A SEARCH instigated by Goulburn Valley League historian Don Kilgour seeking information on former champion Goulburn Valley League footballer Eric James drew a quick response.
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Eric — ‘Bub’ or ‘Bubby’ as he was affectionately known — won the second Morrison Medal for the Goulburn Valley League’s best and fairest in 1935 and again in 1937 when playing for the Shepparton Football Club.
Eric was the youngest of seven brothers and two sisters raised in the Wyuna area near McCoys Bridge and later in Kyabram.
Eric is listed as playing in Kyabram’s Jim Bourke-captained 1928 premiership side alongside two of his brothers, Tom and Clarrie, while another brother, William (Billy), was club secretary at the time.
That win completed a hat-trick of flags for the Bombers and has never been repeated by a Kyabram senior side.
Eric also started the 1929 season with Kyabram and kicked seven goals against Murchison in the opening round of that year.
Employed by jewellers Fred C. Johns in Kyabram at the time, he was transferred during the season to its Shepparton branch, which led to his stellar career with the Shepparton Football Club.
He was a member of Shepparton’s 1929 premiership side that downed Rushworth in the season decider.
Shepparton went into recess in the 1930 season due to an issue over Saturday and Wednesday games, but rejoined the GVL in 1931.
Eric played with Shepparton until 1939, snaring the Morrison Medal in 1935 following the inaugural win of Kyabram’s Wilf Cox in 1934.
He repeated his Morrison Medal win in 1937.
Shepparton again pulled out of the Goulburn Valley League in 1939 over continuing Saturday and Wednesday play issues and joined the Central Goulburn Valley League.
World War II then interviewed but Eric returned to play with Shepparton in the Central Goulburn Valley League in 1946.
In that year he won the Shepparton Advertiser Cup for the best and fairest player in the league, which was his swansong year as a player.
Eric’s oldest brother, Billy, was a one-game VFL/AFL Richmond premiership player — the only player to hold this honour.
With one of its star forwards injured and unable to play in the premiership showdown against Collingwood, Billy was plucked from Kyabram, eliminated by Shepparton in a GVL semi-final, to play for Richmond in the 1920 VFL grand final. He kicked the goal that put the Tigers in front and on the way to taking the flag.
It was Billy’s one and only appearance for Richmond and he was retrospectively awarded a life membership of the club for his contribution, after the Tigers had made a decision in recent times to award life membership to every premiership player in the club’s history.
Billy continued to play with Kyabram until the end of the 1924 season when in the summer of 1924-25 he shot away part of his foot when rabbiting with Kyabram pharmacist and footy club stalwart Des Nuttall at Robert Breen’s property on the corner of Cooma and South Boundary Rd, southeast of Kyabram.
Although that finished his playing days with the club, Billy then served the club as its secretary in 1925, 1926 and 1927. His two brothers Tom and Clarrie continued to play with the club into the 1930s with Tom captaining the side in the 1931 and 1932 seasons.
A nephew of Eric James, Kyabram’s Ron James, a member of Kyabram’s 1958 premiership team under Tony Bull, said Eric’s “Bub” or ‘‘Bubby’’ nickname came about because he was the youngest of the seven James brothers.
● Two Kyabram sporting clubs have named their presidents for the coming year.
Parkland Golf Club has Fred Roberts at the helm after the club’s annual general meeting last week, taking the reins from Lyn McLean, who didn’t seek re-election.
Club stalwart Peter Fraser will serve again as the club’s secretary for his 49th year.
At the Kyabram Trotting Club Wes Shellie was re-elected president at its recent annual meeting.
● Kyabram-trained mare Andyou ran a huge race in the Group 1 $50,000 Australasian Trotters Championship at Melton last Saturday night.
Trained by the president of the Kyabram Trotting Club, Wes Shellie, the six-year-old daughter of Majestic Son finished second to the Andy Gath-trained Majestuoso at odds of 72/1.
Driver James Herbertson had Andyou within striking distance of the leaders throughout the 2760m marathon and was making ground on the winner in the concluding stages.
● Shepparton Swans have locked in former AFL player Paul Hawke as coach for the 2021 season.
It will be his third year as coach after being coaxed out of retirement to get the Swans back on track after some lean years following the drought-breaking 2014 premiership win over Benalla.
Hawke, who coached Tatura to a premiership in 1998, believes that with some former players returning and some new recruits the Swans can make further improvement next season.
● Former Shepparton footballer Justin Scripps has landed the job as chief executive of the South Australian Football League club Glenelg.
A dual Shepparton premiership player in 1993 and 1994 Scripps moved to South Australia in 1995 to play with Glenelg. He played 76 games for Geelong before crippling knee injuries ended his playing career. But he has been connected with the club for two decades as a player, administrator and coach.
Justin has a challenging year coming up in 2021, as Glenelg is preparing to celebrate its 100th year.
Scripps is the son of former Shepparton and Girgarre premiership player Col Scripps, one of the best defenders in the GVL in the 1960s and early 1970s.
● Former Stanhope bowler John Stokes made a sensational comeback to claim the Goulburn Valley division of the State Singles championship recently.
Stokes clashed with Shepparton Golf teammate David Dawes in the final played at East Shepparton, and thought he was a goner when he trailed 18-6 and 19-8 in the first-to-25 contest.
But in a tactical move to play shorter ends Stokes staged an epic fightback to claim the title 25-24.
He had accounted for Kyabram’s Rob George in the semi-final while Daws booked his spot in the finals by accounting for Shepparton Park coach Paul Nicols.
● Moama Football Club is hoping a new recruit’s football fortunes will rub off on the club.
The Magpies have picked up footy journeyman Justin Wilson for the 2021 season.
Wilson, known as Fezz or Ferret, has been a member of eight teams that have won flags across the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia, and his experience and knowledge of the game is expected to be a great boost for the young Moama side.
Now working in the Echuca-Moama area, Wilson’s friendship with Moama coach Luke Eldridge clinched the deal for him to play with Moama.