John James Bisset (1 September 1900 – 21 August 1966) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and played for and coached the South Melbourne Football Club in the VFL.

Family

He married Bridget Catherine Quigley (1896–1971) in 1920. Their son, Ray Bisset, played for Fitzroy Second XVIII and Melbourne Second XVIII, before playing for the Moe Football Club; and their daughter married

Des Healey Desmond Jules Healey (5 September 1927 – 18 March 2009) was an Australian rules footballer, who played in the VFL/AFL with the Collingwood Football Club, and was also a first-grade cricketer with the Collingwood Cricket Club. He married the ...

Football

Nar Nar Goon

Bisset started his football career at Nar Nar Goon, captaining their 1921 premiership side. He also played with Nar Nar Goon in 1924 and 1925.

Port Melbourne

He moved to

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...

in the VFA in 1922 was fullback for their premiership side in that year.

Stawell

He was captain-coach of Stawell in the

Wimmera Football League The Wimmera Football League is a major Australian rules country league based in Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns in the Wimmera region: the regional centres along the Western Highway from Ararat to Nhill as well as Minyip-Murto ...

from 1926 to 1927. He began playing as a follower.

Richmond

He moved to Richmond where he made his VFL debut in 1928. He spent two seasons with the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

, 1928 and 1931, both ending in Grand Final losses.

Nhill

In between his two seasons at Richmond he was captain-coach at Nhill. In 1930, he was part of the combined Wimmera Football League team that defeated a combined Gippsland team 11.15 (81) to 4.8 (32), in the Victorian Country Football Championship match, played on Saturday, 9 August 1930, on a very muddy M.C.G.

South Melbourne

In 1932 he was recruited by

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

and became their captain-coach the following season. Bisset had an immediate impact on the club, guiding them to their first premiership in 15 years — the collection of players recruited from interstate in 1932/1933 became known as South Melbourne's "Foreign Legion". He remained coach until the end of the 1936 season having reached the Grand Final in every year.

however could not repeat their 1933 success, losing the Grand Finals by 39, 20 and 11 points respectively.

Port Melbourne

He was appointed captain-coach of Port Melbourne in 1937; however, as a consequence of the team's poor performance, he resigned his position mid-way through the season.

Rainbow

In 1938, he was appointed captain coach of the Rainbow Football Club in the Southern Mallee Football Association. He was unable to play for part of the season due to having fractured ribs. Rainbow lost the 1938 Grand Final against Hopetoun Football Club 21.11 (137) to 11.6 (72).

Military service

He enlisted in the Second AIF in June 1940.Items of Personal Interest
''The (Emerald Hill) Record'', (Saturday, 1 June 1940), p.1
Good Players Few and Far Between
''The (Emerald Hill) Record'', (Saturday, 13 July 1940), p.1
Sportsmen's Honor Roll
''The Weekly Times'', (Saturday, 19 July 1941), p40

Team of the century

Having won 63 of the 80 games that he coached, Bisset was named coach of the Swans' official 'Team of the Century'.

Notes

References

* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996
Men Who Led League Grand Finalists
''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 13 October 1934), p.7

External links

Boyles Football Photos: Jack Bisset
* * *
World War II Nominal Roll: Bissett (sic), John James (VX19505)
note that he took 2 years off his age.
World War II Service Record: Bissett (sic), John James (VX19505)
note that he took 2 years off his age. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisset, Jack 1900 births 1966 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans premiership players Sydney Swans coaches Sydney Swans premiership coaches Richmond Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club coaches Nhill Football Club players Place of birth missing Place of death missing VFL/AFL premiership players VFL/AFL premiership coaches Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Military personnel from Victoria (state)