Bill Busbridge

William Ethelbert Busbridge (31 January 1885 – 12 June 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the early days of the Victorian Football League (VFL). A centre half back and part-time ruckman, he was also known by his nickname "Buzzy".

Bill Busbridge
Personal information
Full name William Ethelbert Busbridge
Date of birth 31 January 1885
Place of birth Essendon, Victoria
Date of death 12 June 1943(1943-06-12) (aged 58)
Place of death Geelong, Victoria
Original team(s) Essendon Town (VFA)
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1904–1912 Essendon 103 (32)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1912.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

One of seven children (one of whom was Norm Busbridge), Busbridge was born to William Ethebert Busbridge (1861–1937)[1] and Margaret Jane Busbridge (1870–1895), née Smith,[2] in the Essendon district on 31 January 1885.[3]

He married Ethel Essendon Dean (1888–1971) on 14 December 1912.[4] They had one surviving son, Keith Ethelbert (1917–1985).[5][6]

Busbridge died in a Geelong private hospital on 12 June 1943,[7][8][9] and was cremated at Fawkner Crematorium on 14 June 1943.[10]

Football

Essendon Town (VFA)

Debuting at the age of 17, he played for the VFA team Essendon Town in 1902 and 1903 (31 games and 16 goals).

Essendon (VFL)

Sought by Carlton, South Melbourne, and Essendon, and refused a clearance by Essendon Town ("in view of the club's good prospects, and the fine form shown by you, it is not in the best interests of the club that you be given a clearance"), he was cleared to play with Essendon at the 4 May 1904 meeting of the VFL Permit Committee.[11] Busbridge went on to win consecutive Best and Fairests in 1908 and 1909. He was a premiership player with the Essendon in 1911 when they beat Collingwood by a single goal.

Victoria (inter-State team)

He represented Victoria in the inaugural Australasian Football championships in Melbourne, in August 1908.[12]

Injury

His career came to a premature end when a knee injury forced him to retire in July 1912.[13]

Geelong Grammar School

In 1913, he was coaching the Geelong Grammar School's First XVIII.[14]

Geelong (VFA)

As an interim measure, he was appointed coach of the Geelong Association Football Club for the 1925 season.[15] Ex-Fitzroy footballer, and former Geelong (VFL) coach, Bert Taylor, was appointed captain-coach for the 1926 season.[16]

Renown

VFL Champion

In September 1909 The Argus newspaper organised a vote by its readers to see who were regarded as the most popular champion players in the VFL and VFA.[17] Over 105,000 votes were cast. Busbridge won the League vote (16,592 votes in a total of 64,801) from South Melbourne's Charlie Ricketts (15,232 votes) — a former Essendon team-mate of Busbridge, playing with Brunswick Football Club, Jack McKenzie won the Association vote (17,884 votes in a total of 40,331) from former Geelong footballer Ike Woods, playing with Prahran Football Club (10,317 votes).[18]

Champions of Essendon

In 2002 an Essendon panel ranked him at 14 in their Champions of Essendon list of the 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon.

See also

Footnotes
  1. Deaths: Busbridge, The Argus, (Saturday, 7 August 1937), p.7
  2. Deaths: Busbridge, The Age, (Saturday, 29 September 1895), p.3
  3. https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au birth certificate #2396/1885
  4. Weddings: Busbridge—Dean, The Australasian, (Saturday, 21 December 1912), p.49; Weddings: Mr. William E. Busbridge to Miss Ethel Dean, Table Talk, (Thursday, 26 December 1912), p.17
  5. Births: Busbridge, The Argus, (Saturday, 27 September 1913), p.11; Births: Busbridge, The Argus, (Saturday, 6 March 1915), p.13
  6. World War II Nominal Roll: Busbridge, Keith Ethelbert (VX5073).
  7. Deaths: Busbridge, The Argus, (Monday, 14 June 1943), p.2
  8. "DEATH OF FORMER FOOTBALLER". The Argus. No. 30, 201. Melbourne. 14 June 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 5 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au death certificate #17717/1943
  10. Funeral of Former Essendon Footballer, The Argus, (Tuesday, 15 June 1943), p.4.
  11. Migratory Footballers, The Argus, (Thursday, 5 May 1904), p.9
  12. "SOUTH AUSTRALIA DEFEATED". The Register. Vol. LXXIII, no. 19, 279. Adelaide. 27 August 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 5 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "BUSBRIDGE RETIRES". The Herald. No. 11, 453. Melbourne. 19 July 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. Geelong Still Losing, The Geelong Advertiser, (Monday, 23 June 1913), p.2; Public School's Football, The Geelong Advertiser, (Saturday, 19 July 1913), p.7
  15. Geelong Association: Mr. W. Busbridge Appointed Coach, The Geelong Advertiser, (Thursday, 19 March 1925), p.7
  16. Players Entertained, The Geelong Advertiser, (Monday, 4 October 1926), p.5
  17. 'Observer', "Football Champion: Who Is He?: A Popular Vote, The Argus, (Friday, 10 September 1909), p.5
  18. "FOOTBALL CHAMPION. RESULT OF PLEBISCITE". The Argus. No. 19, 715. Melbourne. 27 September 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 5 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.

References
  • Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
  • Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
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