Bill Cutler (footballer)

William Percival Cutler (29 July 1900 – 13 August 1969)[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[2][3]

Bill Cutler
Personal information
Full name William Percival Cutler
Date of birth (1900-07-29)29 July 1900
Place of birth Bowenvale, Victoria
Date of death 13 August 1969(1969-08-13) (aged 69)
Place of death Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg
Original team(s) Ballarat
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 90 kg (198 lb)
Position(s) Rover
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1930–31 Melbourne 22 (6)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1931.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of George Phillip Cutler, and Julia Cutler, née Baker, William Percival Cutler was born at Bowenvale (near Timor), Victoria on 29 July 1900.

He married Cecelia Maria Drummy (1900–1969) in 1923.

He died at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg on 13 August 1969.

Football

Melbourne

Recruited from Ballarat, he played his first match (at the age of 29) for Melbourne against South Melbourne on 3 May 1930 in round one of the 1930 VFL season.[4]

He played in the first fifteen matches of the 1930 season. On 23 August 1930, in the round fifteen match against Carlton,[5] he was reported for three separate offences.[6] He was found guilty of two of the three charges, and was suspended for a total of 12 matches:[7]

  • Striking Dinny Kelleher. The charge was sustained and Cutler was suspended for eight matches. (Kelleher was also reported for striking Cutler, and was also suspended for eight matches.)
  • Attempting to strike Alex Duncan. The charge was sustained and Cutler was suspended for four matches.
  • Attempting to strike Fred Gilby. The charge against Cutler was not sustained.

Former champion ruckman Jumbo Sharland's review of Melbourne's 1930 season had this to say of Cutler:[8]

The big weakness in the Melbourne work last season was the ruck play. A lion in the ruck was Cutler, a big burly fellow, who was not afraid to use his shoulders to advantage. At times he was near the border-line as regards roughness. At present he is under disqualification, but will be available again. Cutler proved a valuable shepherder.

He played another seven senior matches for Melbourne in 1931, once he was free from his suspension.

Carlton

Although he was cleared from Melbourne to Carlton in 1932,[9] he never played for Carlton.

Military service

He enlisted in the Second AIF in October 1939, and was discharged from the army (on medical grounds) in January 1943.

Notes
  1. Note that his VFL records have his birthdate as 28 July 1900, while his Second AIF service record shows that his birthday was on 29 July (he had taken 5 years off his age, stating that he was born in 1905; however, by the time of his medical discharge in January 1943, he was admitting that his age was 42), and, also, that he died at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg on 13 August 1969.
  2. Holmesby & Main (2009), p.193.
  3. Cutler at Wonthaggi, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 24 September 1932), p.6.
  4. The Teams, The Age, (Friday, 2 May 1930), p.6; Club Chatter: Melbourne Optimistic, The Age, (Friday, 2 May 1930), p.6.
  5. Carlton Remember!, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 22 August 1939), p.13.
  6. Players Reported, The Age, (Monday, 25 August 1930), p.6.
  7. Cutler, 12 Weeks; Kelleher, 8 Weeks, The Age, (Friday, 29 August 1930), p.5; League Tribunal, The Argus, (Friday, 29 August 1930), p.11.
  8. Sharland, W.S., "Melbourne's Ruck Play Requires Strengthening This Season", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 28 February 1931), p.6.
  9. Football, The Argus, (Thursday, 7 April 1932), p.12.

References
  • Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
  • "Bill Cutler - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  • World War Two Service Record: Private William Percival Cutler (VX3307).
  • World War Two Nominal Roll: Private William Percival Cutler (VX3307).
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