Wellesley Hastings "Wels" Eicke (27 September 1893 – 10 February 1980) 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 in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Early life and career

Eicke was the younger son of George Augustus Eicke (died 28 March 1927) of

St. Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19, ...

, and Jessie Forrester, eldest daughter of Thomas Thompson of

Acheron, Victoria Acheron is a locality in Victoria, Australia. At the , Acheron had a population of 146. Overview The locality is located along the Maroondah Highway, near the junction of Acheron River and Goulburn River. It was initially known as Acheron Lower, ...

, grazier.''The Argus'' (Melbourne) 15 April 1916, p. 13 He was a talented young sportsman who was a champion swimmer at school level. In 1909, Eicke debuted with St Kilda at 15 years and 315 days old – becoming one of only six VFL/AFL footballers to have played at 15. He married 11 March 1916 at Holy Trinity Church, Balaclava, to Alberta Maude, only daughter of A. E. Woodland of Caulfield, Victoria. As of December 2022, Eicke holds the record for playing with the most teammates (at 299).

Football career

Eicke began his career playing as a

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

, but became known as one of the VFL's greatest defenders. He was a fine kick, an expert place kick, and a great mark, despite being only 5 foot 9 inches (1.75 metres) tall.

St Kilda (VFL)

Eicke won the inaugural St. Kilda Best and Fairest in 1914, and he went on to win it another two times. He was

captain-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of St. Kilda in 1919 and 1924. In Round 12, 1924, Eicke was notably the first of only three captains in league history to have called for a headcount; the teams were even.

North Melbourne (VFL)

In 1925, he coached North Melbourne in their

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in the VFL.

St Kilda

Having played in four of the 1926 season's first five matches for North Melbourne, he was cleared back to St Kilda, where he played another three games.

Prahran (VFA)

He was cleared from St Kilda to play with Prahran in May 1929.

Brighton (VFA)

He was appointed coach of Brighton in 1934 and 1935.

St Kilda Football Club

Eicke was later a committeeman of the St Kilda Football Club. He resigned from the committee in 1964, due to his opposition to the club's move from the

St Kilda Cricket Ground Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda Junc ...

to Moorabbin Oval.

Death and posthumous honours

Eicke died in 1980 at the age of 86 in Prahran, Victoria. He was one of the inaugural inductees into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

in 1996. He was also inducted into the St Kilda Hall of Fame in 2007.

Footnotes

References

Wells, S.G., "Great Player", ''The (Melbourne) Herald'', (Saturday, 28 July 1923), p.4.
* 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

*
Wels Eicke, ''Boyles Football Photos''Profile at Saints Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eicke, Wels Trevor Barker Award winners 1893 births 1980 deaths Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents St Kilda Football Club players St Kilda Football Club coaches North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club coaches Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian rules footballers from Melbourne People from Prahran, Victoria