William Joseph McSpeerin (25 September 1874 – 3 June 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).Holmesby & Main (2014), p. 566.
Family The son of James McSpeerin (1846–1909),Deaths: McSpeerin, The Argus, (Tuesday, 30 March 1909), p.1. and Catherine McSpeerin (1842–1890), née Reid,Funeral Notices: McSpeerin, The Argus, (Friday, 1 August 1890), p.1. William Joseph McSpeerin was born at Carlton, Victoria on 25 September 1874.
He married Mary Anna "Marie" Rau (1876–1961) in 1906.Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Marriages Registration no.869/1906.
Football A rover, McSpeerin debuted with Fitzroy when the club was still in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and was a member of their 1895 premiership side. When the Victorian Football League was formed in 1897, McSpeerin was a key member of the team and appeared in 10 out of 14 games that season, including one match against St Kilda where he reportedly ran the entire length of the oval to kick a goal.Atkinson, p. 36.'Markwell', "Football Notes: Hollow Defeat", The Australasian, (Saturday, 10 July 1897), p. 21.
McSpeerin ("never a burly man, but tough as leather and supple as whipcord"'Old Boy', "Football: Fitzroy's Fighting Forces", The Australasian, (Saturday, 1 June 1940), p. 14.) became one of the leading players of the early VFL years, playing in Fitzroy premierships in 1898 and 1899, being appointed club captain in 1901, and in 1903 becoming the first Fitzroy footballer to play 100 VFL games.
McSpeerin retired at the end of the 1904 VFL season, his last game being Fitzroy's Grand Final win over Carlton.
1899 team of "champions" At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for The Argus, Reginald Wilmot ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition: Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong). Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne). Centres: Fred Leach (Collingwood), Firth McCallum (Geelong), Harry Wright (Essendon). Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne). Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong), Charlie Colgan (South Melbourne). Ruck: Mick Pleass (South Melbourne), Frank Hailwood (Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong). Rovers: Dick Condon (Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy), Teddy Rankin (Geelong). From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — Wilmot selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.'Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p. 6.
Death He died at East Brunswick on 3 June 1943.Deaths: McSpeerin, The Argus, (Friday, 4 June 1943), p.2.Former Player's Death, The Age, (Friday, 4 June 1943), p.4.Rowell, Ted, "Great Man Gone", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 12 June 1943), p.4.
Notes
References Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. .
Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014), The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.), Melbourne: Bas Publishing. Pennings, Mark (2016), Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's early History: Volume 4: Tough Times: Victorian Football loses its Way, 1891 to 1896, Brunswick, Victoria: Grumpy Monks Publishing.
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