Deverick John "Mick" Cronin (18 March 1911 – 1 September 1979) 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 ...

player, umpire and television commentator in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Private life

Playing career

He played 164 games for East Perth from 1930 to 1941 winning the club's

fairest and best In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award in 1931. In 1936 Cronin was made Captain – a role he would hold until the end of the 1940 season. A forceful, energetically dynamic performer, Cronin was just as much at home on the half forward line as in the centre, and it was as a half forward flanker that he represented the Royals in their winning grand final team of 1936. Cronin earned his first Western Australia cap against South Australia in 1933 after being selected as part of the squad for the Sydney Carnival and went on to play 12 games for his state. He was then at the peak of his form during the 1937 interstate football carnival in Perth when he put in two near best on ground performances in helping Western Australia to annihilate South Australia by 19 goals, and get to within 8 points of an all powerful 'Big V' combination. His performance earned him the inaugural

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate matches in Australian rules football, Interstate Carnival or Interstate matches in Australian rules football, Australian interstate championship se ...

. In 1939, he took over as coach of the club from

Jerry Dolan John "Jerry" Dolan (25 December 1901 – 26 December 1986) was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) before becoming a politician. He played for as well as coached East Fremantle and was also a ...

, steering his side to the finals. Herb Screaigh took over in 1940, but Cronin was again coaching in 1941 after a series of bad leg injuries limited his playing appearances, and adversely affected his form when he was able to front up. He was made a life member of the club in 1941.

Post-playing

After his playing career he became a league umpire and he umpired the entire 1947 WANFL finals series (in those days there was only one field umpire during a game). It was also 1947 that saw him venture to

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

to umpire in the first post-war Australian interstate championship series. Cronin again coached East Perth from 1951 to 1955 – with his best successes coming in 1952 and 1953 when East Perth made it to the 1st semi final but lost. He also coached the state in 1951. His coaching may not have reaped much for the Royals, in fact his final stint came at the end of a prolonged era of frustration for the club. However under Cronin the calibre of such players as Ted Kilmurray,

Paul Seal Paul Nathan Seal (born February 27, 1952) is a former American football player. He played college football as a tight end for the University of Michigan from 1971 to 1973 and professional football as a tight end in the National Football League ( ...

, Kevin McGill, John Watts, Ray Webster and most notable of all

Graham 'Polly' Farmer Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer (10 March 1935 14 August 2019) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the East Perth Football Club and West Perth Football Club in th ...

joined the club. From this one would suggest that he helped lay the foundations for the East Perth golden era that would begin when Jack Sheedy took over in 1956.

Other

The West Australian Football Commission now presents the 'Mick Cronin Best Feature Story or Program' award to the best author/producer/presenter of a television feature story, documentary or program based on the WAFL or the AFL. He was inducted into the

West Australian Football Hall of Fame The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise and enshrine those who have made a significant contribution to Australian rules football in Western Australia. People eligible for inclusion are players, coaches, umpires, ...

in March 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Mick 1911 births 1979 deaths East Perth Football Club players East Perth Football Club coaches West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian rules footballers from Western Australia West Australian Football League umpires Australian television personalities Australian rules football commentators People from Wagin, Western Australia Deaths from aortic aneurysm Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers