Albert Collier

Albert Collier, also known as Leeter Collier (9 July 1909 – 22 February 1988), was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League.

Albert Collier
Collier during his Collingwood career
Personal information
Full name Albert Collier
Date of birth 9 July 1909
Place of birth Collingwood, Victoria
Date of death 22 February 1988(1988-02-22) (aged 78)
Place of death Seaford, Victoria
Original team(s) Ivanhoe
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 85 kg (187 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1925–30; 1933–39 Collingwood 205 (54)
1931–32 Cananore (TFL)
1941–42 Fitzroy 012 (12)
1945–46 Camberwell (VFA)
Total 217 (66)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1946.
Career highlights
  • Brownlow Medal 1929
  • William Leitch Medal 1931
  • Collingwood Best & Fairest 1929, 1934, 1935
  • Collingwood premierships 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1936
  • Collingwood Team of the Century
  • Victorian representative (14 games, 1 goal)
  • Tasmanian Representative (1)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Personal life

Albert Collier was born on 9 July 1909 in Collingwood, the seventh of the ten children of Albert Augustus Collier, signwriter, and his wife Hannah Josephine, née Binks, Albert grew up living opposite Victoria Park, the home ground of the Collingwood Football Club and was educated at the nearby Victoria Park State School.[1]

He later married Mavis Thelma Leibie (1917–2003) and they had two sons.

Albert Collier died in 1988 at his home in Seaford and is buried at Frankston Cemetery.[2]

Playing career

In 1924 both Albert and his brother Harry played for the Melbourne district club Ivanhoe and their strong performances led to the brothers being invited to try out for Collingwood. Albert Collier made his Collingwood debut in 1925 and soon established himself in the team. He initially played forward, but after a couple of seasons became a powerful centre half back,[3] and he was a vital part of 'The Machine', the 1927-1930 Collingwood teams who won four premierships in a row. This feat has not been repeated to date.

At the height of the Great Depression Collier left Collingwood to coach Cananore Football Club in Tasmania,[4] winning both a premiership and the William Leitch Medal in 1931 and representing Tasmania in the State Carnival.[5]

In 1933 Collier returned to Collingwood, and from 1935 to 1939 served as vice-captain with his brother Harry as captain. In each of those years the ‘Magpies’ contested the grand final, winning two further premierships (1935 and 1936).

Before the 1940 season the Collingwood committee forced the Collier brothers into a reluctant retirement,[6] and Albert transferred to Fitzroy where he played in 1941 and 1942.

Collier later captain-coached Camberwell[7] in the throw-pass era VFA from 1945 until 1946, earning acclaim for building and leading the team to the minor premiership and a losing Grand Final in 1946.[8]

He later coached country teams at Kyneton[9] and at Sea Lake.[10]

Military service

In 1942, Collier enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force[11] where he served in an Aircraft Repair Depot until the end of the war.[12][13]

Honours

Collier won the Brownlow Medal in 1929.[14]

In 1996 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, and was named at centre half back in Collingwood's Team of the Century.[15]

The Victorian Football League’s Interstate team that drew with South Australia, in Adelaide, 13.10 (88) to 11.22 (88) on Saturday, 16 June 1928.
Back Row: Albert "Leeter" Collier (second from left)

References
  1. "The Organisation of State School Sport is Now Highly Systematised". Sporting Globe (68). Victoria, Australia. 24 March 1923. p. 4.
  2. "Albert Collier". Find a Grave.
  3. "Prominent Personalities - Albert ("Leeter") Collier". Table Talk (3203). Victoria, Australia. 26 September 1929. p. 12.
  4. "Will Collingwood Greatly Miss Albert Collier?". Sporting Globe (905). Victoria, Australia. 8 April 1931. p. 9.
  5. "Who's Who in League Football". Table Talk (3391). Victoria, Australia. 4 May 1933. p. 38.
  6. "Collingwood Stalwarts". The Age (26, 525). Victoria, Australia. 22 April 1940. p. 4.
  7. "New Coach for Camberwell". The Age (28, 058). Victoria, Australia. 26 March 1945. p. 6.
  8. "What is wrong at Camberwell". The Sporting Globe. Melbourne, Victoria. 28 May 1947. p. 12.
  9. "Marcus Boyall New Coach At Camberwell". The Argus (31, 350). Victoria, Australia. 21 February 1947. p. 12.
  10. "Alan Marshall's My People". The Argus. Victoria, Australia. 9 July 1955. p. 7.
  11. "Leading Athletes Enlist". The Argus (29, 772). Victoria, Australia. 24 January 1942. p. 10.
  12. "World War Two Nominal Roll: Corporal Albert Collier (50408)". Department of Veterans Affairs.
  13. World War Two Service Record: Corporal Albert Collier (50408), National Archives of Australia.
  14. "A. Collier, the Best and Fairest Footballer". Sporting Globe (744). Victoria, Australia. 11 September 1929. p. 1.
  15. Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 52. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
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