Edwin Ernest James (14 February 1874 – 16 September 1937) 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

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 ...

in the years before and following the formation of the VFL.

Football

James started his career as a backman, playing a game at 15 after Geelong were short for players. He moved to the forward line in his return in 1892, and in 1895 finished with 24 goals to be equal third in the VFA goalkicking. In the inaugural VFL season in

1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...

, he kicked 22 goals in the home-and-away season to share the Leading Goalkicker Award with Jack Leith; incidentally, this is the lowest number of goals to have ever earned this award, and will likely hold this record in perpetuity due to the high-scoring nature of the modern game. His end-of-year tally of 27 goals (including finals) was also the most in the league for that year. He kicked a career-high seven goals in game against St Kilda in 1898. He again topped the VFL's goalkicking in

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

with 31 goals, and he was rewarded with selection for Victoria in an interstate match against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. James also has the dubious distinction of setting the all-time record for the most behinds kicked by a player in a game during this season, with an individual score of 5 goals and 16 behinds against St Kilda. A knee injury ended his career prematurely in 1900.

1899 team of "champions"

At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for ''The Argus'', Reginald Wilmot ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition: * Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon),

Bill Proudfoot William Henry Proudfoot (11 June 1868 – 11 January 1931) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The so ...

(Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong). * Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne). * Centres: Fred Leach (Collingwood),

Firth McCallum Firth William McCallum (27 December 1872 – 11 July 1910) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, loc ...

(Geelong), Harry Wright (Essendon). * Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne). * Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong),

Charlie Colgan Charles Edward Colgan (9 February 1878 – 25 July 1935) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The youngest of the seven children of the tailor Patrick Colgan (1833� ...

(South Melbourne). * Ruck:

Mick Pleass George Victor "Mick" Pleass (12 November 1874 – 27 August 1925) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Essendon in the VFA and Victorian Football League (VFL). Football Pleass was a follower and played his e ...

(South Melbourne), Frank Hailwood (Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong). * Rovers: Dick Condon (Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy), Teddy Rankin (Geelong). From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — Wilmot selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.

Death

After his football career, he moved to Casterton, where he worked as a motor mechanic, and he died there in 1937.

Notes

References

'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
*

External links