Lodovic Hugh Gavin (25 October 1878 – 13 November 1940) 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 108 games for the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

in the years following the formation of 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).

Football

Gavin, a key defender, was a member of Essendon's inaugural premiership side in 1897 and was listed as Essendon's best player in the 1901 grand final. In 1902 he supposedly won a

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award for his performances for Essendon. He was a regular Victorian representative in interstate football and in 1903 he spent a season in the West Australian goldfields with

Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of on ...

, and being described as the top player of the goldfields in that year. He returned home to Essendon in 1904 and during the season took over as captain of the club. In 1905 he played with Essendon Association 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 ...

. He then returned to Western Australia and played with the Boulder Stars in 1906 where he was subsequently suspended for "professionalism" after he sued a club official for agreed wages. Despite his honesty he was sidelined for two years; however, his career still flourished. He captained the 1910 Goldfields side that beat

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

and then was captain-coach of the 1911 Western Australian carnival side which played at

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 ...

. In 1915 he captained Mines Rovers, of the Western Australian Goldfields, to a premiership.

Death

Hugh Gavin died on 13 November 1940 in Melbourne.

References

* Everett, Les. book ''Gravel Rash – 100 Years of Goldfields Football''.
'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
* Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. * Maplestone, Michael. ''Those Magnificent Men''.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Hugh 1878 births 1940 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club Premiership players Boulder City Football Club players Mines Rovers Football Club players Essendon Association Football Club players People from Stawell, Victoria Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players