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).Holmesby & Main (2007).
Family The son of John Thomas McDonald (1863–1929),Deaths: McDonald, The Age, (Monday, 14 January 1929), p.1. and Margaret Mary McDonald (1860–1936), née O'Brien,Deaths: McDonald, The Age, (Friday, 13 November 1936), P.1. 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.Births: McDonald (nee Ilma Laffy), The Age, (Saturday, 21 July 1928), p.13.Births: McDonald (nee Ilma Laffy), The Age, (Saturday, 21 September 1929), p.13.
Football A full-forward, McDonald averaged two goals a game in his three seasons at Essendon.AFL Tables. 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.Game Little Essendon Forward: F. McDonald Prefers League Company, The Herald, (Saturday, 4 June 1921), p.6."The Rabbit" Takes Careful Aim (Photograph), The Herald, (Saturday, 4 June 1921), p.6.
He captain-coached Hamilton in 1922 and 1923. During the 1920s he also spent some time in charge of South Ballarat. (Archived)
Death He died (suddenly) at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Moreland Road, Coburg, on 28 May 1962.Deaths: McDonald, The Age, (Tuesday, 29 May 1962), p.14.
Footnotes
References
Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
External links
Frank McDonald, at The VFA Project.