1. Desmond Hugh Fothergill was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League and for Williamstown Football Club in the Victorian Football Association.
14 Facts About Des Fothergill
1. 2.
Des Fothergill was a noted cricketer, representing Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
3.
From Collingwood Tech, Des Fothergill was a gifted sportsman who made his VFL debut aged 16, for Collingwood in 1937.
4.
Des Fothergill made an impact straight away as he played brilliant football, winning a Copeland Trophy as Collingwood's best and fairest in his debut season.
5.
In 1941, Des Fothergill followed teammate and friend Ron Todd to Victorian Football Association club Williamstown without receiving a clearance from the VFL, as many other high-profile League players had done during the VFA's throw-pass era.
6.
Des Fothergill was made vice-captain but captained the side for much of the season due to the absence of captain-coach, Gordon Ogden, due to illness, injuries, business commitments and a two-match suspension.
7.
Des Fothergill had signed with Williamstown until the end of 1943, but when VFA competition was suspended from 1942 until 1944 due to World War II, his career at Williamstown came to an end as the contract he signed had lapsed.
8.
Des Fothergill joined the army in 1942, and was forced to move on after a knee injury when in Darwin, Northern Territory.
9.
Des Fothergill dominated at half-forward for the club again, despite being slower and having injury problems.
10.
In 1946 Des Fothergill kicked 62 goals in seventeen games and was the VFL's leading goalkicker in the home-and-home season, although he ultimately finished second for the League's Leading Goalkicker Medal after his total was passed in the finals by Essendon's Bill Brittingham.
11.
Des Fothergill was forced to retire in 1947 due to a leg injury.
12.
Des Fothergill was named in the Collingwood Team of the Century, and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
13.
Des Fothergill was an accomplished cricketer, playing cricket in the summer throughout his football career.
14.
Des Fothergill made his hundred against South Australia in 1947 and once made 99 against the Australian Services XI.