Ernest Wilfred Schunke (26 October 1882 – 6 November 1922) was an
Australian rules footballer who played with
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
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). He has the unusual distinction of having been a VFL
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
, before his VFL playing career.
Family
The son of August Henry Schunke (1850–1928), a butcher, and Elizabeth Schunke, née Coleman, Ernest grew up with three siblings,
Charles Henry Schunke (1879–1924) who played for Carlton, Edwin James (1887–1974), and Rose Elizabeth Langstreth (1885–1940), née Schunke.
[
He married Helena Francesca "Nellie" Spackman in 1913. They had two children: Joy and Ivy.][
]
Football
Umpire
Schunke was a boundary umpire for 11 games in the 1904 VFL season
The 1904 VFL season was the eighth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 7 May until 17 September, and comprised a 17 ...
.[ It was the year that the VFL introduced boundary umpires.
]
Richmond
Recruited by Richmond from Carlton Districts, he played in the final six rounds of the 1909 VFL season
The 1909 VFL season was the 13th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured ten clubs, ran from 1 May until 2 October, and comprised an 18-game ...
.
Death
He was killed almost instantaneously in a work accident at the James Moore and Son's timber yards in South Melbourne on 6 November 1922, when a cutting knife from a shaping machine, which had come loose, flew through the air and struck him just above the heart.Struck to the Heart: Timber Worker Killed by Cutter, ''The Herald'', (Thursday, 23 November 1922), p.4Timber Mill Fatality: Question of Machine Guards, ''The Argus'', (Friday, 24 November 1922), p.7Fatality at Timber Works: Steel Cutter Penetrates Man's Body, ''The Age'', (Friday, 24 November 1922), p.11.
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Footnotes
References
* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, (Melbourne), 1996.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schunke, Ernie
1882 births
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Richmond Football Club players
Australian Football League umpires
Industrial accident deaths
Accidental deaths in Victoria (Australia)
1922 deaths
People from Carlton, Victoria