Jack Worrall

Jack Worrall
Personal information
Full name	John Worrall
Date of birth	(1861-06-21)21 June 1861
Place of birth	Maryborough, Victoria
Date of death	17 November 1937(1937-11-17) (aged 76)
Place of death	Fairfield, Victoria
Original team(s)	South Ballarat
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1884–1892	Fitzroy
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1902–1909	Carlton	144 (100–43–1)
1911–1920	Essendon	135 (65–67–3)
Total		279 (165–110–4)
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1920.
Career highlights
VFA Fitzroy captain 1886–1892 VFL Carlton premiership coach 1906, 1907, 1908 Essendon premiership coach 1911, 1912

VFA

VFL

John "Jack" Worrall (20 June 1861 – 17 November 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the VFA, and a Test cricketer. He was also a prominent coach in both sports and a journalist.

A small, nuggety man with broad shoulders, pink complexion and intense brown eyes, Worrall was one of Australia's great all-round sports people of the nineteenth century, and was involved in Australian football and cricket at the elite level for many decades. After his retirement, he coached both sports, and is considered the "father" of Australian football coaching. Worrall had an extended career as a sporting journalist, and he was a highly respected member of the press box right up until his death in 1937. He was no stranger to conflict, and his forthright manner embroiled him in a number of sporting controversies throughout his lifetime.

Born on the Victorian Goldfields at Chinaman's Flat (now in the locality of Snake Valley near Maryborough, Worrall was the seventh child of Irish-born parents, Joseph and Ann. He attended state school in Maryborough, but moved to Ballarat in his early twenties. There, he came under notice playing cricket against the touring English team, which led to his selection for Victoria in 1883. Joining the South Ballarat Football Club, Worrall showed excellent potential and he was persuaded to move to Melbourne and play for the fledging Fitzroy club in 1884. At this stage, Fitzroy had just secured admission to the game's elite competition, the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Worrall became a major factor in the emergence of Fitzroy as a powerful team. During summer, he turned out for the Fitzroy Cricket Club.

On Saturday, 27 September 1884, Worrall was playing a cricket match at Albert Park. The Fitzroy Football Club, short of a man, prevailed upon Worrall to play in their team in the match against South Melbourne in Fitzroy's last match for 1884 (Worrall's first season with that club) . Worrall played the entire match for Fitzroy, in his "white flannels"!

The move to Fitzroy dramatically improved Worrall's prospects in both sports. He played his first Ashes test match in the 1884–1885 season, when he was called into the team at the last minute to replace a player who was in financial dispute over his proposed fee for the game. At this time in his career, Worrall was a middle-order bat who bowled medium pace. He failed to secure a regular place in the test team, and was not always a regular selection for the Victorian team.