Jock Fahey

Jock Fahey
Personal information
Full name	John Fahey
Date of birth	(1911-10-22)22 October 1911
Date of death	27 June 1936(1936-06-27) (aged 24)
Place of death	Between Numurkah and Wunghnu
Original team(s)	Numurkah Football Club
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	81 kg (179 lb)
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1932–1934	South Melbourne	31 (11)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1934.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

John Fahey (22 October 1911 – 27 June 1936) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Fahey came to South Melbourne from Murray Football League club Numurkah.[1] He made 12 games appearances in 1932, his debut season, which included a semi-final.[2] In 1933, a premiership year for South Melbourne, Fahey played six games.[2] He played 13 games in 1934 but missed the finals series after he scalded his foot at work.[2][3][4] South Melbourne were losing grand finalists that year.

He left South Melbourne in 1935 to take up a position as coach of Warrnambool in the Hampden Football League.[5] They finished second on the ladder that year, with 10 wins and 5 losses, then progressed to the grand final, where they met minor premiers Mortlake. Warrnambool, with coach Fahey starring at centre half-back, won the grand final by 21 points, to claim their first premiership in the league.[6]

In 1936, Fahey returned home to captain-coach Numurkah in the Murray Football League (MFL).[7] They got off to a good start, winning their first six games under Fahey.[8] On 27 June 1936, Fahey was riding a bicycle from Numurkah to his home in Wunghnu when he was struck by a motor vehicle.[9] He died of his injuries.[10] Fahey remarkably finished second in the 1936 MFL – O’Dwyer Medal.[11]

References

1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
2. "Jock Fahey". AFL Tables.
3. The Argus, "Match Of The Day", 14 September 1934, p. 15
4. The Argus, "First Semi-final", 20 September 1934, p. 10
5. Camperdown Chronicle, "Coach For Warrnambool Club", 2 April 1935, p. 2
6. Camperdown Chronicle, "Football Warrnambool Defeats Mortlake", 17 September 1935, p. 6
7. The Argus, "Fahey to Coach Numurkah", 11 April 1936, p. 21
8. Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, "Footballer Killed In Car Accident", 3 July 1936, p. 14
9. The Independent (Deniliquin), "Football Coach Killed", 2 July 1936, p. 3
10. Camperdown Chronicle, "Personal", 30 June 1936, p.2
11. "1936 - Murray FL - O'Dwyer Medal". Cobram Courier. 20 August 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 4 May 2020 – via Trove Newspapers.