Albert Vivian Rankin (17 February 1893 – 20 June 1971) was an Australian rules footballer who played with

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

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 ...

(VFL). His brothers

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on ...

and

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

as well as his father

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Tedd ...

and other members of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

played league football for Geelong. Rankin started his career as a forward, but played most of his football as a centreman. A player with exceptional pace, he was also a regular user of the drop kick. In

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary For ...

he won Geelong's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award. He captained

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 ...

at interstate football in 1922 and then Geelong in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, ...

. His brother Cliff was vice captain. This was the first time in VFL history that a pair of brothers filled both positions at the same time. It turned out to be Bert Rankin's last season in the league as, controversially, he lost his spot in the side during the finals and walked out on the club. His brother, Cliff, refused to take the field in support of his brother. He is credited with suggesting that Geelong adopt the nickname of the Cats. Rankin made his senior VFL debut one year and 320 days after the retirement of his father; a VFL/AFL record. After the disappointment of the 1923 season, Rankin left Geelong to coach the

Dimboola Football Club The Dimboola Football Club, nicknamed the ''Roos'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Dimboola, Victoria. The football team competes in the Wimmera Football League (WFL). History Dimboola joined the Wimmer ...

. In 1915, Rankin married Winifred Hornsey. He died in

Dimboola Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. History Situated on the Wimmera River, Dimboola was previously known as 'Nine Creeks'. Following a survey ...

in 1971.J. and J. McDonald, ''Three William McDonalds'', Canberra, 2010, pp. 91-93.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Bert 1893 births Australian rules footballers from Geelong Geelong Football Club players Chilwell Football Club players Carji Greeves Medal winners 1971 deaths Bert