William Loch Heaphy (18 December 1888 – 21 May 1914) 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

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

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 was from

Tatura Tatura is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, and is situated within the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, north of the state capital (Melbourne) and west of the regional centre of Shepparton, Victoria ...

originally and went to

Geelong College The Geelong College is an Australian independent and co-educational, Christian day and boarding school located in Newtown, an inner-western suburb of Geelong, Victoria. Established in 1861 by Alexander James Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, ...

, but came to Essendon via West Melbourne, during the

1908 VFL season The 1908 VFL season was the twelfth season of the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured ten clubs and ran from 2 May to 26 Se ...

Essendon

Heaphy made his league debut in Essendon's round 18 win over

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

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

. His second appearance for Essendon was in the 1908 VFL Grand Final. He was the youngest player on the field, at 19 years of age, but not the least experienced, as teammate Harry Prout was making his debut. Essendon lost by nine points, with Heaphy playing in a

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 ...

. He played three games with Essendon in the 1909 season, then transferred to Brunswick mid season and finished the year with another grand final appearance, this time finishing on the winning side.

Poor health and death

Heaphy had serious issues with his heart and in 1914 spent some time in a Melbourne private hospital. Back at

Kyabram Kyabram () is a town in north central Victoria, Australia. Kyabram is located in the centre of a rich irrigation district in the Goulburn River Valley, north of Melbourne. The name of the town is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word Kia ...

on 21 May 1914, Heaphy suffered a fatal seizure, having earlier taken what he thought was his heart medication. It was ruled by a coroner that he had been poisoned and gave a verdict of accidental death.'' Albury Banner and Wodonga Express''
"Victoria"
29 May 1914, p. 35

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaphy, Bill 1888 births 1914 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Essendon Football Club players Tatura Football Club players West Melbourne Football Club players Brunswick Football Club players Accidental deaths in Victoria (state) Deaths by poisoning People educated at Geelong College People from Brunswick, Victoria 20th-century Australian sportsmen