Frank McDonald (footballer)

Francis Joseph "Frank" McDonald (21 September 1899 – 28 May 1962) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]

Frank McDonald
Personal information
Full name Francis Joseph McDonald
Nickname(s) Red
Date of birth (1899-09-21)21 September 1899
Place of birth Allendale, Victoria
Date of death 28 May 1962(1962-05-28) (aged 62)
Place of death Coburg, Victoria
Original team(s) Footscray (VFA)
Height 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Full-forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1919–1921 Essendon 28 (56)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1921.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of John Thomas McDonald (1863–1929),[2] and Margaret Mary McDonald (1860–1936), née O'Brien,[3] Francis Joseph McDonald was born at Allendale, Victoria, on 21 September 1899; and, although his birth was registered as "Simon McDonald", throughout his life he was always known as "Francis Joseph McDonald".

He married Ilma Magdalen Laffy (1900–1955) in 1926.[4][5]

Football

A full-forward, McDonald averaged two goals a game in his three seasons at Essendon.[6] Recruited from the Victorian Football Association (VFA) team Footscray, his first appearance for Essendon, in round 10 of the 1919 VFL season, was also the last of his brother Paddy's nine games for Essendon.

McDonald twice won Essendon's leading goalkicker award (now known as the Matthew Lloyd Medal). The first was in 1920, when he kicked 33 goals from only 11 games. This included a seven-goal haul against Geelong. He topped the goal-kicking again the following year, 1921, with 17 goals in 10 games.[7][8][9]

He captain-coached Hamilton in 1922 and 1923. During the 1920s he also spent some time in charge of South Ballarat.[10]

Death

He died (suddenly) at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Moreland Road, Coburg, on 28 May 1962.[11]

Footnotes
  1. Holmesby & Main (2007).
  2. Deaths: McDonald, The Age, (Monday, 14January 1929), p.1.
  3. Deaths: McDonald, The Age, (Friday, 13 November 1936), P.1.
  4. Births: McDonald (nee Ilma Laffy), The Age, (Saturday, 21 July 1928), p.13.
  5. Births: McDonald (nee Ilma Laffy), The Age, (Saturday, 21 September 1929), p.13.
  6. AFL Tables.
  7. Lovett, Michael (2004). AFL 2004 – The Official Statistical History Of The AFL. AFL Publishing. ISBN 0-9580300-5-7.
  8. Game Little Essendon Forward: F. McDonald Prefers League Company, The Herald, (Saturday, 4 June 1921), p.6.
  9. "The Rabbit" Takes Careful Aim (Photograph), The Herald, (Saturday, 4 June 1921), p.6.
  10. "McDonald, Frank J." Essendon Football Club. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. (Archived)
  11. Deaths: McDonald, The Age, (Tuesday, 29 May 1962), p.14.

References
  • Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
  • Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8


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