Bill Findlay (29 October 1913 – 28 May 1986) 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 who played with Footscray and

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

in the

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 ...

(VFL). He played as a rover and was sometimes pushed forward where he was a handy goalkicker, averaging two goals a game. Findlay was started his league career with his local side Footscray and played his first game of VFL in 1933. He managed just the one game in his debut season and four in the next prompting him to move to North Melbourne in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

. He took over the captaincy partway through the

1941 VFL season The 1941 VFL season was the 45th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 26 April until 27 September, and comprised an ...

and remained in that position until the end of

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

. His leadership role expanded to captain and coach for the latter part of

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

and the entire 1943 season. During this time Findlay found himself resting in the

forward pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

and was North's leading goal kicker in 1943,

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

and

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

. In 1946 he joined

Port Melbourne Football Club The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne. The club was founded in 1874 and has been competing in the Victorian Football League (VFL) – ...

in the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

(VFA) and started with 88 goals in his first season, including winning the Best and Fairest, and kicking 107 in his next. As captain-coach he led the club to the premiership in 1947. In 1954 Findlay moved to fellow VFA team

Coburg Football Club The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg, Victoria, Coburg. It has been based at Coburg City Oval since 1915. Coburg's men's team currently plays in the Victor ...

as coach but made a brief return to playing for two matches in 1955, aged 41, during an injury crisis at Coburg.Atkinson, p. 63. Findlay was later named as a rover in Port Melbourne's official 'Team of the Century'.

References

Sources

* Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Bill 1913 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players Western Bulldogs coaches North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club coaches Syd Barker Medal winners Port Melbourne Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club coaches Coburg Football Club coaches Coburg Football Club players J. J. Liston Trophy winners 1986 deaths