Albert Collier, also known as Leeter Collier (9 July 1909 – 22 February 1988), 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er in the (then)

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

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 The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Collier left Collingwood as player/coach

Cananore Football Club Cananore Football Club was an Australian rules football club founded in 1901. It competed in the Tasmanian Football League (TFL/TANFL) as a junior club from 1901 to 1907, and as a senior club between 1908 and 1941. They were known as the ''Canar ...

in Tasmania, winning the Tasmanian Southern League and Tasmanian State premiership and the William Leitch Medal. 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 Captain and Vice Captain in a Premiership team 1935–36. Albert and his brother Harry both won a Brownlow medals and played together in 6 VFL 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 Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

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 the f ...

in 1929. In 1996 Albert was inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

, and was named at centre half back in Collingwood's Team of the Century.

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 VFL/AFL premiership players People from Collingwood, Victoria Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II