In a short but brilliant football career interrupted by World War II and ended by injury, Fothergill was recognized as one of the finest small players of his era, winning almost every available accolade at both club and league level.
From Collingwood Tech, Fothergill was a gifted sportsman who made his VFL debut aged 16, for Collingwood in 1937. Fothergill was a small midfielder/half-forward who seemed too small at the start, at 172 cm and 73 kg, but his brilliance as a footballer was something that over-shadowed his liabilities. Fothergill made an impact straight away as he played brilliant football, winning a Copeland Trophy as Collingwood's best and fairest in his debut season, and kicking 56 goals being the club's leading goalkicker.
In 1938, Fothergill was once again a dominant member of the side, winning his second consecutive Copeland Trophy at the age of 18, and two years later, in 1940, Fothergill won his third Copeland Trophy. Also in 1940, Fothergill and South Melbourne player Herbie Matthews tied for first place in Brownlow Medal voting with a then-record 32 votes. At the time, neither player won the Brownlow Medal itself, as their records could not be separated on countback and there was no provision for a shared medal, but both men were awarded Brownlow Medals in 1989 when the VFL decided to retrospectively eliminate the countback from the award.[1]
Switch to Williamstown and war service
In 1941, Fothergill followed teammate and friend Ron Todd to Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Williamstown without receiving a clearance from the VFL, as many other high-profile League players had done during the VFA's throw-pass era. In his sole season with Williamstown, he won the Recorder Cup and VFA Medal as best and fairest in the VFA, polling a record 62 votes and winning by a huge margin of 29 votes.[2] In his 20 games, Fothergill kicked 78 goals and also won the Williamstown best and fairest award. He was made vice-captain but captained the side for much of the season due to the absence of captain-coach, Gordon Ogden, due to illness, injuries, business commitments and a two-match suspension. Fothergill had signed with Williamstown until the end of 1943, but when VFA competition was suspended from 1942 until 1944 due to World War II, his career at Williamstown came to an end as the contract he signed had lapsed.[3] He joined the army in 1942, and was forced to move on after a knee injury when in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Return to Collingwood
In 1945, Fothergill returned to the VFL – back at Collingwood, having never formally been cleared from the club. He dominated at half-forward for the club again, despite being slower and having injury problems. He kicked 62 goals in 45 games after the war, and he was the VFL's leading goalkicker in the 1946 home-and-home season, although he ultimately finished second for the League's Leading Goalkicker Medal after his total was passed in the finals by Essendon's Bill Brittingham. He was forced to retire in 1947 due to a leg injury. Fothergill was named in the Collingwood Team of the Century, and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2000. The award for the best young player in the modern Victorian Football League (which is the successor to the former VFA) is named the Fothergill-Round Medal in honour of Fothergill and Barry Round.[4]
Cricket career
Fothergill was also an accomplished cricketer, playing cricket in the summer throughout his football career. A right-handed batsman and leg-break bowler, he played 27 first-class cricket matches for Victoria, making 1404 runs at 39.00 with one century. He made his hundred against South Australia in 1947 and once made 99 against the Australian Services XI.[5] He played district cricket for Northcote, appearing in 149 matches between 1935–36 and 1952–53 with strong all-round performances, averaging 41.05 with the bat and taking 122 wickets at 27.35 with the ball.[6] After retiring from football, Fothergill moved to England and played for the Enfield Cricket Club in the Lancashire League in 1949 and 1950.[7]
References
^"Better late than never for Brownlow Medal". Herald Sun. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
^Rover (15 September 1941). "Coburg comfortably defeats Preston". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 8.
^"Fothergill for Collingwood". Williamstown Chronicle. Williamstown, VIC. 16 March 1945. p. 1.
^Amy, Paul (18 August 2014). "Frankston defender Nic Newman has won the VFL's Fothergill Round Medal". Frankston Standard Leader.
^Greg Baum (14 October 2006). "Ton up for pitting plumber against pinstripe". The Age. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
^(PDF). Cricket Victoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
^"Teams Des Fothergill played for". CricketArchive.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Des Fothergill.
Des Fothergill at AustralianFootball.com
Profile, CricketArchive.com; accessed 26 October 2014.
Profile at Collingwood Forever
August 22, 2023
fothergill, desmond, hugh, fothergill, july, 1920, march, 1996, australian, rules, footballer, played, collingwood, football, club, victorian, football, league, williamstown, football, club, victorian, football, association, also, noted, cricketer, representin. Desmond Hugh Fothergill 15 July 1920 16 March 1996 was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League VFL and for Williamstown Football Club in the Victorian Football Association VFA He was also a noted cricketer representing Victoria in the Sheffield Shield Des FothergillFothergill in the late 1930sPersonal informationFull nameDesmond Hugh FothergillDate of birth 1920 07 15 15 July 1920Place of birthNorthcote Victoria AustraliaDate of death16 March 1996 1996 03 16 aged 75 Place of deathMelbourne Victoria AustraliaOriginal team s Collingwood TechHeight178 cm 5 ft 10 in Weight88 kmPosition s half forward roverPlaying career1YearsClubGames Goals 1937 1940 1945 1947Collingwood111 337 Representative team honoursYearsTeamGames Goals Victoria2 4 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1947 Career highlightsBrownlow Medallist 1940 equal Recorder Cup Williamstown 1941 Collingwood best and fairest 1937 1938 1940 Collingwood leading goalkicker 1937 1945 1946 Collingwood Team of the Century half forward flank Collingwood Football Club Hall of FameSources AFL Tables AustralianFootball comIn a short but brilliant football career interrupted by World War II and ended by injury Fothergill was recognized as one of the finest small players of his era winning almost every available accolade at both club and league level Contents 1 Football career 1 1 Switch to Williamstown and war service 1 2 Return to Collingwood 2 Cricket career 3 References 4 External linksFootball career EditFrom Collingwood Tech Fothergill was a gifted sportsman who made his VFL debut aged 16 for Collingwood in 1937 Fothergill was a small midfielder half forward who seemed too small at the start at 172 cm and 73 kg but his brilliance as a footballer was something that over shadowed his liabilities Fothergill made an impact straight away as he played brilliant football winning a Copeland Trophy as Collingwood s best and fairest in his debut season and kicking 56 goals being the club s leading goalkicker In 1938 Fothergill was once again a dominant member of the side winning his second consecutive Copeland Trophy at the age of 18 and two years later in 1940 Fothergill won his third Copeland Trophy Also in 1940 Fothergill and South Melbourne player Herbie Matthews tied for first place in Brownlow Medal voting with a then record 32 votes At the time neither player won the Brownlow Medal itself as their records could not be separated on countback and there was no provision for a shared medal but both men were awarded Brownlow Medals in 1989 when the VFL decided to retrospectively eliminate the countback from the award 1 Switch to Williamstown and war service Edit In 1941 Fothergill followed teammate and friend Ron Todd to Victorian Football Association VFA club Williamstown without receiving a clearance from the VFL as many other high profile League players had done during the VFA s throw pass era In his sole season with Williamstown he won the Recorder Cup and VFA Medal as best and fairest in the VFA polling a record 62 votes and winning by a huge margin of 29 votes 2 In his 20 games Fothergill kicked 78 goals and also won the Williamstown best and fairest award He was made vice captain but captained the side for much of the season due to the absence of captain coach Gordon Ogden due to illness injuries business commitments and a two match suspension Fothergill had signed with Williamstown until the end of 1943 but when VFA competition was suspended from 1942 until 1944 due to World War II his career at Williamstown came to an end as the contract he signed had lapsed 3 He joined the army in 1942 and was forced to move on after a knee injury when in Darwin Northern Territory Return to Collingwood Edit In 1945 Fothergill returned to the VFL back at Collingwood having never formally been cleared from the club He dominated at half forward for the club again despite being slower and having injury problems He kicked 62 goals in 45 games after the war and he was the VFL s leading goalkicker in the 1946 home and home season although he ultimately finished second for the League s Leading Goalkicker Medal after his total was passed in the finals by Essendon s Bill Brittingham He was forced to retire in 1947 due to a leg injury Fothergill was named in the Collingwood Team of the Century and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2000 The award for the best young player in the modern Victorian Football League which is the successor to the former VFA is named the Fothergill Round Medal in honour of Fothergill and Barry Round 4 Cricket career EditFothergill was also an accomplished cricketer playing cricket in the summer throughout his football career A right handed batsman and leg break bowler he played 27 first class cricket matches for Victoria making 1404 runs at 39 00 with one century He made his hundred against South Australia in 1947 and once made 99 against the Australian Services XI 5 He played district cricket for Northcote appearing in 149 matches between 1935 36 and 1952 53 with strong all round performances averaging 41 05 with the bat and taking 122 wickets at 27 35 with the ball 6 After retiring from football Fothergill moved to England and played for the Enfield Cricket Club in the Lancashire League in 1949 and 1950 7 References Edit Better late than never for Brownlow Medal Herald Sun 19 September 2008 Retrieved 29 December 2013 Rover 15 September 1941 Coburg comfortably defeats Preston The Argus Melbourne p 8 Fothergill for Collingwood Williamstown Chronicle Williamstown VIC 16 March 1945 p 1 Amy Paul 18 August 2014 Frankston defender Nic Newman has won the VFL s Fothergill Round Medal Frankston Standard Leader Greg Baum 14 October 2006 Ton up for pitting plumber against pinstripe The Age Retrieved 29 December 2013 VCA 1st XI Career records 1889 90 to 2014 15 D H PDF Cricket Victoria Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 27 February 2016 Teams Des Fothergill played for CricketArchive External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Des Fothergill Des Fothergill at AustralianFootball com Profile CricketArchive com accessed 26 October 2014 Profile at Collingwood Forever Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Des Fothergill amp oldid 1148031880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
