Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Albert Morrison

Known as
Alby Morrison

Nickname
Boy

Born
29 January 1909

Died
24 September 1997 (aged 88)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 83d
Last game: 37y 221d

Height and weight
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 86 kg

Senior clubs
Footscray; Preston

Jumper numbers
Footscray: 7, 1, 2, 9, 15

Recruited from
Footscray (1939); Preston (1941); Footscray (1948)

Alby Morrison

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
FootscrayV/AFL1928-1938, 1941-1942, 19462243691.6546%19.006.7970
PrestonVFA1939-1940105
SorrentoMPFNL1948-1954
Total1928-1942, 1946, 1948-19542244742.12

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 3,377th player to appear, 442nd most games played, 119th most goals kickedFootscray: 79th player to appear, 17th most games played, 6th most goals kicked

Were it not for his almost constant willingness to sacrifice his own game in the interests of his team, Alby Morrison might be remembered today as one of the bona fide all time greats of the game. As it was, he was still an excellent player, perfectly balanced, and boasting all the skills, as well as sufficiently versatile to handle virtually any position on the ground.

Recruited from Spotswood, Morrison - popularly known as 'Boy' - made his Footscray debut in 1928, and went on to represent the club 224 times in three separate stints. The first, and longest, lasted from 1928-38, during which time he won club best and fairest awards in 1933 and 1936, and topped the club's goal kicking on five occasions. He also represented the VFL in 1929-30, 1933, 1935 and 1937-8.

In 1939-40, Morrison captain-coached VFA side Preston, but was unable to get the side into the finals. He did, however, top the club's goal kicking list in both seasons, with tallies of 33 and 72 goals. He returned to Footscray in 1941-2 before embarking on military service for the remainder of the war. In 1946, at the age of 37, he lined up with Footscray for one last season.

Between 1948 and 1954, Morrison served as captain-coach of Sorrento, finally retiring, aged 45, after the club's victorious 1954 Grand Final. Meanwhile, at the MCG on the very same afternoon, Footscray broke through for its first ever VFL pennant by downing Melbourne.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.