Australian Football

Happy 150th birthday to Geelong and Carlton's Harry McShane. One of six brothers to play at footy at the highest level, McShane played 78 VFA/L matches for Geelong and 82 for the Blues in a career that spanned 1894 to 1904. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 120th birthday to North Melbourne's Frank Melville. Melville's 13-game VFL career with the Shinboners came in two stints – five games in 1925 and eight in 1929. He tasted victory only once, against Hawthorn in Round 6, 1925. — Andrew Gigacz

First recorded by South Melbourne in 1907 and most recently by Fremantle in 2013, 7.2 has been a final score just five times across 126 V/AFL seasons. Its reverse, 2.7, has been registered 13 times. — Andrew Gigacz

Carlton's Doug Williams was born 100 years ago today. The dashing wingman played 120 games for the Blues, including the 1945 and 1947 premiership wins. — Andrew Gigacz

It's a rare score, but 2.2 has been recorded three times in 126 V/AFL seasons. It was registered by Essendon in 1903, University in 1908 and Collingwood in the 1960 Grand Final. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 120th birthday to St Kilda's Jack Shelton. From 1925 to 1928, Shelton played 57 games for the Saints, kicking 152 goals. — Andrew Gigacz

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of former VFL player Ralph Shalless. In a career that spanned six years, Shalless played four games for Melbourne – three in 1943 and one in 1946 – and 17 for Hawthorn in 1948-49. — Andrew Gigacz

Geelong's George Pike was born 100 years ago today. In his three seasons with the Cats from 1947 to 1949, Pike played 14 matches and kicked 11 goals. — Andrew Gigacz

Footscray's Dick Wilkinson was born 100 years ago today. Wilkinson played two games for the Bulldogs in 1926, both come-from-behind wins. He kicked a goal in the second of those games. — Andrew Gigacz

Carlton one-gamer Les Starr was born 100 years ago today. Starr's solitary VFL match came in Round 18 of the 1913 season. Starr passed away aged 61 in 1954. — Andrew Gigacz

East Perth's Colin Pestell was born 100 years ago today. Pestell's 155-game career in the WAFL took in the years 1946 to 1954 and included no fewer than eight state appearances. — Andrew Gigacz

Hawthorn's Richard Loveridge turns 60 today. Loveridge's 136-game VFL career included premiership wins against Essendon in 1983 and Carlton in 1986. — Andrew Gigacz

One of the most famous names in Australian football, Roy Cazaly, was born 130 years ago today. Playing 99 games each for St Kilda and South Melbourne, his big leap spawned the famous cry, "Up there, Cazaly!", still popular today. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy birthday to North Melbourne one-gamer Kevin Hughes, who turns 60 today. Hughes' one game came in the opening round of 1988, in which he got a creditable 15 posessions. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 140th birthday to Richmond's Jack Pemberton. Becoming the 25th VFL Tiger in Round 4, 1908, Pemberton went on to play three games in yellow and black. — Andrew Gigacz

Hawthorn's Alex Nash was born 100 years ago today. Nash played a single game for the Hawks in 1942 before returning to his role as pilot in the RAAF. He was killed in action in 1944, aged just 21. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 140th birthday to Essendon's John Stephenson. Stephenson made 10 senior appearances for the Dons in the 1907 season. — Andrew Gigacz

South Melbourne's Perce Horner was born 110 years ago today. Horner kicked one of the Swans eight goals on debut in 1938, but he never played senior VFL footy again. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 121st birthday to South Melbourne and Melbourne's Bert Lawrence. In a VFL career that only took in 10 games, Lawrence played five games for the Bloods in 1921, two more in 1925 and three for the Fuchsias in 1926. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 150th birthday to South Melbourne's Jack Adamson. The younger brother of Dave, who played 90 games for the Bloods, Jack made three appearances in red and white in 1897-98. — Andrew Gigacz

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ray Bower. In the 1940s Bower played 23 VFL games – 13 for Essendon and 10 for Richmond – and eight games for Port Melbourne in the VFA. — Andrew Gigacz

North Melbourne's Frank Connellan was born 100 years ago today. The only player of that surname to play V/AFL footy, Connellan played 29 games for the Shinboners in 1946 and 1947. — Andrew Gigacz

Happy 40th birthday to Shane Harvey. Though best known as Brent's younger brother, Shane was a handy footballer in his own right, playing 11 games for Essendon and three for North Melbourne in 2002-04. – Andrew Gigacz

Happy 150th birthday to South Melbourne's Charlie Robertson. Across the 1900 and 1901 VFL seasons, Robertson played a total of six games for the Bloods, the last of which was his only win. — Andrew Gigacz