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1903 The Mysterious Bill Wilson |
Even by 1903, just twelve seasons after the Collingwood club was formed, William "Bill" Proudfoot was a Magpie legend.
Born in Kilmore in 1868, Proudfoot played in Collingwood's first ever V.F.A. match against his old club Carlton in 1892, a game in which coincidentally the 'Woods first two scores (a behind and a goal) were kicked by Alf Toll, a former Preston player.
A policeman by profession, Proudfoot was a giant of his time, standing around 6 feet 4 (around 196 cms) and weighing 16 stone (102 kg) and captained Collingwood for several years. He was first offered the captaincy in 1898 when he was stationed at Kyneton, but took up the position after Collingwood agreed to pay his travelling expenses. He captained Collingwood's 1902 premiership team and commentators of the time suggested an injury to Proudfoot during the 1901 final probably cost the 'Pies and Proudfoot himself a hat-trick of premiership flags.
In a famous incident at the wild and woolly North Melbourne in 1896, Proudfoot and a number of North Melbourne players went to the aid of umpire John Roberts who was being attacked by a mob of North supporters and despite being savagely beaten by an assailant with an iron bar, Proudfoot managed to get Roberts to the relative safety of the dressing room, perhaps saving the umpire's life. Proudfoot's attacker later received three months jail for the attack.
With community concerns over the violence of play and larrinkinism in the outer, the Victorian Minister for Police midway through the 1903 season banned force members from playing League football and Proudfoot was stood down from the Collingwood team. Collingwood managed to finish on top of the ladder, but without Proudfoot their form had been patchy and both Fitzroy and Carlton were given strong chances of taking out the flag depite Collingwood's right of challenge as "minor premier".
Although
he carefully avoided mentioning Proudfoot by name, "Kickero", The
Herald's long-serving football writer dropped a bombshell on the eve of
the semi-final against Carlton :
“Collingwood's supporters will learn with feelings of
delight that in all probability their old player, under the new name of “
The Herald's match report the following evening showed Collingwood's full-back line as 'G. Lockwood; “Wilson”; Dummett', and used the "Wilson" pseudonym in their match reports for both the semi-final and the final, both of which Collingwood won narrowly.
From the remaining documentation, it isn't really clear whether he or Collingwood orchestrated the move, but in the pre-semi-final edition,“Kickero” in response to a correspondent's query as to whether the teams published "were the official list from the clubs or just what you think” simply suggested that “all I have to say is that my information in all cases is received from official sources”The following week, Collingwood defeated their arch-rivals and neighbours Fitzroy 4.7 to 3.11, The Herald again mentioning "Wilson" in their match-day report, but by then the pretence was well and truly over, with the Monday morning editions of both The Age and The Argus including Proudfoot under his correct name. Oddly enough, his re-inclusion in the Magpies team cost first-year player and later legendary coach "Jock" McHale his place in the premiership team.
Proudfoot retired after the 1906 season but continued his career with the Police, again noted for his efforts in protecting an umpire in 1914 and winning a Royal Humane Society Bronze Medallion for bravery after stopping a pair of runaway horses in Swanston Street in 1918. A brief obituary after his death in a private hospital in Richmond on January 11, 1931 (aged 62) suggested he was a publican later in life. He was buried in Fawkner Cemetery.
Proudfoot's alter ego lasted just two weeks, but it set a precedent for Collingwood and for a somewhat longer period.
"Paddy Rowan" played with Collingwood from 1911 to 1915, notching 82 games and 28 games - but just about every football follower knew his real name was Percival Edward Rowe (not to be confused with a player of some ten years later when a real "Percy Rowe" played 96 games with the Pie-men immediately after the First World War).
The original Percy Rowe played for a few seasons with the South Bendigo Football Club and like many athletes of the day, turned his hand to other sports - in Rowe's case, the boxing ring (where quite a few participants appeared under different names) and adopted the ring-name of "Paddy Rowan".
Rowe tried his luck on the football field with Collingwood in 1911. There are some suggestions that he applied to play with the Magpies in 1910 and was rejected because he had already appeared with South Bendigo and thus ineligible - other reports claim he simply wanted to continue his sporting activities under his "fighting" name and stood out until the following year.
Regardless of his sporting identity, Percy Rowe enlisted in the Australian Infantry Force under his real name in July 1915, too late to have fought in the Gallipoli campaign, but reaching the rank of Sergeant before coming one of the earlier Australian soldiers killed on the Wetern Front in December of the same year.
Other footballers-boxers that are known to played-fought under different name included Bill LanFranchi (of Irish-Swiss background) who played 14 games with Richmond after they entered the V.F.L. in 1908 and who played for the club for several seasons while they were in the V.F.A. before fighting for a world title under the name of Bill Lang, and Preston 1963 premiership player, Garry Appleford, who became the Australian middle-weight champion as "Gary Ford". Appleford was later given his marching orders by Alan Joyce after he whacked first-year player and later Life Member Neil Hart during an early practice match in 1966.
The Australasian's "Markwell" on the 1896 brawl“All that the Northerners urge against Roberts is that he was rather too harsh on them in connection with little marks during the opening term ... after the first quarter and and right on until near the close of the day he gave them every satisfaction …
“… the male and female savages who assailed Umpire Roberts are a disgrace to the game, a disgrace to civilization and a disgrace to the body in whose hands the ground is invested … especially savage in that the mob rushed the fence from the Reserve, which at other grounds restricted to members of the cricket and football clubs and invited guests. but at North Melbourne “every common barracker and low ruffian who put up his extra sixpence is not only at liberty to enter, but also to disgust the more respectable section of the occupants with the vilest of language” (Arden Street was then controlled by a Board of Trustees rather than the football and cricket clubs).
"… there can be no difficulty, for example, in bringing to punishment the brazen-faced shrew who before the eyes of everyone in the reserve struck Roberts in the face as he entered the gate at half-time, nor should it be hard to lay hands on the scoundrel who was seen during the melee of wielding what looked like a bar of iron concealed in wrappings of brown paper …" (commonly known at the time as a “Ben Bolt”) ... “I am told by members of at least one visiting team that the North Melbourne “ladies” who take up their positions on the steps of the pavilion make it a common practice to drive their huge hat pins to the bone in the legs and arms of opposing players passing to the dressing room …
Markwell praised McDougall and J. Taylor of North Melbourne and “the burly and good-natured Proudfoot of Collingwood”, noting that "the first and last of these were knocked senseless during the conflict” and expressed fears for umpires at Collingwood, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne “and even at Melbourne where the match umpire has to make his way through a crowd somewhat mixed in character”, expressly adding “I have some apprehension for the safety of the team that this year inflicts upon Collingwood their first defeat at Victoria-park".