John Walter 'Wally' Beckwith (30 May 1893 – 7 December 1983) was a professional runner and
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 for
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 ...
and was a boundary umpire in the
Victorian Football League (VFL).
Athletic career
Beckwith was a professional sprinter who competed under the
Victorian Athletic League (VAL) from 1909–1934. As both a flat-runner and a hurdler he was most successful during his early years which included a third-place in the 1915
Stawell Gift
The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short-distance running race. It is the main event in an annual carnival held on Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, St ...
and a win in the Sprint Handicap (75 yards) at the same meeting. He had won the latter event in 1913 and could have won three in a row had he not submitted an incomplete entry for in 1914.
Other wins of note included the 1918 Shepparton Gift and a Wangaratta Gift. He was winning races as late as 1930 when he won the Lancefield Gift.
In 1938 Beckwith was appointed one of the handicappers for the Stawell meeting and later that same year was appointed as a handicapper for the VAL. Having filled further roles as VAL steward and committee member he was elected president in 1947 and served until 1950. He became an honorary life member of the VAL in 1951 and of the Stawell Athletic Club in 1962.
Football career
Beckwith played his early football at Clifton Hill and West Melbourne CYMS. He made his only league appearance in the second round of the
1918 VFL season
The 1918 VFL season was the 22nd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria.
Played during the final year of World War I, eight of the league's nine senior clubs com ...
, when he played in Fitzroy's 40-point loss to eventual premiers South Melbourne at
Brunswick Street Oval.
His son
John had a much more successful career, playing in five premiership teams at Melbourne.
Umpiring career
A knee injury forced Beckwith to retire from playing and he concentrated on athletics for most of the 1920s. It was common for professional athletes to use boundary umpiring as a way of maintaining fitness and Beckwith applied to the VFL in 1928. He was accepted and placed on the list of boundary umpires for that season.
He made his debut in the first round officiating at the
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, ...
versus
North Melbourne match earning Heritage Number 152. In two seasons Beckwith officiated in 22 VFL and 4 country matches. His last match was the
1929 Grand Final.
[Flegg, David. Records. Accessed 30 November 2013. Microsoft Access database.]
References
*Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
*Watt, Garry (2008). ''Stawell Gift almanac''. Ringwood North: Legacy Books.
External links
*
AFLUA: Wally Beckwith statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Wally
1893 births
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Fitzroy Football Club players
Australian Football League umpires
1983 deaths
Australian male sprinters