Gerald Williams (28 September 1877 – 12 May 1901), known to his family as "Joe", 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 St Kilda 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). Williams played his early (pre-St Kilda) football with

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

, in 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), and his later (post-St Kilda) football with West Melbourne, also in the VFA.

Family

The son of Gerald Cadogan Williams (1853-1899), and Marian Williams (1858-1910), née Leighton, Gerald Williams was born in

Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a medi ...

on 28 September 1877.

Football

North Melbourne (VFA)

Recruited from local juniors, Williams played in 11 games and kicked 7 goals for

in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in two seasons (1897 and 1898).

St Kilda (VFL)

Cleared from North Melbourne on 10 May 1899, he made 11 league appearances for St Kilda, six in the

1899 VFL season The 1899 VFL season was the third season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 13 May until 16 September, and comprised a 14- ...

and five in the 1900 season. Three of his four career goals came in St Kilda's 98-point loss to Essendon at East Melbourne in 1899, which was a rare occurrence of one player kicking all of his team's goals in a game. All of his 11 games were in losses.

West Melbourne (VFA)

He was cleared from St Kilda to West Melbourne in the VFA on 18 May 1900. He played 15 games for West Melbourne that season, mainly on the half-forward line, and kicked 10 goals.

Death

Shortly after midnight on 12 May 1901, Williams fell from a platform at

Princes Bridge railway station Princes Bridge was a Melbourne railway station built in 1859 and was the terminus for all Epping line and Hurstbridge line trains. The station was named after the adjacent Princes Bridge, which crosses the Yarra River. Originally Princes Bri ...

and was gravely injured by a shunting train. He died later that day at the

Melbourne Hospital The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), located in Parkville, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research. Th ...

in Parkville, Victoria. The inquest found that his death was accidental.

References

External links

* * 1877 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) St Kilda Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club (VFA) players Accidental deaths in Victoria (state) Railway accident deaths in Australia 1901 deaths {{AFL-bio-1870s-stub