Charlie "Tracker" Forbes (8 May 1865 – 20 June 1922) 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

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

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).

Family

The son of James Forbes (1815-1900), and Jessie Forbes (1830-1914), née Walker, Charles Forbes was born at

West Melbourne, Victoria West Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. West Melbourne reco ...

on 8 May 1865.

Football

Forbes was a high marking ruckman — "being strong and wiry with a long reach he was able to take the ball well above the head of the average size footballer" — who, with his Essendon team-mates, ruckman

Fred Ball Frederick Henry Ball (July 17, 1915 – February 5, 2007) was an American movie studio executive and younger brother of Lucille Ball. Early life Ball was born on July 17, 1915, to Henry Durrell Ball (1887–1915) and Désirée "Dede" Evelyn Hunt ...

and rover Colin Campbell, formed the dominant ruck combination of the era.

Essendon (VFA)

Recruited from the North Park "junior team" in West Melbourne, Forbes played 140 games between 1889 and 1896 for Essendon in the VFA, prior to the VFL's foundation. A member of the Essendon teams that won four successive premierships from 1891 and 1894, Forbes was named Player of the Season in 1892 by '' The Argus''.

Essendon (VFL)

In 1897, already 32, and playing as a "follower", he was one of the 20 who played for Essendon in its first VFL match against Geelong, at Corio Oval, on 8 May 1897: Jim Anderson, Edward "Son" Barry,

Arthur Cleghorn Arthur Cleghorn (1 December 1873 – 27 May 1951) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of the tailor and outfitter James Cleghorn (1826-1886), ...

, Tod Collins, Jim Darcy, Charlie Forbes, Johnny Graham, Joe Groves, George Hastings,

Ted Kinnear Edward Hore Kinnear (27 October 1874 – 3 March 1965) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of George Steemson Kinnear (1825-1902), and his second w ...

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, Bob McCormick, Pat O'Loughlin, Gus Officer,

Ned Officer Edward Albert Officer (29 March 1869 – 10 June 1927) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Foot ...

, Bert Salkeld,

George Stuckey George Stuckey (6 July 1871 – 15 March 1932) was an Australian rules footballer who played with and captained the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football Stuckey played as both a wingman and half back during h ...

, George Vautin,

Norman Waugh Norman James "Norm" Waugh (10 May 1874 – 6 August 1934) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). In the first year of competi ...

, and

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played Center fielder, center field for baseball's first fu ...

. He played in Essendon's VFL premiership team in 1897 (there was no "Grand Final" that year). He also played in the first-ever VFL "Grand Final" in 1898, which Essendon lost to Fitzroy.

Death

Forbes died at his residence in

, following a protracted period of illness, on 20 June 1922.Memorial to Famous Footballer, ''The Argus'', (Friday, 4 May 1923), p.7.
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Notes

References

'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.

External links

* *
Essendon Football Club profile

Charlie Forbes, at ''Boyles Football Photos''

Charles "Tracker" Forbes, at ''Find a Grave''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Charlie 1865 births 1922 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Essendon Football Club (VFA) players Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club premiership players VFL/AFL premiership players People from West Melbourne, Victoria