Eric Gardner

Not to be confused with Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after a New York police officer put him in a grappling hold.

Eric Gardner
Personal information
Full name	Eric Arthur Gardner
Date of birth	(1881-06-27)27 June 1881
Place of birth	Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
Date of death	24 May 1905(1905-05-24) (aged 23)
Place of death	Västerås, Sweden
Original team(s)	Melbourne Grammar
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1900–1903	Melbourne	39 (13)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1903.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Eric Arthur Gardner (27 June 1881 – 24 May 1905)[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The younger brother of Corrie Gardner, Eric was a long kicking forward. He played as a wingman and missed out on playing in Melbourne's 1900 premiership side, in his debut season, through injury.[2]

He entered Trinity College (University of Melbourne) in 1900, where he was a member of the football team that won the 1902 intercollegiate premiership,[3] and also participated in athletics, winning the 120-yard hurdles and coming third in the long jump and at the University sports day in 1902.[4]

Gardner died young in 1905 while in Sweden.

References

1. "OBITUARY". The Australasian. Melbourne. 27 May 1905. p. 38. Retrieved 21 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
2. Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
3. "Football", Argus, 2 July 1902, p. 8.
4. "Melbourne University Sports", Argus, 3 June 1902, p. 8.

External links

• Eric Gardner's playing statistics from AFL Tables