Jack King (footballer, born 1879)

John King (15 January 1879 – 25 June 1965) was an Australian rules footballer who was recruited from the Rutherglen Football Club and played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]

Jack King
Personal information
Full name John King
Date of birth (1879-01-15)15 January 1879
Place of birth Rutherglen, Victoria
Date of death 25 June 1965(1965-06-25) (aged 86)
Place of death Rutherglen, Victoria
Original team(s) Rutherglen
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1904 St Kilda 8 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1904.
Career highlights
  • Inducted into the Stawell Gift Hall of Fame
  • Played in 11 O&MFL Premiership with Rutherglen
  • 2003 – Rutherglen – Team of the Century
  • 2008: O&MFL Hall of Fame
  • Played in 11 O&MFL Premierships
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

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One of the nine children of the vigneron Daniel King (1827-1903),[2] and Ellen King (1844-1923), née Slattery,[3] John King was born at Rutherglen, Victoria on 15 January 1879.

King was the older brother of James Bernard "Jim" King (1873-1929), the former South Melbourne and St. Kilda player, and of Christopher King (1883-1980), winner of the 1908 Stawell Gift.

Football

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King played an incredible 26 years of senior football in the Ovens and Murray Football League, playing in 11 premierships with Rutherglen and was inducted into the O&MFL – Hall of Fame in 2008.[4]

Professional athlete

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Sprinter

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Starting off an official handicap of 13 yards, he was a finalist in the 1907 Stawell Gift. With the field on their marks, he broke twice and was penalized another two yards. He came fourth.[5]

Coach

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King, who "had a cinders track [on his Rutherglen farm] that replicated the exact gradient of the rise at Stawell",[6] become a four-time Stawell Gift winning athletic coach: his younger brother, Chris King (1908), Clarrie Hearn (1929), Frank Bradley (1937), and Jack Hayes (1954).[7] He also "helped" the 1952 winner, Lance Mann;[8] and, later, convinced dual Stawell Gift winner (1966 and 1967) Bill Howard to take up professional running in 1964.[9]

Stawell Gift's Hall of Fame

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King was inducted into the Stawell Gift – Hall of Fame.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 481. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5.
  2. ^ Death of Mr. D. King, Sen., The Rutherglen Sun and Chiltern Valley Advertiser, (Friday, 24 July 1903), p.2.
  3. ^ Rutherglen, The Advocate, (Thursday, 22 March 1923), p.33.
  4. ^ "Hall of Fame - Jack King - 2008". Ovens and Murray FNL. O&MFNL.
  5. ^ Stawell Easter Gift, The Numurkah Leader, (Friday, 5 April), p.4.
  6. ^ Bill Howard's Stawell Gift, 1966, The Age, 15 April 2006.
  7. ^ Stawell Gift To Hayes, Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, (Tuesday, 20 April 1954), p.3).
  8. ^ Just a Veteran, THe Barrier Miner, (Saturday, 14 March 1953), p.2.
  9. ^ "1966 - Bill Howard's Stawell Gift". The Age. 15 April 2006 – via Trove Newspapers.
  10. ^ "Stawell Gift – Hall of Fame". Stawell Gift. Stawell Gift.
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