Henry George 'Harry' Saunders (21 May 1898 – 9 December 1930) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and coached Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family The son of Henry Saunders (1859-1921),Deaths: Saunders, The Argus, (Thursday, 27 January 1921), p.1. and Hannah Saunders (1863-1941), née Guiney,Deaths: Saunders, The Age, (Wednesday, 7 May 1941), p.1. Henry George Saunders was born at Portland, Victoria on 21 May 1898.
He married Millicent May "Mollie" Allen (1900-1963), later Mrs. Walter William James Crawford, in 1922.
Education He attended Christian Brothers' College, East Melbourne.
Football Collingwood (VFL) Saunders was recruited locally to Collingwood and went on to play 11 seasons with the club as a defender, mostly at full-back. He was a member of Collingwood premiership teams in 1917 and 1919 as well as playing in three losing Grand Finals. Saunders also represented the VFL at interstate football on three occasions.
1922 In 1922, following a game where he had knocked out Carlton's Alex Duncan, the VFL Tribunal suspended him for six matches.Three Players Disqualified, The Age, (Saturday, 5 August 1922), p.14.Three League Players Disqualified in Victoria, The Barrier Miner, (Thursday, 10 August 1922), p.3. He was also charged by the police,'Kickero', "Dirty Work in Football: Police may take Action", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 5 August 1922), p.4. found guilty in court, and fined £5, in default a month's imprisonment.Footballer Punched: Player fined £5: J.P. Declines to Act, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 1 September 1922), p.5.Assault on Football Field: £5 Fine Inflicted, The Argus, (Saturday, 2 September 1922), p.23.Footballers in Court: Player fined £5 for Assault on Field, The Geelong Advertiser, (Saturday, 2 September 1922), p.9.
1926 After playing the opening two rounds of the 1926 season Saunders retired from playing.'Kickero', "Time Beats All: Saunders Leaves Football", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Wednesday, 19 May 1926), p.3.
Footscray (VFL) He was cleared to Footscray in mid-season 1926,H. Saunders (Collingwood) Cleared, The Argus, (Wednesday, 30 June 1926), p17. and coached them, as non-playing coach, in 10 games for three wins. South Melbourne's Paddy Scanlan was appointed as Footscray's captain-coach at the beginning of the 1927 season.
Death Saunders died on 9 December 1930 following an operation for pancreatitis, aged 32.Deaths: Saunders, The Age, (Wednesday, 10 December 1930), p.1.Star Full Back: Late H. Saunders of Collingwood, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Wednesday, 10 December 1930), p.3.
References
External links
Harry Saunders's coaching statistics, from AFL Tables.
Harry Saunders' profile at Collingwood Forever