AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Full name
William Cubbins
Known as
Bill Cubbins
Born
4 May 1899
Died
3 January 1968 (aged 68)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 16y 74d
Last game: 35y 29d
Height and weight
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Senior clubs
St. Kilda; Footscray
Jumper numbers
St. Kilda: 13, 21, 4, 2, 1, 11, 8
Footscray: 2, 1
Recruited from
St. Kilda (1927); Warrnambool (1928); St. Kilda (1931)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Kilda | V/AFL | 1915, 1919-1926, 1928-1930 | 149 | 42 | 0.28 | 42% | — | — | — | 3 |
Warrnambool | HFNL | 1927 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Footscray | V/AFL | 1931-1932, 1934 | 33 | 0 | 0.00 | 58% | 17.43 | — | 4.29 | 4 |
V/AFL | 1915, 1919-1926, 1928-1932, 1934 | 182 | 42 | 0.23 | 45% | 17.43 | — | 4.29 | 7 | |
WDFL | 1927 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Total | 1915, 1919-1932, 1934 | 182 | 42 | 0.23 | — | — | — | — | — |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 2,203rd player to appear, 853rd most games played, 2,356th most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 451st player to appear, 65th most games played, 160th most goals kickedFootscray: 132nd player to appear, 353rd most games played, 841st most goals kicked
Superb overhead and a tremendous kick, full back Bill Cubbins maintained intermittent involvement in VFL football for two full decades. He began with St Kilda in 1915, but then enlisted for military service overseas, and missed the next three seasons. Between 1919 and 1927 he again fronted up with the Saints when he proved himself one of the toughest and most accomplished defenders in the game.
Captain of St Kilda in 1921-2 and again in 1925, Cubbins spent the 1927 season with Western District Football League club Warrnambool before again captaining the Saints in 1929-30. He finished his VFL career with Footscray where he was captain-coach in 1931-2, non-playing coach in 1933, and resumed briefly as a player in 1934. Four times voted St Kilda's best and fairest player, Bill Cubbins was a regular VFL representative, and must have been within a whisker of gaining selection in St Kilda's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.
Author - John Devaney