James Michael "Sorry" Tierney (27 November 1878 – 20 March 1959) 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 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 the South Australian Football League (SAFL), mainly with the

West Adelaide Football Club West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Commonly known as The Bloods and Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval (South Australia), Richmond Oval (current ...

Biography

Tierney was born in

Gawler, South Australia Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

, to Luke Tierney, an Irish emigrant from

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, and Mary Jane Havens. His father died in 1889, when James was a child.

Career

Tierney, a Sand carter, had three stints at West Adelaide. He made his debut on 10 August 1901 and stayed with the club in 1902. He played 18 games and kicked seven goals during this time. He then moved to the

West Torrens Football Club West Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1897 to 1990. In 1991, the club merged with neighbouring Woodville Football Club to form the Woodville ...

in 1903 where he earned selection for the South Australian state team. On reaching Melbourne, with the team, Tierney refused to play, in protest over the non-selection of Sturt ruckman "Taffy" Wayne. As a result, the SAFA suspended Tierney from interstate games for three years, though he was still able to play league football. As a result of this Tierney left West Torrens with only four games left in the season and finished the year playing for the Alma Football Club in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

. 1904 saw Tierney return to West Adelaide for one season before moving to play with

South Adelaide The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium 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) premiership winning team 12 9 (81) to 7 10 (52) in a match played at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

. During his third and last stint at West Adelaide Tierney partnered Tom Leahy in the ruck with great success, winning the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

in 1908 to become the first player from the club to win the award. He also formed a winning combination with West's brilliant centreman and 1909 Magarey Medalist Richard "Dick" Head. After West finished a disappointing fifth in 1910, Tierney (along with Leahy) joined

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

for the 1911 season. It was reported that while still having the stamina, Tierney's reflexes had slowed down by this time and after a lacklustre 1911 season he decided to retire from league football. Despite his three-year ban from interstate football, Tierney played in nine games for South Australia.

Later life

Tierney later worked as a labourer. In March 1917, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Adelaide, but was discharged three months later after being declared unfit for service. He had suffered from poor vision for several years, and was nearly blind in one eye after being hit in the eye with a rock two years prior.''Australia, WWI Service Records, 1914–1920'' Tierney later moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, where he died in 1959 at the age of 80.

References

External links

*
West Adelaide profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tierney, James 1878 births 1959 deaths West Adelaide Football Club players West Torrens Football Club players South Adelaide Football Club players North Adelaide Football Club players South Broken Hill Football Club players Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from South Australia People from Gawler, South Australia Australian people of Irish descent Australian Roman Catholics Australian military personnel of World War I

Biography

Career

Later life

See also

References

Further reading

External links