John Frederick Dawes McDiarmid (3 October 1903 – 10 August 1974) 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 West Perth and

Claremont Football Club The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are na ...

s in the

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

(WANFL). He was inducted into the

West Australian Football Hall of Fame The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise significant contributors to Australian rules football in Western Australia. Candidates are players, coaches, umpires, administrators and media representatives. The induct ...

in 2004.

Family

McDiarmid was the oldest of four brothers who each played football in Western Australia. His brother, Norman, played senior football for West Perth and the state team, and the two other brothers, Robert and Ron, played junior and reserves football for West Perth. Their father, Frederick McDiarmid, had played for South Adelaide in the

South Australian Football Association The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

(SAFA), and emigrated to Western Australia in 1900.

Football

After beginning with West Perth's affiliated junior club in the Western Australian Football Association, McDiarmid debuted with the senior West Perth side in 1923, and made an immediate impact. He played his first match for

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

against in the 1924 Australasian Football Carnival in Hobart. He also played in the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

and 1930 Carnivals, held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, respectively. McDiarmid was made

vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...

of Western Australia for the 1930 carnival, and was again named vice-captain for the 1933 Carnival, held in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, but missed a large portion of the 1933 season due to a knee injury, and was unable to take part. He announced his retirement at the end of the 1934 season, but the following season, transferred to , where he played six games before retiring again. In total, McDiarmid played 183 games of senior WAFL football, 177 for West Perth and six for Claremont, as well as representing his state on 25 occasions. McDiarmid was one of the largest WAFL players at the time, in terms of both height and size, standing just under , and weighing at his peak. In 1929, ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' described McDiarmid as "the most rugged and effective follower in the league" and the "ideal heavyweight footballer", describing his "massive shoulders and chest and footballer's thighs". At West Perth, he often partnered with Don Marinko in the ruck, with Marinko serving as "tap" ruckman and McDiarmid as ruck "

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

". The two also partnered in state matches, on occasion.

Recognition

In October 2000, McDiarmid was named in West Perth's Team of the Century. In 2004, he was an inaugural inductee into the

.Hall of Fame inductees
– wafootball.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2012.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDiarmid, Jack 1903 births 1974 deaths Australian people of Scottish descent Claremont Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees West Perth Football Club players

Family

Football

Recognition

See also

Footnotes