Albert Collier, also known as Leeter Collier (9 July 1909 – 22 February 1988), was an Australian rules footballer in the (then)

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). I ...

Personal life

Albert Collier was born on 9 July 1909 in Collingwood, the seventh of the ten children of Albert Augustus Collier, signwriter, and his wife Hannah Josephine, née Binks, Albert grew up living opposite Victoria Park, the home ground of the Collingwood Football Club and was educated at the nearby Victoria Park State School. He later married Mavis Thelma Leibie (1917–2003) and they had two sons. Albert Collier died in 1988 at his home in Seaford and is buried at Frankston Cemetery.

Playing career

In 1924 both Albert and his brother Harry played for the Melbourne district club Ivanhoe and their strong performances led to the brothers being invited to try out for Collingwood. Albert Collier made his Collingwood debut in 1925 and soon established himself in the team. He initially played forward, but after a couple of seasons became a powerful centre half back, and he was a vital part of 'The Machine', the 1927-1930 Collingwood teams who won four premierships in a row. This feat has not been repeated to date. In 1931,at the height of the Great Depression Collier left Collingwood as player/coach Cananore Football Club in Tasmania, winning the Tasmanian Southern League and Tasmanian State premiership and the

William Leitch Medal The William Leitch Medal, named after the highly regarded former Australian rules player and Tasmanian Football Administrator William Douglas Leitch (1863-1943), was an annual award which was presented to the best and fairest player in the TANFL/ ...

. He went on to Captain, Tasmania in the State Carnival. In 1933 Collier returned to Collingwood, and from 1935 to 1939 served as vice-captain with his brother Harry as captain. In each of those years the ‘Magpies’ contested the grand final, winning two further premierships (1935 and 1936). They are the only brothers in Australian Rules history to been Captain and Vice Captain in a Premiership team, they also both won Brownlow medals and played together in 6 Premierships. Before the 1940 season the Collingwood committee forced the Collier brothers into a reluctant retirement, and Albert transferred to Fitzroy where he played in 1941 and 1942. Collier later captain-coached Camberwell in the throw-pass era VFA from 1945 until 1946, earning acclaim for building and leading the team to the minor premiership and a losing Grand Final in 1946. He later coached country teams at Kyneton and at Sea Lake.

Military service

In 1942, Collier enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force where he served in an Aircraft Repair Depot until the end of the war.

Honours

Collier won the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

in 1929. In 1996 he was inducted 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, co ...

, and was named at centre half back in Collingwood's Team of the Century. VIctorian Football League Interstate Team-(1928)

References

External links

Albert "Leeter" Collier, in the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''
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Albert Collier's playing statistics from ''The VFA Project''

Albert Collier, at ''Boyles Football Photos''

Albert Collier 1925-1930, 1933-1939, at ''Collingwood Forever''

AFL Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Albert 1909 births 1988 deaths Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club Premiership players Fitzroy Football Club players Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Copeland Trophy winners Camberwell Football Club players Camberwell Football Club coaches William Leitch Medal winners Cananore Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Brownlow Medal winners Ivanhoe Amateurs Football Club players Six-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Collingwood, Victoria Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II