Joseph Francis McShane (29 November 1868 – 26 July 1950) 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 in 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).

Family

The son of Philip McShane (1835-1908), and Mary Ann McShane (1836-1912), née McCabe, Joseph Francis McShane was born at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

on 29 November 1868. His brother, Patrick George McShane (1858–1903), played football for Fitzroy and Geelong in the VFA, and played Test Cricket for Australia. He married Joanna Ryan (1862-1932), at Melbourne, on 5 July 1882.

Football

Geelong (VFA/VFL)

One of the six McShane brothers who played in the VFA or VFL (or both) for Geelong, McShane started his career at Geelong 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) in 1887, and played 210 games for the club (135 in the VFA and 75 in the VFL), becoming the first Geelong player to play 200 games for the club before moving to Carlton in 1902.

1899

In 1899, he was the first player to kick 10 or more goals in a VFL/AFL game, scoring 11 against St Kilda, whose one-point total in the same match become the still-standing record for the lowest-score by a team in VFL/AFL history. At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for ''The Argus'' ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition: ::Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong) ::Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne) ::Centres:

Fred Leach John Frederick Leach (6 March 1878 – 14 April 1908) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Thomas Leach (1847-1916), and Emma Bunkin Leac ...

(Collingwood),

Firth McCallum Firth William McCallum (27 December 1872 – 11 July 1910) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL). At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion playe ...

(Geelong),

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...

(Essendon) ::Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood),

Eddie Drohan Edward Patrick Drohan (17 July 1876 – 28 July 1938) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club and Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) before becoming an umpire and a coach. Droha ...

(Fitzroy),

Herb Howson Herbert Howson (11 August 1872 – 8 May 1948) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football A wingman, Howson played with South Melbourne for four seasons in the Victorian ...

(South Melbourne) ::Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon),

Eddy James Edwin Ernest 'Eddy' James (14 February 1874 – 16 September 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the years before and following the formation of the VFL. Football James started his career as a backman, playing ...

(Geelong),

Charlie Colgan Charlie Colgan (9 February 1878 – 25 July 1935) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", th ...

(South Melbourne) ::Ruck:

Mick Pleass George Victor "Mick" Pleass (12 November 1874 – 27 August 1925) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Essendon in the VFA and Victorian Football League (VFL). Football Pleass was a follower and played his ea ...

(South Melbourne),

Frank Hailwood Frank Hailwood (3 April 1873 – 21 May 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family One of the eight children of Joseph Hailwood (1834–1912), and Ellen ...

(Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong) ::Rovers:

Dick Condon Richard Condon (19 March 1876 – 27 December 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and Richmond in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1894-1900, 1902-1906 a ...

(Collingwood),

Bill McSpeerin William Joseph McSpeerin (25 September 1874 – 3 June 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of James McSpeerin (1846-1909), and Catherine McSp ...

(Fitzroy),

Teddy Rankin Edwin Walter "Teddy" Rankin (11 March 1872 – 31 July 1944) was an Australian rules footballer, originally with Riversdale, who began playing with Geelong in the VFA in 1891, and later played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family ...

(Geelong). From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — he selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.

Carlton (VFL)

McShane retired following the 1904 Grand Final against

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

: at the time, his career total of 258 games was second in elite Victorian football behind his longtime Geelong teammate Peter Burns (305 games, 216 in the VFA and 89 in the VFL), and third in elite Australian rules football behind Burns and the South Australian Jack "Dinny" Reedman (281 games, would retire at the end of 1909 with 319 games).

Death

He died at the Caritas Christi Hospice, in

Kew, Victoria Kew (;) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of Victor ...

on 26 July 1950.Funeral Notices: McShane, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 27 July 1950), p.8.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2002), ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.)'', Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content.
Football Memories: Joe McShane's Experiences: Ruck-Man and Captain, ''The Geelong Advertiser'', (Saturday, 30 August 1924), p.4.

'M. M. McC.', "The Famous Six McShane Bothers", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 3 October 1936), p.8.

External links

* *
Joe McShane
at ''Blueseum'' 1868 births 1950 deaths Australian rules footballers from Geelong Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Geelong Football Club (VFA) players Carlton Football Club players Geelong Football Club players Carji Greeves Medal winners {{AFL-bio-1860s-stub