Jack Whelan is a former

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 with Brunswick 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). A ruckman and follower originally from St Kevin's College, Whelan joined Brunswick and played his first senior football there in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. As a player, he was unremarkable in his early years, and his preference to play without glasses meant that his

near-sightedness Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

limited his vision to about thirty yards. Whelan also involved himself in the club's administration, and was the first active player to be elected vice-president of the club, holding the role by 1950. During 1949, Whelan took the novel step of wearing

contact lenses Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

during games; contact lenses were still a relatively new and expensive invention, and Whelan's lenses cost him forty guineas. His form improved significantly and quickly, and by the 1950 season at age 26 he was one of the VFA's star followers. His rapid rise led to his selection as captain of the VFA team at the 1950 Interstate Carnival, despite not even holding the position of vice-captain of his club. He was named as second follower in the ''Sporting Life'' Team of the Year, the only VFA player selected in the team. In 1951, Whelan received offers of coaching roles at different clubs, but ultimately remained at Brunswick and accepted the captaincy. However, after a dispute between Whelan and the club over how much he would be paid for the role, Whelan withdrew from the club's Round 1 match, and was then suspended by the club. It was a month before Brunswick reinstated him to the team, and he lost the captaincy in the process. Nevertheless, he remained one of the stars of the association, once again captaining the VFA in interstate football in 1951 and being the only VFA player named in the ''Sporting Life'' Team of the Year. In 1952, Whelan took an offer as captain-coach of the

Euroa Football Club The Euroa Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Magpies'', is an Australian rules football and netball club sited in the town of Euroa, in the north-east of Victoria. The club teams has competed in the Goulburn Valley Football League since 19 ...

in the Waranga North-Eastern Football League, spending two seasons at the country club. He trained with and sought a clearance to

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 ...

club in the 1954 pre-season, but retired before the season after breaking down with a knee injury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Jack Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Brunswick Football Club players Euroa Football Club players Possibly living people