Cyril George Gove (10 January 1890 – 28 August 1973) 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).

Family

The son of Julius Gove (1854–1922), and Catherine Gove (1860–1923), née Blyth, Cyril George Gove was born on 10 January 1890. He married Olga Macaw (1907–1984) on 27 October 1932.

Football

Gove, from St Thomas' Grammar School, Essendon, played his early football for the Collegians. A wiry wingman, he played 16 games in the

1914 VFL season This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

and was chosen to represent the VFL in the

Sydney Carnival The Sydney Carnival, also known as the Sydney Autumn Carnival, is a major Australian Thoroughbred racing series held in Sydney in March and April each year. It consists of six weeks of racing conducted by Australian Turf Club across the city's tw ...

Amateur jockey

;April, 1914 In April 1914, Gove rode five winners at the Southern Riverina Turf Club Picnic Meeting in

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

. ;29 May 1915 At 2:00PM on Saturday 29 May 1915, Gove rode the racehorse ''Menthe'' into third place in the Springbank Corinthian Handicap, a race for amateur riders, at

Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse, currently marketed as The Valley, is a horse-racing track in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. History Moonee Valley Racecourse was established in 1883 by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox, who purchased a far ...

. Immediately the race was over, he caught a fast cab down

Mount Alexander Road, Melbourne Mount Alexander Road (and its northern section as Bulla Road) is a major road in Melbourne's inner northern suburbs, connecting the northern edges of the city district to just south of Essendon Airport. It was named after its original destina ...

to the

East Melbourne Cricket Ground The East Melbourne Cricket Ground was a grass oval sports venue located at the southwest corner of Jolimont Road and Jolimont Parade (now known as Wellington Parade South) in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Santo Caruso, Marc Fiddian and Jim ...

, and by 3:00PM he was playing for Essendon (and was one of its best players) in its round 6 match against

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

Death

He died in

Deniliquin, New South Wales Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is ...

on 28 August 1973,Deaths: Gove, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 30 August 1973), p.22.
/ref> aged 83.

Footnotes

References

* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

* *
Cyril's historic 'triathlon': A jockey, footballer and boxer all in one day
1890 births 1973 deaths People educated at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Collegians Football Club players Essendon Football Club players Australian jockeys People from St Kilda, Victoria 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1890-stub