15 Facts About Vic Thorp

Victor Charles Thorp was an Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1910 and 1925.

Vic Thorp was one of many great players who grew up in the shadow of the Tigers' Punt Road Oval and served the club loyally for many years, thus influencing the development of the parochial culture of the Richmond club.

The fifth and youngest child of Charles Frederick Thorp, and Emma Florance "Amy" Thorp, nee Brandon, Victor Charles Thorp was born at Fitzroy, Victoria on 25 October 1890.

Vic Thorp married Rita Nichol Davies, in New Town, Tasmania, on 17 April 1938.

Also non-existent was any form of zoning, so Vic Thorp was free to accept an invitation to trial with St Kilda.

The Saints made one of the great errors in rejecting Vic Thorp, who went to Richmond in 1910.

Vic Thorp instinctively knew when to play from behind and when to position himself in front, when to mark and when to spoil and read the play so well he never seemed to be caught out of position.

When numbers were first used on players' guernseys in 1912, Vic Thorp received the number 5.

Unlike many of his teammates, Vic Thorp decided against enlistment for the war.

At the business end of the season, Thorp dominated the semi-final thrashing of Geelong and was instrumental in two upset victories over Carlton by winning his duels with the Blues' captain Gordon Green.

Vic Thorp appeared in every big game and final the Tigers played, and was always a steady influence when the chips were down.

Vic Thorp was elected to the Richmond committee in 1927, after a brief sojourn at the VFA club Prahran, where he ironically played as a forward and led the club's goalkicking.

Vic Thorp remained a stalwart of Richmond all his life, running a tea merchant business in the suburb and serving as committeeman until 1935.

In 1996, Vic Thorp was elected as an inaugural member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, the only Richmond player of the pre-World War I era to receive the honour.

In 1998, Vic Thorp was selected at full-back in Richmond's "Team of the Century".