Frank Donnellan
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James Francis Donnellan (17 November 1907 – 5 July 1994) 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 Hawthorn,
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
and Fitzroy 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).


Early life

The son of James Francis Donnellan and Margaret Ann Fitzgerald, Frank Donnellan was educated at
Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. The ...
in Kew and was a prominent player in their 1924 premiership side.


Football

Donnellan trialled with in 1925 but joined Hawthorn in 1926, making his debut at full-forward in their 141-point loss to Melbourne and making two other appearances before being dropped to the reserves. Having been released by Hawthorn at the commencement of the
1927 VFL season The 1927 VFL season was the 31st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs and ran from 30 April to 1 October, comprising an 18-ma ...
, Donnellan played with Thornbury in the C.Y.M.S. Association and then moved to North Melbourne and made a solitary appearance late in the season. During the next few years Donnellan did not play VFL football, again playing with Thornbury, but he resumed with North Melbourne halfway through the
1931 VFL season The 1931 VFL season was the 35th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs and ran from 2 May to 10 October, comprising an 18-matc ...
and made 17 consecutive appearances in the team. During this run of games he changed position from being a key forward to playing at full-back. At the start of the
1933 VFL season The 1933 VFL season was the 37th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs and ran from 29 April to 30 September, comprising an 18 ...
, Donnellan transferred to Fitzroy and he played as full-back in every game for the next two seasons before his retirement.


Later life

In 1935 Frank Donnellan married Jane Elizabeth O’Connell and they lived in Melbourne until his death in 1994. Donnellan is buried at the Andersons Creek Cemetery in Warrandyte.


Notes


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnellan, Frank 1907 births 1994 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne People educated at Xavier College Hawthorn Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players People from Clifton Hill, Victoria 20th-century Australian sportsmen