Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Colin Campbell

Known as
Colin Campbell

Born
2 January 1918

Died
18 October 2003 (aged 85)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 22y 137d
Last game: 23y 149d

Height and weight
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 85 kg

Senior clubs
Collingwood

Jumper numbers
Collingwood: 29, 5

Family links
Norm Campbell (Brother)

Colin Campbell

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
CollingwoodV/AFL1940-19411740.2441%2
Total1940-19411740.2441%2

AFL: 4,790th player to appear, 6,937th most games played, 6,629th most goals kickedCollingwood: 416th player to appear, 602nd most games played, 603rd most goals kicked

Colin Campbell had only a short stint in Collingwood colours but his debut in 1940 saw him "come to the rescue" of the Magpies because it kept alive a tradition of brothers playing at the club, one that had lasted since 1922, thanks to the Coventrys, Colliers and Murphys. The younger brother of Norm, who had made his debut for the Magpies the previous year, was granted a permit by the VFL to play for Collingwood despite not having received a clearance from his VFA side Preston.

Having impressed in pre-season matches with the Magpies, Campbell joined brother Norm to make his debut in round four of the 1940 season, named as a follower against North Melbourne. The Magpies were beaten, but Campbell held his place, albeit switching to a back pocket. He became a stalwart of the Collingwood defence, playing all remaining games bar one, which he missed through injury.

Despite his success in a defensive role in 1940, the opening round of the 1941 season found Campbell selected as a follower, before injury and illness saw him miss the next two games. In his absence, the Argus's Percy Taylor identified Collingwood's one weakness as a key forward — "If Collingwood could find another [Ron] Todd, its worries would be over as play elsewhere is satisfying officials." Suggestions had been made that Campbell might be tried at full-forward, and indeed that scenario came to pass in round four, with Campbell kicking three goals as the Magpies scraped in by a point against Footscray at Victoria Park.

Hopes were high that Campbell might be the missing piece in the Collingwood puzzle, but in the very next match against Melbourne, he sustained a blow to the kidney in the first quarter that saw him not only carried from the field, but landed him in hospital for several days. By the time he had recovered, Campbell was "in camp" and he would spend the next few years serving in the army.

After the end of Word War II, a return to the Magpies was on the cards for Campbell in the pre-season of 1947, with the Age's Percy Beames proclaiming the following in March of that year: "One of the most prominent contenders for recognition at Victoria Park is Colin Campbell, a splendidly proportioned follower and defender, who played splendid football with the Magpies in 1941."

For reasons unclear, though, Campbell made no appearances in the black and white in that season, or ever again. His three-goal game in 1941 against the Bulldogs — which had seen him hailed as the potential answer the Collingwood's key forward problems — proved to be his last full VFL match, Campbell becoming another of the many whose potential to become a league star was thwarted by war service. Campbell's final tally of 17 matches and four goals tells a tale of unfulfilled promise, a sadly all-too-common story during Australia's war years.

Author - Andrew Gigacz

Sources

The Age, The Argus, The Sporting Globe

Footnotes

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