Eddie Ford Explained

Eddie Ford
Fullname:Edwin Bertram Ford
Birth Date:1917 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Shepparton, Victoria
Death Place:Mooroopna, Victoria
Originalteam:Shepparton (CGFL)
Height:185 cm
Weight:82 kg
Statsend:1943
Years1:1942–1943
Club1:Richmond
Games Goals1:4 (0)

Edwin Bertram Ford (22 September 1917 – 13 July 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1940s.[1]

Family

The son of Bertram Seymour Ford (1890-1974), and Joannah/Hannah Ford (1889-1980), née Shortis, Edwin Bertram Ford was born at Shepparton, Victoria on 22 September 1917.

Football

Richmond (VFL)

Recruited in 1941,[2] he spent four seasons (1941 to 1944) with Richmond, employed with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, and playing in 4 senior games (0 goals), and 19 games (8 goals) with the Seconds.[3] He made his senior debut against Melbourne at Punt Road in the second round of the 1942 VFL season, as Richmond amassed 196 to fall just three points short of their club record. The following week he appeared in his club's win over Collingwood but didn't play again for the rest of the year. In 1943 he played two further games, both against the same opponents from the previous season.[4] He then returned home to the country, where he worked as a farmer.

Tungamah (MVFL)

In 1945 he was playing with the Tungamah Football Club in the Murray Valley Football League.[3]

Katandra (CGVFL)

In 1946 he was the captain-coach of the Katandra Football Club in the Central Goulburn Valley Football League.

Death

On Saturday, 13 July 1946, during the third quarter of the Ardmona-Katandra GVFL match, Ford collided with an opposition player (Hugh Allan Russell).[5] Although stunned, Ford stayed on the field for the rest of the match. Once home after the match, he became ill, and was taken to Mooroopna Hospital where he died later that evening.[6] [7] [8] [9]

Memorial

In June 1953, a new set of dressing sheds, dedicated to Ford, were opened at Katandra West.[10] [11]

References

Notes and References

  1. Holmesby & Main (2007).
  2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205159239 League Permits, The Age, (Thursday, 8 May 1941), p.4.
  3. Hogan (1996), p. 74.
  4. AFL Tables.
  5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187171671 Coroner Probes Cause of Katandra Captain's Death; Accidental Collision on Field, The Shepparton Advertiser (Friday, 16 August 1946), p. 15.
  6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article279303081 Deaths: Ford, The (Melbourne) Sun News-Pictorial, (Wednesday, 17 July 1946), p. 22.
  7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22315832 Footballer Dies After Collision in Game, The Argus, (Monday, 15 July 1946), p. 20.
  8. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206371123 Footballer dies after Game: Former Richmond Player, The Age, (Monday, 15 July 1946), p. 3.
  9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187170851 Footballer’s Death Casts Gloom Over Katandra: Captain in Fatal Collision, The Shepparton Advertiser (Tuesday, 16 July 1946), p. 1.
  10. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article173892218 Katandra's Big Day, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Friday, 19 June 1953), p.2.
  11. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article173892347 Memorial Plaque Unveiled, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Tuesday, 23 June 1953), p.7.