Norman Yeo

Norman Yeo
Norman Yeo
Personal information
Full name	Norman Wyatt Yeo
Date of birth	21 June 1886
Place of birth	Ballarat East, Victoria
Date of death	1 June 1950 (aged 63)
Place of death	Malvern East, Victoria
Original team(s)	Wesley College
Playing career1
Years	Club
1906	Essendon
1909	University
Total
	1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1909.
	Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Norman Wyatt Yeo (21 June 1886 – 1 June 1950) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and University in the Victorian Football League.^[1]

Family

The son of Rev. Henry Yeo (1859–1940),^[2]^[3] and Sarah Ann Yeo, née Allan (1858–1936),^[4] Norman Wyatt Yeo was born at Ballarat East on 21 June 1886.

He married Eva Agnes Thompson (1891–1975) on 29 October 1914.^[5]^[6]

Education

He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, where he was a member of their first XVIII football team.

Football

Essendon (VFL)

Yeo was the leading goalkicker for Essendon in his only season with the club, scoring 31 goals in his 15 games. According to Maplestone (1996), "Yeo had business commitments that kept him out of football [in 1907]" (p.69).

VFL Representative team

Yeo was selected in the VFL side to play against a combined Ballarat team, in Ballarat, on Saturday, 11 August 1906. It was a "return" match, the first having been played in Melbourne, on the MCG, on 23 June 1906.

Given that Melbourne, St Kilda, Carlton, and Fitzroy were playing against each other in the second half of the split round 13, selection was made from the remaining four VFL teams — although, because the entire Collingwood team were touring Tasmania (and no Collingwood players were available for selection) the team was restricted to players from Essendon, Geelong, and South Melbourne^[7] — and Yeo was one of the six Essendon players selected: Allan Belcher, Ernie Cameron, Mick Madden, Jack McKenzie, Bill Sewart, and Norman Yeo.

The combined Ballarat team outclassed the VFL side, eventually winning the match 11.7 (73) to 6.7 (43);^[8] and, although selected at full-forward, Yeo failed to score a goal.^[9]

Beverley (MJFA)

He subsequently played for Beverley in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA)^{[broken anchor]}, captaining the side in 1908.^[10]^{[note 1]}

University (VFL)

In 1909, Yeo again returned to senior football ranks, this time playing two games for University in the Victorian Football League.

Beverley (MJFA)

Yeo returned to the Beverley Football Club, and he captained them until he retired at the end of the 1913 season.^[11]

Later life

After his football career, Yeo was a leading figure in the Australian wool industry, being the chief accountant of the Central Wool Committee during World War I and the British Australian Wool Realization Commission which was set up to deal with the disposal of wool stocks when the war ended. He also helped the Government in its operation of the Central Wool Committee during World War II.^[12]^[13]

Death

Norman Wyatt Yeo died at his home in East Malvern on 1 June 1950,^[14]^[15] and he is buried at Springvale Botanical Cemetery.^[16]

Notes

^ Some sources including the Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers state that Yeo played in the Victorian Football Association for both Richmond and Hawthorn, however club records do not show him ever playing for these teams. Yeo had retired by 1914, the year that Hawthorn were first admitted to the VFA

Footnotes

^ Holmesby & Main (2014), p.916.
^ Presentation to the Rev. H. Yeo, The Horsham Times, (Friday, 14 April 1899), p.3.
^ "Rev. Henry Yeo". The Age. No. 26, 477. Victoria, Australia. 24 February 1940. p. 24.
^ "Family Notices". The Argus. No. 28, 066. Victoria, Australia. 3 August 1936. p. 1.
^ Marriages: Yeo—Thompson, The Leader, (Saturday, 5 December 1914), p.60.
^ Deaths: Yeo, The Age, (Wednesday, 2 July 1975), p.19.
^ World of Sport, The Herald, (Friday, 10 August 1906), p.4.
^ Football: Ballarat v. The League: Fast, Open Game: Easy Win for the Locals, The Ballarat Star, (Monday, 13 August,1906), p.4.
^ League v. Ballarat, The Geelong Advertiser, (Monday, 13 August 1906), p.4.
^ "Beverley Football Club". Richmond Guardian. No. 1704. Victoria, Australia. 10 October 1908. p. 3.
^ "Beverley Football Club". Richmond Australian. No. 2712. Victoria, Australia. 28 March 1914. p. 3.
^ "Wool Official Dead". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 086. New South Wales, Australia. 3 June 1950. p. 5.
^ "TRIBUTE TO MR. N. YEO". The Canberra Times. Vol. 24, no. 7022. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 June 1950. p. 4.
^ "Family Notices". The Herald. No. 22, 785. Victoria, Australia. 2 June 1950. p. 6.
^ Death of Mr. Norman Yeo, The Age, (Saturday, 3 June 1950), p.4.
^ "Norman Wyatt Yeo". find a Grave.

References

Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014), The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.), Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5
Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8