Frederick Henry "Harry" Harker (22 December 1887 – 21 June 1961) 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 originally played for the

Brunswick Football Club Brunswick Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the Victorian Football League, Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1897 until 1991. Based in Brunswick, Victoria, for most of their time in the Association 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 then played for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

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).

Family

The son of Thomas Harker, and Catherine Harker, née Griffiths, Frederick Henry Harker was born in

Essendon, Victoria Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Essendon recorded a population of 21,240 at the 2021 census. Essen ...

on 22 December 1887. He married Louisa Kimber (1888–1975) in 1913.

Career

A farmer in Bayles, Victoria, Harker played with Brunswick in the VFA for eight years, before making the decision to play for the Melbourne in the VFL, the highest level of Australian rules football competition at the time.Main & Holmesby (1992), p.173. He debuted for Melbourne in round 2 of the 1920 season against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

, at 32 years of age, making Harker the oldest player to ever debut for the Melbourne Football Club. In his first three seasons, in 1920, 1921 and 1922, Harker was Melbourne's leading goal kicker, with 23, 47 and 47 goals respectively. In the 1921 season, in round 21, Harker kicked ten goals against

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

,Miller, Allen, Panther, Carroll and Hutchinson (31 July 2010)
"MCC Library Fact Sheet"
Melbourne Cricket Club. Retrieved 18 August 2010. in his best performance in the VFL. Melbourne won the match kicking 16 goals in total. Harker still holds the record for the most goals kicked on the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

(MCG) in round 18. The 1923 season was, however, less successful for Harker, playing only six games, losing all of them and kicking just 13 goals. 1924 would be Harker's last season for Melbourne and his last in the VFL. It was a slight improvement on 1923, as he played seven games and kicked 16 goals, but, ultimately, Harker retired at the end of the season, playing his last game at 36 years of age and "regret

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

that he had not gone to the VFL in the first place".

Later life

Harker was the Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Brunswick from 1952 to 1954."Past Treasurers"
. Rotary Club of Brunswick. Retrieved 18 August 2010.

Death

He died in Mildura, Victoria on 21 June 1961.

Footnotes

References

* Main, Jim & Holmesby, Russell (1992). ''The Encyclopedia of League Footballers'', (Melbourne), Wilkinson Books. .
'Leader', "Personal Talks About Prominent Footballers: Melbourne's Farmer Forward: Harry Harker Leaves His Cows to Kick Goals, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 22 July 1922), p.6.
* "Wells" ( Samuel Garnet Wells (1885–1972)
"The Men who Shot and Scored Freely", ''The Herald'', (Friday, 21 July 1922), p.4.

External links

* *
Harry Harker: ''demonwiki''.

Harry Harker: ''THe VFA Project''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harker, Harry 1887 births 1961 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Melbourne Football Club players Brunswick Football Club players