William Henry Walton (3 September 1894 – 24 July 1953) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]
| Bill Walton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Walton in 1919 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | William Henry Walton | ||
| Nickname(s) | Chinga | ||
| Date of birth | 3 September 1894 | ||
| Place of birth | Abbotsford, Victoria | ||
| Date of death | 24 July 1953 (aged 58) | ||
| Place of death | St. Kilda | ||
| Original team(s) | Port Melbourne | ||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1918–1919 | Collingwood | 27 (17) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1919. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Family edit
William Henry Waghorne was born at Collingwood on 3 September 1894 to Winifred Waghorne. Winifred later married William Daniel Walton (1853-1930)[2] and William Henry used the Walton surname during his football career.
William married Eleanor May Moody (1895-1972) on 30 December 1914 at the Holy Trinity Church in Port Melbourne. They had two children together, James George Waghorne (born 1916) and Nellie Winifred Waghorne (born 1918). They subsequently divorced in 1935.[3]
Football edit
Walton started his career at Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Port Melbourne and was their leading goal-kicker in 1914. When the VFA went into recess due to WWI, Walton agreed to captain South Melbourne District in the VJFA for 1916.[4] Enticed to join Collingwood in 1918, Walton appeared in Grand Finals in both his seasons with Collingwood. He played centre half forward in the 1918 VFL Grand Final loss to South Melbourne and centre half back in the 1919 premiership team.
Walton returned to Port Melbourne in 1920 and was appointed captain-coach of Hawthorn (then playing in the VFA) in 1922. He was however refused a clearance by Port Melbourne and as a result spent the season playing for them, while coaching Hawthorn during the week. Twice that season, he had the unusual situation of playing a VFA game against the club that he coached. In one of those matches a Port Melbourne teammate had to be restrained from striking Walton over Walton's vocal support for the player's opponent.[5] In 1923 he was granted his clearance and steered Hawthorn into the finals.
In 1925 he accepted a position to captain-coach Stawell in the Wimmera District Football League. He led the team to a premiership but left town the following year.[6] Walton became the captain-coach of the Castlemaine Football Club for 3 years before moving to Albury and coaching East Albury in the Ovens and Murray Football League.
Hotel licensee edit
In 1930 he retired as a player and took up being the licensee for the Rising Sun Hotel in South Melbourne. Later on he was the licensee of the Sir Henry Loch Hotel in Collingwood.[7]
Death edit
He died at his St Kilda residence after a short illness on 24 July 1953.[8][9]
References edit
- ^ Collingwood Forever.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Age. No. 23461. Victoria, Australia. 19 June 1930. p. 1.
- ^ "DIVORCE COURT". The Argus. No. 27, 856. Victoria, Australia. 29 November 1935. p. 14.
- ^ "FOOTBALL". The (Emerald Hill) Record. Vol. XXI, no. 20. South Melbourne, Victoria. 20 May 1916. p. 3.
- ^ Atkinson, p. 168.
- ^ History of the Stawell Football Club ISBN 9780987139412
- ^ "Former Magpie player dead". The Age. 25 July 1953.
- ^ Deaths: Walton, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 25 July 1953), p. 6.
- ^ "Death of "Chinga" Walton: Great Port Ruckman". The (Emerald Hill) Record. Vol. LXXXIV, no. 30. South Melbourne, Victoria. 1 August 1953. p. 3.
Sources edit
- Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0 86788 009 0.
- Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
External links edit
- Bill Walton's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Bill Walton at AustralianFootball.com
- Bill Walton, at Collingwood Forever.
- W.H. "Bill" Walton, at The VFA Project.