Herbert Howson (11 August 1872 – 8 May 1948) was an Australian rules footballer who played with

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL).

Football

A wingman, Howson played with South Melbourne for four seasons in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFA) before he joined their inaugural VFL side in 1897. He participated in their losing 1896 VFA premiership play-off and 1899 Grand Final teams. At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for ''The Argus'' ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition:
Backs:

Maurie Collins Maurie Ignatius Collins (21 July 1876 – 8 November 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Collins played his early football at both Albert Park and Xavier College. He was i ...

(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 the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Victorian Football Association (VFA). Family Bill is the uncl ...

(Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong); Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne); Centres:

Fred Leach John Frederick Leach (6 March 1878 – 14 April 1908) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Thomas Leach (1847-1916), and Emma Bunkin Leach ...

(Collingwood),

Firth McCallum Firth William McCallum (27 December 1872 – 11 July 1910) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL). At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player ...

(Geelong),

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(Essendon); Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne); Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon),

Eddy James Edwin Ernest 'Eddy' James (14 February 1874 – 16 September 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the years before and following the formation of the VFL. Football James started his career as a backman, playing ...

(Geelong),

Charlie Colgan Charlie Colgan (9 February 1878 – 25 July 1935) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", th ...

(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 ea ...

(South Melbourne),

Frank Hailwood Frank Hailwood (3 April 1873 – 21 May 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family One of the eight children of Joseph Hailwood (1834–1912), and Elle ...

(Collingwood),

Joe McShane Joseph Francis McShane (29 November 1868 – 26 July 1950) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Philip McShane (1835-1908), and Mary Ann McShane (1836-1912), née McCabe, Joseph Francis ...

(Geelong); Rovers:

Dick Condon Richard Condon (19 March 1876 – 27 December 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and Richmond in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1894-1900, 1902-1906 a ...

(Collingwood),

Bill McSpeerin William Joseph McSpeerin (25 September 1874 – 3 June 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of James McSpeerin (1846-1909), and Catherine McSp ...

(Fitzroy),

Teddy Rankin Edwin Walter "Teddy" Rankin (11 March 1872 – 31 July 1944) was an Australian rules footballer, originally with Riversdale, who began playing with Geelong in the VFA in 1891, and later played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family ...

(Geelong).
From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — he selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.
'Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p.6
.

Cricket

In 1903 he appeared in a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

match for Victoria, against Tasmania. He scored 40 in his first innings and took a couple of wickets.

Coaching

Howson was appointed coach of South Melbourne, in a non-playing capacity, in 1918 and led them to the premiership with the help of

Henry Elms Henry "Sonny" Elms (c. 1861 – 14 September 1928) was an Australian rules football coach with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He had previously played 215 games for the club in the VFA between 1882 and 1895, being par ...

, who shared the coaching duties with him. That season the club were premiers and the following season finished third.

Notes

References

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

South Melbourne Team, ''Melbourne Punch'', (Thursday, 4 June 1903), p. 16.

External links

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1872 births 1948 deaths Sydney Swans coaches Sydney Swans Premiership coaches Sydney Swans players Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers Cricketers from Victoria (state) Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) One-time VFL/AFL Premiership coaches {{Australia-cricket-bio-1870s-stub

Football

Cricket

Coaching

See also

Notes

References

External links