Charlie Dibbs (3 April 1905 – 22 November 1960) 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 for the
Collingwood Magpies
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...
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) during the 1920s and 1930s.
Charlie Dibbs was born Charles William Heaton in Carlton in 1905, the son of William George Heaton and Elizabeth (née Hodge). He took the Dibbs surname after his mother remarried following his father's death.
Most of Dibbs' football career was spent at fullback, and he was a member of the Collingwood side, which won four consecutive premierships. Dibbs kicked his only career goal in his 4th match and was goalless for the remaining 219 consecutive games; as of 2023, this streak remains the longest goalless streak by a single player in VFL/AFL history.
He finished his career in that league with a season as captain-coach of Geelong in 1936.
Dibbs was appointed playing coach with
Latrobe in the
NWFU in 1937, and also represented the NWFU in an intrastate match against the
NTFA. He decided to return to the mainland after the season was over.
In 1938, Charlie was appointed coach of
Williamstown, but within days of being advised that club he preferred accepting the position at
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 ...
of coach of the Second Eighteen side.
Dibbs was a Collingwood life member, and in 2007, he was inducted into the Magpies' Hall of Fame.
References
External links
*
1905 births
1960 deaths
Collingwood Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club premiership players
Geelong Football Club players
Geelong Football Club coaches
Latrobe Football Club players
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
VFL/AFL premiership players
People from Carlton, Victoria
{{AFL-bio-1905-stub