Gary Williamson (footballer) explained

Gary Williamson
Fullname:Gary Williamson
Birth Date:1941 9, df=yes
Originalteam:Alvie
Height:198 cm
Weight:85 kg
Position:ruck
Statsend:1965
Years1:1961–1964
Club1:Richmond
Games Goals1:42 (24)
Years2:1965
Club2:South Melbourne
Games Goals2:8 (3)
Games Goalstotal:50 (27)

Gary Williamson (25 September 1941  - 28 March 2009) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

A ruckman, Williamson spent four seasons at Richmond, after arriving from Alvie.[1] He played 15 games in 1961, the most he would play in a single season.[2] Crossing to South Melbourne in 1965, he would only appear in eight rounds, but it was enough to bring up 50 league games.[2]

For the rest of the 1960s and until his retirement in 1978, Williamson played in a total of 205 games for Wodonga in the Ovens & Murray Football League (OMFL). He joined Wodonga in 1967 and at the end of his debut season was awarded both the club's "Best and Fairest" award as well as the OMFL's Morris Medal. An achilles injury cost him a spot in Wodonga's 1967 premiership side but in 1969, when he won his second club "Best and Fairest", he was a member of their grand final winning team. He also came close to securing another Morris Medal in 1969, finishing second to Jeff Hemphill.[3]

Williamson, who continued to serve Wodonga off the field after his retirement, was named in 2004 as the club's Team of the Century ruckman and two years later was inducted into the OMFL Hall of Fame. [4]

Williamson died in 2009.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Holmesby. Russell. Main. Jim. The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. 2007. 978-1-920910-78-5.
  2. http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/G/Gary_Williamson.html AFL Tables: Gary Williamson
  3. Niall Seewang, "Tributes for 'kind, big bloke'", The Border Mail, 31 March 2009.
  4. Web site: O&MFNL - Hall of Fame . O&MFNL . Ovens & Murray FNL.