Medical science keeps your football team fit
Club doctors and head trainers who work under their supervision are vital factors in the Australian Rules game
×
Left ▼
Many of the 400,000 odd followers of Australian Rules football in this State will remember Ambrose Palmer, former Australian heavyweight boxing champion, as a popular figure in pre-war League contests. But few are aware that an injury suffered by this boxer-footballer in April 1939 influenced the VFL in its decision to provide beds in one public hospital for players seriously hurt.
Palmer's injury at Footscray and the subsequent events are worth repeating. The match had scarcely begun when he collided with two opponents and was carried off the ground with his jaw broken in three places. Semi-conscious and in great pain, he received what emergency treatment could be given at the time by the club's medical officer, while the secretary telephoned four public hospitals, but no bed was available. Eventually he was taken to Alfred Hospital, where another shock awaited desperate officials. Because of Palmer's financial position the hospital authorities said he could not be admitted, so he was taken by taxi-cab to a private hospital. He arrived there in a state of collapse. It was not until 8 o'clock—almost three hours after the match—that an operation was performed by a leading surgeon.
Footscray officials were hostile. They said as much at the next meeting of the VFL. Result: Beds available at all times in the Alfred Hospital for seriously injured players on payment of a fixed amount each year. Some clubs work independently of the League in arranging accommodation for players in public and intermediate hospitals.
Few League or Association clubs, if any, will haggle over the cost of medical or first-aid treatment for players injured in matches or during training. The treatment can be expensive, rising at times to well over £200 in a season.
I know of one case of a fairly raw type of recruit who turned up at a less financial club in the hope that he would make the grade as a League player. During the season's preliminary training he fell and broke an arm. Though he had not the slightest chance of inclusion in either the first or second 18, he received medical treatment at the club's expense until the arm had fully recovered. And there's another case of a leading player's broken leg which cost a club £160. Soon afterward he left that club without a clearance.
Throughout the history of the Australian Rules game close relationships have existed between clubs and members of the medical profession. The explanation is simple. To play well a man must be supremely fit, and remain so, if he is to be of lasting use to a club, if he is injured or suffers any physical defect the club must see that he recovers as quickly as possible. So the doctor, or medical officer, becomes an indispensable member of the footballing fraternity.
×
Center ▼
Still, there's more to it than the hard-headed business aspect. A surprisingly large number of medical men are themselves old footballers or follow the game with intense interest.
Dr W.C, McClelland, former Melbourne captain, I find, has been president of the VFL for the last 20 years or more. Dr Jacob Jona, jovial vice-president, played in the South Australian League in his youth. For two decades he has been either president or vice-president at Hawthorn.
Others, too, have contributed largely to the success of the game by long service to clubs and football generally. For example, the late Dr Kevin McCarthy, former Adelaide and Melbourne University player, who until his death a few years ago was president at Footscray, and an ornament to the game in any company. Drs John Piper and D. Berman have been presidents at Geelong and North Melbourne respectively.
×
Left ▼
In most cases medical officers delegate their authority to head trainers, who work under their supervision. Head trainers in many respects are remarkable people. They are seldom too old, but rather acquire knowledge with age. Mr Wal Lee, father of Dick, the champion goal-kicker, is an example. He began at Collingwood in 1892, and retired in 1941 on completion of 50 years' service with that club. Mr Fred Pleass, Melbourne's head trainer until this season, though a junior by comparison, did the job for 23 years.
Just as players rely on medical officers for treatment of serious injuries, so are they dependent upon head trainers for sprains, cuts, bruises, and a host of other complaints to which they are exposed during any normal season. Thoroughly qualified in first aid and all that it implies, head trainers and those who work under them are not mere "slappers," but skilled manipulators with special knowledge of bone, sinew, ligament, and muscle formation
Football today demands more of head trainers than mere manipulatory skill. Many players regard them both as fathers and nursemaids, so they must have an understanding of types and temperaments. Some players want sympathy, others encouragement, and still others good-natured banter to launch them into battles.
At the Carlton ground recently I met Mr Charlie Anderson, head trainer for the last 22 years, and observed his methods in treating players' injuries. Mr Anderson was working in a small, spotlessly clean compartment at one end of the dressing-room. In one corner was a large medicine and first-aid cabinet, beside it an electric urn for boiling water. Players were receiving treatment for cuts, bruises, sprains, &c, on a padded table in the centre.
Judging by the contents of the first-aid cabinet, it could have belonged to a doctor's surgery. There were instruments, oils, medicines, oils and ointments, smelling salts, APC and eye drops, and large rolls of bandages and adhesive tape. During a normal season Mr Anderson and his assistants use up to 500 yards of 3in and 5in adhesive tape—it takes eight yards to strap up a man's ribs. Each Saturday there are 38 ankles to bandage, and on training nights 40. I learned that ankles were bound to support the ligaments in the event of a twist—not to prevent a man going over sideways on an ankle.
Stop marks and abrasions received special attention. I understood why when Mr Anderson said 90% of horses in Victoria were carriers of tetanus germs. Most medical officers insist on anti-tetanus injections for players suffering from cuts or abrasions.
Mr Anderson, though not the oldest trainer in the League, gained his early experience in the first few years of this century in a city gymnasium attended by three former Australian boxing champions—Bill Lang (heavyweight), Eddie Williams (middleweight), and Hughie Mehegan (lightweight). Nothing, apparently, is too good for the rising football champion. Some clubs have taken the trouble to employ registered masseurs and install diathermy apparatus for infra-red ray treatment.
Notwithstanding criticism by followers of other codes, the record of Australian Rules football is clean, and, considering the numbers engaged each week, is remarkably free from serious mishaps. Senior clubs are doing their part to maintain the health of players.
Footnotes
Title: Medical science keeps your football team fit
Author: Argus Staff Writer
Publisher: The Argus (Melbourne, Vic: 1848-1957)
Date: Saturday, 31 May 1947, Supplement: The Argus Week-end Magazine p.10 Article Illustrated
Comments
This article does not contain any comments.
Login to leave a comment.