Arthur William Rayson (1 December 1898 – 21 January 1970) was an Australian rules footballer who played for

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

in the VFL.

Family

VIctorian Football League Interstate Team-(1928)

The son of George Rayson (1873-1960), and Minnie Rayson (1876-1939), née Dawson, Arthur William Rayson was born at

Dunolly, Victoria Dunolly is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2016 census, Dunolly had a population of 893, down from 969 in 2006. History The town began during the Victoria ...

on 1 December 1898. He married May Perrett (1900-1984) in 1922. They had three children: a daughter, Dorothy, and two sons, Alan Arthur Rayson (1924–1982), and Coleman Medalist Noel Douglas Rayson (1933–2003), both of whom played for Geelong.

Football

Recruited to Geelong from the

Cobden Football Club The Cobden Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bombers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Cobden, Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Hampden Football Netball League, which Cobden is a ...

, Rayson was a rover who liked to use the stab kick. He played at half-forward flank in Geelong's 1925 premiership team.

Geelong (Seconds)

He kicked 4 goals, and was one of Geelong's best players in the team that won the VFL's 1923 "Junior League" premiership, against Richmond, 9.12 (66) to 5.10 (40), despite having to play the entire second half with only 17 men.

Geelong (Firsts)

7 August 1926

It is important to note that Main and Allen, (2002, p. 336) have, along with Feldman and Holmesby (1992), become confused between John Thomas "Jack" Shelton and the other St Kilda Shelton ( John Frederick "Jack" Shelton). John Thomas "Jack" Shelton was not in the St Kilda team that played against Geelong at the

Corio Oval Corio Oval was an Australian rules football ground, located in Geelong, Victoria, and used by the Geelong Football Club in the VFA and the VFL from 1878 to 1915, and 1917 to 1940. Sited in Eastern Park, the oval was served by trams from 1930 wh ...

on 7 August 1926, but John Frederick "Jack" Shelton did play for St Kilda on that day. Therefore, the "Shelton" mentioned in the account of the thuggery directed, particularly, at Rayson (who also worked as the caretaker at the Corio Oval), by members of the St Kilda team, and the account of the spectators' response to Rayson's injury (which included broken ribs), specifically directed at Shelton, refers exclusively to John Frederick "Jack" Shelton, and not John Thomas "Jack" Shelton (as Feldman and Holmesby, and Main and Allen have mistakenly supposed).

Death

He died at

Geelong West, Victoria Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 ce ...

on 21 January 1970.Headstone, at Arthur William Rayson, at ''Find a Grave''.
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Footnotes

References

* Feldman, Jules & Holmesby, Russell, ''The Point of it All: The Story of the St Kilda Football Club'', Playwright (on behalf of the St Kilda Football Club), (Sydney), 1992. * Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Main, J. & Allen, D., "Shelton, J.T. 'Jack'", pp. 335–337 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayson, Arthur 1898 births 1970 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Geelong Football Club players Geelong Football Club premiership players Cobden Football Club players 1926 in Australian rules football VFL/AFL premiership players