Eric Cock
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Eric Francis Cock (1 July 1902 – 24 May 1965) 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 Football Club 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 (VFL) and for the
Northcote Football Club The Northcote Football Club (/ˈnoːθ.kət/), nicknamed the Dragons, was an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1908 until 1987. The club's colours for most of its time in the VFA were green and yellow, and it was bas ...
in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).


Family

The son of former Fitzroy (VFA) footballer (1884-1887), and former Fitzroy Football Club Secretary, Charles Sidney Cock (1858–1929), and Alice Annie Cock (1858–1922), née Kerr, Eric Francis Cock was born at
Clifton Hill, Victoria Clifton Hill is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Clifton Hill recorded a population of 6,606 at the 2021 cens ...
on 1 July 1902. One of his brothers, Arthur Edwin Cock (1900-1966), was also a talented footballer. He married Beryl Louise White (1904-1987) at Clifton Hill on 11 February 1928. They had three children.


Education

He was educated at Gold Street State School (No.1360), in Clifton Hill as was
Len Fitzgerald Len Fitzgerald (7 May 1929 – 17 April 2007) was an Australian rules footballer of exceptional talent in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and South Australian National Football League (SANFL). At various time he played in the key positions ...
, Reynolds Webb,
Leo Wescott Henry David 'Leo' Wescott (8 July 1900 – 25 February 1970) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Wescott was a back pocket specialist and started his career at Collingwood in ...
, etc. and later at Scotch College, then in East Melbourne.


Football

Originally with Scotch College, he played for a year with Collingwood District.


Collingwood (VFL)

He made his debut for Collingwood, against Carlton, at Victoria Park, on 20 May 1922. He soon became a regular selection. He was a member of the Collingwood team that was defeated 11.13 (79) to 9.14 (68) by Fitzroy in the 1922 VFL Grand Final; and, in total, over his three seasons, he played 36 games (40 goals) for Collingwood; with his last match, in which he scored 4 goals, against Melbourne, at Victoria Park, on 12 July 1924.


Collingwood's 1924 mid-season tour

On 16 July 1924, as part of the team's mid-season tour, Collingwood played against a combined South Western District Football League (SWDFL) team at
Narrandera Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...
, of the
Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
region of New South Wales, and, on Saturday, 19 July 1924, with Collingwood having a bye (the 1924 VFL competition had nine teams), it played against a combined Goulburn Valley Football League (GBFL) team, at Shepparton, in North-East Victoria.


19 July 1924

On Saturday, 19 July 1924, Cock and his Collingwood First XVIII team-mate
Leo Wescott Henry David 'Leo' Wescott (8 July 1900 – 25 February 1970) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Wescott was a back pocket specialist and started his career at Collingwood in ...
(neither of whom were part of the team's mid-year tour), were loaned to the local ''Collingwood District'' team. Cock's right knee was badly injured in the match. That same evening, unaware that he had been injured in the non-VFL match, the VFL selectors picked Cock for both the Victorian team to play South Australia in Melbourne on 9 August 1924, and the Victorian team to play South Australia in the return match in Adelaide on 16 August 1924. ::    MAGPIES' BAD LUCK
    Eric Cock Injured
    As the senior team had the bye Wescott and Cock transferred to the Colllngwood District team, to help them in their game against Coburg. The move was disastrous from the point of view of the senior side, in that the game had hardly begun when Eric Cock fell heavily in a crush and was carried from the ground. It was afterwards found that his knee had been severely twisted, and removal to the hospital was necessary. Cock, by his consistent form roving and forward, has been one of the mainstays of the Collingwood team and his enforced absence from the side will be severely felt. He has been chosen to play against South Australia on August 3 and 16. ''The Herald'', 21 July 1924.


Retirement

Although hoping to return to the team, his knee never recovered (post-cartilage removal) sufficiently for him ever to play senior VFL football again. He officially retired in 1926.


Melbourne (VFL)

On 23 May 1928 he was granted a clearance from Collingwood to Melbourne, having umpired in the VFL Seconds in the interim.''Demonwiki''. There is no indication that he ever played football with Melbourne at any level in 1928.


Northcote (VFA)

He played in two senior games with Northcote in the VFA in 1929: against Yarraville on 25 May 1929, and against Coburg on 1 June 1929, a match in which he suffered an "injured instep".


Cricket

He was also a talented cricketer. On one occasion, in November 1929, playing for the Clifton Hill Cricket Club against Fitzroy B, in the Metropolitan Cricket League, he scored a competition-record-breaking 248 not out.


Wartime service

During World War II he served with the R.S.L. Volunteer Defence Corps.


Death

He died at his residence at West Preston, Victoria, on 24 May 1965.Deaths: Cock, ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 25 May 1965), p. 17.
/ref>


Notes


References

*
Bandits grab £40 in bag, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 11 January 1955), p. 6.

World War Two Nominal Roll: Private Eric Francis Cock (V335976), ''Department of Veterans' Affairs''.

World War Two Service Record: Private Eric Francis Cock (V335976), ''National Archives of Australia''.
* "Wells"
Eric Cock, of Collingwood (Cartoon), ''The (Melbourne) Herald'', (Friday, 15 June 1923),  3.

Anderson's 5 in Rules at Oxford, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Wednesday, 1 December 1954), p. 5
the Oxford player that was the son of Eric Cock is mis-identified -- he was "Graeme Cock", not "Ben Cock".
Australian Game Stars on TV, ''The (Perth) Daily News'', (Saturday, 26 March 1955), p. 3.


External links

* *
Eric Cock 1922-1924, at ''Collingwood Forever''.

Eric Cock, at ''Demonwiki''.

"Ernest (sic) F. Cock", at ''The VFA Project''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cock, Eric 1902 births 1965 deaths People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Collingwood Football Club players Northcote Football Club players 20th-century Australian sportsmen