Phil Skehan
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Phil Skehan | |||
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Personal information | |||
Full name | Philip Skehan | ||
Date of birth | 21 June 1894 | ||
Date of death | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. | ||
Place of death | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
Original team(s) | Middle Park | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1917-1919 | South Melbourne | 38 (2) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1919 season.
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Philip "Phil" Skehan (21 June 1894 - 17 June 1921) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Skehan played as a follower and was recruited to South Melbourne from Middle Park. A butcher by profession, he was a member of the South Melbourne team which defeated Collingwood in the 1918 VFL Grand Final.[1] His last game for South Melbourne was a semi final in 1919 and he was then sacked by the club after a dispute with the committee.[2]
He hoped to continue playing football with Williamstown in the Victorian Football Association and on Wednesday 8 June 1921 was given a permit to transfer from South Melbourne.
The subsequent weekend, he made his debut for Williamstown in a fixture against Essendon Association and in the first half was involved in a collision with an opponent, with both of them going for the ball. The Essendon player was able to continue the game after being treated but Skehan suffered serious concussion and had a broken right leg below the knee.[3] He would die in hospital six days later, due to hypostatic pneumonia and concussion of the brain.[4]
He is believed to be the first VFL footballer to have lost his life as a result of an on-field injury and his death came just over a month before a similar tragedy, when Carlton rover Lyle Downs died of a heart attack in the club's training rooms.
References
- ↑ AFL Tables: Phil Skehan
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Argus, "Player's Leg Broken", 13 June 1921. p. 7
- ↑ The Argus, "Death Of Footballer", 22 June 1921. p. 10
- Use dmy dates from September 2015
- Use Australian English from September 2015
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- 1894 births
- Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
- Sydney Swans players
- Williamstown Football Club players
- Sport deaths in Australia
- Accidental deaths in Victoria (Australia)
- 1921 deaths