Henry George 'Harry' Saunders (21 May 1898 – 9 December 1930) 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
Collingwood and coached
Footscray 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 Henry Saunders (1859-1921), and Hannah Saunders (1863-1941), née Guiney, Henry George Saunders was born at
Portland, Victoria
Portland is a city in Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 census the population was 10,016, increasing ...
on 21 May 1898.
He married Millicent May "Mollie" Allen (1900-1963), later Mrs. Walter William James Crawford, in 1922.
Education
He attended
Christian Brothers' College, East Melbourne.
Football
Collingwood (VFL)
Saunders was recruited locally to Collingwood and went on to play 11 seasons with the club as a defender, mostly at full-back. He was a member of Collingwood premiership teams in 1917 and 1919 as well as playing in three losing Grand Finals. Saunders also represented the VFL at interstate football on three occasions.
1922
In 1922, following a game where he had knocked out Carlton's
Alex Duncan
George Robert Alexander Duncan ( – ) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League, for Stratford in the Gippsland Football League, for Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Association, a ...
, the VFL Tribunal suspended him for six matches. He was also charged by the police, found guilty in court, and fined £5, in default a month's imprisonment.
1926
After playing the opening two rounds of the 1926 season Saunders retired from playing.
Footscray (VFL)
He was cleared to Footscray in mid-season 1926, and coached them, as non-playing coach, in 10 games for three wins. South Melbourne's
Paddy Scanlan
Patrick James Scanlan (6 September 1896 – 1 January 1977) was an Australian rules footballer who played with and coached South Melbourne and Footscray in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australia ...
was appointed as Footscray's captain-coach at the beginning of the 1927 season.
Death
Saunders died on 9 December 1930 following an operation for
pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...
, aged 32.
Star Full Back: Late H. Saunders of Collingwood, ''The (Melbourne) Herald'', (Wednesday, 10 December 1930), p.3.
/ref>
References
External links
*
from AFL Tables.
*
Harry Saunders' profile
at Collingwood Forever
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Harry
1898 births
1930 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Collingwood Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club premiership players
Western Bulldogs coaches
Deaths from pancreatitis
VFL/AFL premiership players