John Frederick Dawes McDiarmid (3 October 1903 – 10 August 1974) 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 the West Perth and

Claremont Football Club The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are na ...

s in the

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WANFL). He was inducted into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Family

McDiarmid was the oldest of four brothers who each played football in Western Australia. His brother, Norman, played senior football for West Perth and the state team, and the two other brothers, Robert and Ron, played junior and reserves football for West Perth. Their father, Frederick McDiarmid, had played for South Adelaide in the

South Australian Football Association The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SAFA), and emigrated to Western Australia in 1900.

Football

After beginning with West Perth's affiliated junior club in the Western Australian Football Association, McDiarmid debuted with the senior West Perth side in 1923, and made an immediate impact. He played his first match for Western Australia against in the 1924 Australasian Football Carnival in Hobart. He also played in the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

and 1930 Carnivals, held in Melbourne and Adelaide, respectively. McDiarmid was made vice-captain of Western Australia for the 1930 carnival, and was again named vice-captain for the 1933 Carnival, held in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, but missed a large portion of the 1933 season due to a knee injury, and was unable to take part. He announced his retirement at the end of the 1934 season, but the following season, transferred to , where he played six games before retiring again. In total, McDiarmid played 183 games of senior WAFL football, 177 for West Perth and six for Claremont, as well as representing his state on 25 occasions. McDiarmid was one of the largest WAFL players at the time, in terms of both height and size, standing just under , and weighing at his peak. In 1929, '' The West Australian'' described McDiarmid as "the most rugged and effective

follower Follower or variants may refer to: People and roles * Follower (Australian rules football), Australian rules position * Follower, a colloquial term for a debt collector * Camp follower, a civilian who follows in the wake of an army *Friending and ...

in the league" and the "ideal heavyweight footballer", describing his "massive shoulders and chest and footballer's thighs". At West Perth, he often partnered with Don Marinko in the ruck, with Marinko serving as "tap" ruckman and McDiarmid as ruck "

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

". The two also partnered in state matches, on occasion.

Recognition

In October 2000, McDiarmid was named in West Perth's Team of the Century. In 2004, he was an inaugural inductee into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.Hall of Fame inductees
– wafootball.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2012.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDiarmid, Jack 1903 births 1974 deaths Australian people of Scottish descent Claremont Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees West Perth Football Club players

Family

Football

Recognition

See also

Footnotes