Henry Richard Head (3 April 1887 – 20 December 1940 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia), 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 who played 143 games with West Adelaide in the

South Australian Football League 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 ...

(SAFL).

Career

Head made his league debut in 1906 as a teenager, and, in 1909, became just the second ever West Adelaide player to win a

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 ...

, following on from teammate James Tierney's win in 1908. ''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...

'' described him as a deserving winner of the award. "The one man who shone above all others was Head, West Adelaide's centre pivot", the paper reported. "In nearly every match in which the red-and-blacks took part he was the best of the 36. On the ground he was too clever for all opponents, and in the air about the only player who eclipsed him was Hutton, of Norwood. Much of the success which West Adelaide achieved was due to his wonderful skill, resourcefulness and judgment, with which he associated considerable speed, absolute unselfishness and a gentlemanly demeanor. If anybody deserves the Magarey medal, Head does." He was appointed club captain in 1913 and also captained the South Australia interstate side that year. Head was chosen to represent South Australia more often than not during his career, playing 17 games in total for his state. In 1921, Head crossed to Sturt, but he managed just four games before announcing his retirement. He returned to the league, however, the following season as a non-playing coach at Glenelg, and with the side struggling, he took the field for seven games that year to finish with a total of 154 SAFL games. Head continued as Glenelg coach in 1923, his last season of coaching in the SANFL. Several years after quitting active involvement with football, Head returned as a member of the first Umpires Appointment Board in 1931 alongside other well known figures, such as

Vic Richardson Victor York Richardson (7 September 189430 October 1969) was a leading Australian sportsman of the 1920s and 1930s, captaining the Australia cricket team and the South Australia Australian rules football team, representing Australia in baseba ...

, and later became chairman. Head was still serving football in that capacity when he died on 23 December 1940 at the age of 53. In 2002, Head was one of the 113 inaugural inductees into the

South Australian Football Hall of Fame The South Australian Football Hall of Fame enshrines those who have made a most significant contribution to the game of Australian Football. The Hall of Fame was established in 2002 when 114 outstanding individuals became inaugural inductees. S ...

, and he is also a member of the West Adelaide Hall of Fame.SANFL Hall of Fame – H.R. (Dick) Head
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Richard West Adelaide Football Club players Sturt Football Club players Glenelg Football Club players Glenelg Football Club coaches Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from South Australia South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees 1887 births 1940 deaths