Basil McCormack explained

Basil McCormack
Fullname:	Basil Milton McCormack
Birth Date:	3 August 1904
Birth Place:	Rochester, Victoria
Death Place:	Bentleigh, Victoria
Originalteam:	Rochester
Height:	180 cm
Weight:	79.5 kg
Position:	Half-back flank
Statsend:	1940
Coachstatsend:	1947
Years1:	1925–1936
Club1:	Richmond
Games Goals1:	200 (1)
Years2:	1937–1940
Club2:	New Town Football Club
Games Goals2:	57 (21)
Games Goalstotal:	257 (22)
Coachyears1:	1937–1939
Coachclub1:	New Town Football Club
Coachyears2:	1947
Coachclub2:	Franklin Football Club
Careerhighlights:	Richmond Premiership Player 1932, 1934 Richmond Grand Final Player 1927, 1928, 1931, 1933 Richmond Best and Fairest 1927-1928 Interstate Games:- 13 Richmond – Life Member (1934) Richmond – Committee Member (1955–1971) Richmond – Team of the Century Richmond – Hall of Fame – inducted 2004

Basil Milton McCormack (3 August 1904 – 19 February 1973) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1925 and 1936 for the Richmond Football Club.

Family

The son of Michael McCormack and Mary McCormack (1865–1950), née Foley,^[1] he was born at Rochester, Victoria on 3 August 1904.

Richmond

A left-foot kick, recruited from Rochester,^[2] he played 200 senior games for the Richmond Football Club as a half-back flanker,^[3] and represented Victoria on 13 occasions.^[4]

Double debut

Granted his clearance from Rochester to Richmond on Friday, 1 May 1925,^[5] he played his first match for Richmond, selected on the half-back flank, against Hawthorn, on 2 May 1925 (round 1). He played well; with the match report noting that "McCormack … who marks and kicks well, [was] looking a very likely man".^[6]

It was also the Hawthorn team's first match in the VFL competition, the former VFA club having been admitted (along with Footscray and North Melbourne) in the January of that year.^[7]

Tribunal

He was suspended on two occasions: the first arose from the final on 14 September 1929 for striking (eight weeks), and the second was on 6 May 1933 for elbowing (six weeks).

New Town Football Club

Approached by Cananore in 1936, he was appointed captain-coach of the Tasmanian Football League's New Town Football Club in 1937.^[8] He was captain-coach for three seasons (1937 to 1939), and played a number of senior games in 1940.

Franklin Football Club

In 1947 he was appointed coach of the Franklin Football Club in the Huon Football Association.^[9]

St Virgil's Old Scholars Football Club

He coached St. Virgil's in the Tasmanian Amateur Football League from 1948 to 1950.

Military

Having enlisted in the militia in 1939, the transferred to the Second AIF in 1943, and saw action in the Pacific Islands.

See also

• 1927 Melbourne Carnival

References

• Hogan P: The Tigers Of Old, Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996
• Richmond Football Club – Hall of Fame

External links

• • • Boyles Football Photos: Basil McCormack
• Photograph: Victorian Football League (Team), Visit to Western and South Australia, 1 to 16 July 1929 (State Library of Victoria).
• Militia Enlistment Form: Basil Milton McCormack (TX14087), National Archives of Australia.
• World War Two Nominal Roll: Staff Sergeant Basil Milton McCormack TX14087 (T492357)

Notes and References

1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22907374 Deaths: McCormack, The Argus, (Friday, 18 August 1950), p.14.
2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140761130 Bendigo Matches, The Australasian, (Saturday, 20 September 1924), p.35.
3. Until 2020, the VFL/AFL records claimed 199 games, whereas the records of the Richmond Football Club showed 200 games (Hogan (1996), p.137).
4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/190327921 Millard, P.J., "As I See the Game: Nearing 200 Games", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 13 June 1936), p.8
5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2113280 Permit Applications, The Argus, (Saturday, 2 May 1925), p.26.
6. Hawthorn's Initial Effort: Richmond Too Strong, The Argus, (Monday, 4 May 1925), p.9, p.10; quote is from p.10.
7. The decision to admit the three former VFA teams into the VFL had been made at a full meeting of the VFL on 16 January 1925: League Football: Applications for Admissions: Decision Again Deferred, The Geelong Advertiser, (Monday, 12 January 1925), p.5; Old Boy, "Football League: Admitting More Teams: Old Scheme Revised: Decision Left to Clubs", The Argus, (Tuesday, 13 January 1925), p.13; Football: Three New Clubs Admitted, The Age, (Saturday, 17 January 1925), p.14; League: Three Clubs Admitted, The Argus, (Saturday, 17 January 1925), p.31.
8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/30138314 Football: New Town's New Coach: Appointment of Basil McCormack, The (Hobart) Mercury (Wednesday, 10 February 1937), p.4
9. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26417285 McCormack to Coach Franklin, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Monday, 5 May 1947), p.18.