Edwin Ernest 'Eddy' James (14 February 1874 – 16 September 1937) was an
Australian rules footballer who played for
Geelong in the years before and following the formation of the
VFL.
Football
James started his career as a backman, playing a game at 15 after Geelong were short for players.
He moved to the forward line in his return in 1892, and in 1895 finished with 24 goals to be equal third in the VFA goalkicking.
In the inaugural VFL season in
1897
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...
, he kicked 22 goals in the home-and-away season to share the
Leading Goalkicker Award with
Jack Leith; incidentally, this is the lowest amount of goals to have ever earned this award—and it will likely hold this record in perpetuity due to the high-scoring nature of the modern game. His end-of-year tally of 27 goals (including finals) was also the most in the league for that year. He kicked a career-high seven goals in game against
St Kilda in 1898.
He again topped the VFL's goalkicking in
1899
Events January 1899
* January 1
** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.
** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City.
* January 2 –
**Bolivia sets up a c ...
with 31 goals, and he was rewarded with selection for
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
in an interstate match against
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. James also has the dubious distinction of setting the all-time record for the most
behinds kicked by a player in a game during this season, with an individual score of 5 goals and 16 behinds against
St Kilda.
At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for ''
The Argus'' ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition:
Backs:
Maurie Collins (Essendon),
Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood),
Peter Burns (Geelong); Halfbacks:
Pat Hickey (Fitzroy),
George Davidson (South Melbourne),
Alf Wood (Melbourne); Centres:
Fred Leach (Collingwood),
Firth McCallum (Geelong),
Harry Wright
William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...
(Essendon); Wings:
Charlie Pannam (Collingwood),
Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy),
Herb Howson (South Melbourne); Forwards:
Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong),
Charlie Colgan (South Melbourne); Ruck:
Mick Pleass (South Melbourne),
Frank Hailwood
Frank Hailwood (3 April 1873 – 21 May 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
One of the eight children of Joseph Hailwood (1834–1912), and Ellen ...
(Collingwood),
Joe McShane (Geelong); Rovers:
Dick Condon
Richard Condon (19 March 1876 – 27 December 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and Richmond in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1894-1900, 1902-1906 a ...
(Collingwood),
Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy),
Teddy Rankin (Geelong).
From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — he selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.
'Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p.6.
A knee injury ended his career prematurely in 1900.
Death
After his football career, he moved to
Casterton, where he worked as a
motor mechanic
An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...
, and he died there in 1937.
See also
*
The Footballers' Alphabet
Notes
References
'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.*
External links
*
1874 births
1937 deaths
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
Australian rules footballers from Bendigo
Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
Geelong Football Club (VFA) players
Geelong Football Club players
VFL Leading Goalkicker Medal winners
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