to play in a VFL/AFL premiership for two different sides.Atkinson, p. 95. After retiring in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

Drohan spent a couple of years as a field umpire before joining

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

as coach in 1910. He had little success, winning just four games for the season and in 1911 he was chosen to coach St Kilda. Again his side struggled, this time winning just two games. Later Drohan also acted as a goal umpire and a steward.

References

Sources

* Atkinson, G. (1982) ''Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking'', The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. .

External links

* *
Coaching record
from AFL Tables 1876 births Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club Premiership players Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club Premiership players Melbourne Football Club coaches St Kilda Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Australian Football League umpires 1938 deaths Three-time VFL/AFL Premiership players {{AFL-bio-1870s-stub