Australian Football

Originally from Victoria, where he played one solitary game for Carlton (VFL) in 1903, William 'Billy' Orr headed West soon afterwards and established himself as one of the pre-eminent players of the competition. He played 32 games for North Fremantle in 1904 and 1905 before becoming a key member of the Perth team from 1906 to 1911. Orr was one of the first in a long line of champion rovers produced both by that club, and in the west generally.

An important contributor in Western Australia’s 1908 carnival team, after 85 games for Perth, Orr headed to Subiaco in 1912 and was a prime catalyst in lifting that club, which had finished last the previous year, to its first ever league premiership. A similarly telling contribution in 1913 helped the hitherto impotent Maroons make it two flags in a row. A total of 41 games for Subiaco lifted ‘Billy’ Orr’s final tally to 158 league games; he also played three times for Western Australia.

After his retirement as a player, Orr became one of the most important and influential football administrators in the state, serving as Honorary Secretary of the league from 1914 to 1954, and was also a seminal figure in the development of the Western Australian Amateur Football League.

Author - John Devaney, with updates by Andrew Gigacz and additional material from Adam Cardosi