John Charles Francis (22 June 1908 – 6 July 2001) was an Australian sportsman who played
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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
for
Victoria and
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 ...
with
Hawthorn 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 Henry Walter Francis (1883–1964) and Sarah Victoria Francis, nee Jackson (1884–1929), John Charles Francis was born in Hawthorn on 22 June 1908 and educated at
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex education, single-sex Selective school, academically selective secondary school, secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb ...
.
His younger brothers
Jim and
Syd also played VFL football.
In November 1933 Jack Francis married Jean Millicent Allison at St John's Church of England in Camberwell.
Football
Francis began his sporting career in 1923 when he played for Hawthorn, then in the Victorian Football Association, while still a schoolboy. In 1926 he again played senior football with Hawthorn, who were now in the VFL. He played six games that year, kicking two goals in his debut, against
Collingwood, for whom future club great
Harry Collier was also debuting. One of his teammates that day was his uncle,
Jim Jackson. He later briefly played for Brighton in the VFA after transferring there in 1929.
Cricket
Francis did not continue as a footballer, instead concentrating on cricket, and in the 1932/33 season made his first appearance with Victoria. Opening the batting, Francis scored 135 to help the Victorians draw with
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. He played two further first-class matches, both later in the season and as an opener, but did not make any major contributions for his team.
Death
John Charles Francis died on 6 July 2001 and was cremated at Springvale Botanical Cemetery.
References
External links
*
*
Jack Francis's playing statisticsfrom The VFA Project
*
1908 births
2001 deaths
Australian cricketers
Victoria cricketers
People from Hawthorn, Victoria
Hawthorn Football Club players
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
People educated at Melbourne High School
Cricketers from Melbourne
20th-century Australian sportsmen
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