Joseph Reginald Whitehead (25 April 1899 – 25 December 1963) 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 with

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

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 eldest child of Joseph Whitehead (1868-1928), and Margaret Amanda Whitehead (1867-1936), née Smith, Joseph Reginald Whitehead was born in Richmond on 25 April 1899. He married Beryl Mary Maunsell (1911-1980) on 28 December 1940.

Cricket

A fast bowler, he played with the Richmond Cricket Club's First XI, in the District Cricket competition, over two seasons: 1920/1021 and 1921/1922.Hogan (1996), p.245.

Football

Richmond (VFL)

Having played with South Melbourne Districts in 1919, Whitehead moved to Richmond where he topped the reserves goal-kicking tally in both 1920 and 1921. He played two senior games for Richmond in the 1921 VFL season.

Camberwell (MDL)

He left to join

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, then in the Melbourne Districts League. A good year in 1924, where he kicked 68 goals.

Hawthorn (VFL)

He transferred to

when they joined the VFL in 1925. He played at full forward in their first ever VFL match but was dropped after one week and did not play another senior VFL football match.

Camberwell (VFA)

In 1927 Whitehead was granted a permit to return to Camberwell.

Tooronga (MAFA)

He played for the Tooronga Football Club in the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA) for two seasons: 1928 and 1929.

Later life

Reg Whitehead worked as a trimmer for most of his life.

Military service

He served with the RAAF in World War II.

Death

Whitehead died in the

Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital The Austin Hospital is a public teaching hospital in Melbourne's north-eastern suburb of Heidelberg, and is administered by Austin Health, along with the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. History The Au ...

in 1963 and is buried at Springvale Botanical Cemetery.

Notes

References

* Hogan P: ''The Tigers of Old'', Richmond FC, (Melbourne), 1996. * Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2009), ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.)'', Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing.
World War Two Nominal Roll: Leading Aircraftman Joseph Reginald Whitehead (126222), ''Department of Veterans' Affairs''.
* A9301, 126222: World War Two Service Record: Leading Aircraftman Joseph Reginald Whitehead (126222), ''National Archives of Australia''. * A13859, 126222: World War Two Service Record: Leading Aircraftman Joseph Reginald Whitehead (126222), ''National Archives of Australia''.

External links

* *
Reg Whitehead, at ''The VFA Project''.
1899 births 1963 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Richmond Football Club players Camberwell Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club players Australian military personnel of World War II {{AFL-bio-1899-stub