Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
William Augustus Bateman

Known as
Bill Bateman

Born
11 September 1866

Place of birth
Fremantle, WA (6160)

Died
27 July 1935 (aged 68)

Place of death
South Perth, WA (6151)

Occupation
Managing Director, J & W Bateman

Senior clubs
Fremantle (Unions)

State of origin
WA

Hall of fame
Western Australian Football Hall Of Fame (2004)

Family links
William Bateman (Son)Harry Higham (Nephew)

Bill Bateman


ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
Fremantle (Original)WAFA1885-188613
Fremantle (Unions)WAFA1887-189455
WAFA1885-189468
Total1885-189468

Arguably the highest profile footballer in Western Australia during the first decade of the game there, Bill Bateman was the inaugural captain of the Fremantle Football Club in 1885. In 1887, when Fremantle disbanded, he joined Unions (which changed its name to Fremantle in 1890), and carried on playing with distinction for a further eight seasons. In a total of ten seasons in the game, Bateman was a member of a remarkable eight premiership sides.

Bill Bateman learned to play football when he attended Prince Alfred College in Adelaide, “one of the cradles of the Australian game”¹. He was fanatically devoted to the code, and was instrumental in seeing it supplant rugby as ‘flavour of the west’. His importance to the growth, indeed even the existence, of West Australian football would be difficult to over stress.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. The Footballers by Geoff Christian, page 6.

Sources

Full Points Footy's WA Football Companion

Footnotes

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