Vincent Michael Irwin (4 February 1899 – 29 May 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 with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

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) during the 1920s.

Family

The son of John Irwin and Margaret Irwin, née Humphries, Vincent Michael Irwin was born in

West Melbourne, Victoria West Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. West Melbourne recorded a population of 8,025 at the . ...

on 4 February 1899. He married Dora Peters in 1921.

Football

North Melbourne (VFA)

Irwin played a total of 43 games with

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) over three seasons (1919–1921), and scored 34 goals.

Essendon (VFL)

Along with a number of other North Melbourne footballers, including Syd Barker,

Charlie Hardy Charlie Hardy (1 April 1887 – 19 May 1968) was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1910s and Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the early 19 ...

, Ralph Gardiner, and

Tommy Jenkins Thomas Ernest Jenkins (born 2 December 1947) is an English retired footballer. He played professionally in two continents as a winger and is now a soccer coach in the United States. Early career Born in Bethnal Green, Jenkins played for Ea ...

—who, upon the (1921) disbandment of North Melbourne, in anticipation of the (eventually unsuccessful) proposed merge of the North Melbourne VFA club into the VFL club Essendon—Irwin moved to Essendon. Irwin started his career as a defender, and played in the

back pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

when Essendon won the 1923 premiership. In 1924, he moved from the backline to the

forward pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

, kicking 10 goals against St Kilda, at Windy Hill, on 14 June 1924. He finished 1924 with 28 goals and in 1925 and 1926 kicked 27 and 30 goals, respectively. In total, Irwin played 78 games for Essendon, kicking 102 goals, and was a four-time Victorian interstate representative.

"Mosquito Fleet"

Irwin was only 5'6" tall; and, along with six others — Jack Garden (5'5"),

(5'3"), Frank Maher (5'6"), George "Tich" Shorten (5'5"), Jimmy Sullivan (5'6"), and

Rowley Watt Rowland Hill Watt (17 July 1898 – 27 July 1970) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Watt arrived at Essendon from Rochester and spent a season with Essendon Association befor ...

(5'4") — Maher was one of Essendon's legendary "mosquito fleet". According to some, (for example
Essendon's Famous "Mosquito Fleet" is a Worry to Opposing Sides
''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 22 May 1926), p.6) there were another two Essendon players that were diminutive enough to be considered to be "mosquitoes":

Garnet Campbell Harry Garnet Campbell (31 July 1903 – 21 January 1981) was an Australian rules footballer who played for and coached Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football Campbell, noted for his strong disposal skills and pace, was best ...

(5'7½"), and

Greg Stockdale Francis Gregory Stockdale (30 July 1899 – 14 May 1949) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1920s. Family The son of William Hallett Stockdale (1859–1927), and Agnes ...

(5'8"). The term "mosquito fleet" was drawn by analogy from a maritime expression relating to particular assemblies of small vessels (e.g., the South Australian "mosquito fleet", the Queensland "mosquito fleet", a number of different U.S. "mosquito fleets", etc.).

South Bendigo (BFL)

In 1927, Irwin was appointed captain-coach of the

South Bendigo Football Club The South Bendigo Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bloods'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the city of Bendigo, Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Bendigo Football Netball League. History South ...

in the Bendigo Football League (BFL), replacing the former South Melbourne footballer Arthur Hando.

Oakleigh (VFA)

In 1929, two new teams, Oakleigh and

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

, were admitted to the Victorian Football Association (VFA) competition. In 1929, along with Geelong's

Eric Fleming Eric Fleming (born Edward Heddy Jr.; July 4, 1925 – September 28, 1966) was an American actor known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the CBS television series '' Rawhide''. Early life Fleming was born as Edward Heddy Jr. in Santa Paul ...

, St Kilda's

Wal Gunnyon Walter Gunnyon (16 May 1895 – 27 December 1972) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League and St Kilda in the VFL in the 1920s. Playing career Gunnyon played four seasons wit ...

, Essendon's Frank Maher, and

Chris Gomez Christopher Cory Gomez (born June 16, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He bats and throws right-handed. College career He played park league baseball in Lakewood for Mike Fahey. After playing baseball at Lakewood High School i ...

, and Richmond's Fred Goding, and

George Rudolph George Ernest Rudolph (29 April 1901 – 1 April 1967) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1920s. Family The son of Frank Rudolph and Eliza Rudolph, née Barrett, George E ...

, all of whom went to Oakleigh without a clearance from the VFL (in doing so all were automatically disqualified from the VFL for three years). Irwin also went to Oakleigh — albeit with a clearance from South Bendigo. He played a single season of 22 games with Oakleigh, and scored 39 goals.

Yallourn (CGFL)

In 1930, Irwin was appointed captain-coach of the Yallourn Football Club in the Central Gippsland Football League (CGFL), and coached them for six seasons (1930–1935).Yallourn's Coach
''The Weekly Times'', (Saturday, 4 May 1935), p.60
Yallourn Strong
''The Weekly Times'', (Saturday, 25 April 1936), p.71 during which time the team won three premierships (1931, 1932, and 1933) and was runner-up twice (1934, and 1935).

Death

He died at

Yallourn, Victoria Yallourn, Victoria was a company town in Victoria, Australia built between the 1920s and 1950s to house employees of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, who operated the nearby Yallourn Power Station complex. However, expansion of the ...

on 29 May 1959.

Footnotes

References

* Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

* *
Vince Irwin: ''The VFA Project''.

Vince Irwin: ''Boyles Football Photos''.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Vince 1899 births 1959 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club Premiership players North Melbourne Football Club (VFA) players One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from West Melbourne, Victoria