Eric Harry Tassie (12 October 1887 – 21 July 1936) 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 ...

administrator. He was president of the

Australian National Football Council The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...

(ANFC) from 1929 to 1935. Tassie was a son of

Henry Tassie Henry Tassie (8 June 1863 – 26 October 1945) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1918 to 1938, representing Central District No. 2 for three successive conservative parties: the Libera ...

, who was a government minister in

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 ...

."MR. E. H. TASSIE DIES SUDDENLY"
''The Advertiser'', 23 July 1936. He attended

Way College William George Torr MA, BCL, LLD (29 March 1853 – 13 September 1939), often referred to as "Old Oxford", was a religious educator in South Australia. History William G. Torr was a son of John Torr (c. 1815 – 14 February 1884) of Tavisto ...

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 ...

, and played football for the school team and later for various lower-level clubs. An accountant by profession, Tassie became manager of the

Norwood Football Club Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which is ...

's B-grade team in 1912, and then in 1914 was elected club treasurer. He became club secretary in 1919, holding that position until 1924, and was a club delegate to the

South Australian 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 ...

(SAFL) from 1920 until his death. Tassie managed the South Australian state team at the 1924 National Carnival, and was a state selector on a number of other occasions. After several years as a delegate from South Australia and a term as vice-president, Tassie was elected ANFC president at its general meeting in November 1929, succeeding

Alf Moffat Alfred Augustine Moffat (15 March 1870 – 8 December 1956) was an Australian sportsman and sports administrator. He played first-class cricket for Western Australia and Australian rules football for several clubs in the West Australian Football ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He held the position until November 1935, when he resigned and nominated Bob Rush of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

as his successor. During his presidency, Tassie was known for his flexibility with regard to the laws of the game. He presided over the reintroduction of the

flick pass The Handball or handpass is a skill in the sport of Australian rules football. Throws are not allowed, making the handball the primary means of disposing of the football by hand, and is executed by holding the ball with one hand and punching it ...

for the 1934 season, and at one point suggested

tackling Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

should be banned in order to free up the flow of play. Tassie died unexpectedly in July 1936, aged 48, while undergoing an operation on his

mastoid process The mastoid part of the temporal bone is the posterior (back) part of the temporal bone, one of the bones of the skull. Its rough surface gives attachment to various muscles (via tendons) and it has openings for blood vessels. From its borders, t ...

. After his death, the

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate matches in Australian rules football, Interstate Carnival or Interstate matches in Australian rules football, Australian interstate championship se ...

was struck in his honour, to be awarded to the best player at each

Australian National Football Carnival Representative matches in Australian rules football are matches between representative teams played under the Australian rules, most notably of the colonies and later Australian states and territories that have been held since 1879. For most ...

.The 1937 Perth Carnival
AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 16 February 2017.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tassie, Eric 1887 births 1936 deaths Australian accountants Australian people of Scottish descent Australian rules football administrators Norwood Football Club administrators People from Adelaide