Peter Burns (footballer, born 1866)

Peter Charles Burns (5 January 1866 – 11 October 1952) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football Association (VFA) and Victorian Football League (VFL).

For the St Kilda player, see Peter Burns (footballer, born 1939).

Peter Burns
Personal information
Full name Peter Charles Burns
Date of birth (1866-01-05)5 January 1866
Place of birth Steiglitz, Victoria
Date of death 11 October 1952(1952-10-11) (aged 86)
Place of death Williamstown, Victoria
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1881–1884 Ballarat Imperials (VFA) 2 (5)
1885–1891 South Melbourne (VFA) 126 (100)
1892–1896 Geelong (VFA) 88 (27)
1897–1902 Geelong 89 (7)
Total 305 (139)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1902.
Career highlights
  • Geelong captain 1896 (VFA), 1900
  • South Melbourne (VFA) premierships 1885, 1888-1890
  • Victorian representative 14 matches
  • Captained Victoria 1899
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of John Burns (1829-1897),[1] and Martha Burns (1833-1914), née Harrison,[2] Peter Charles Burns was born at Steiglitz, Victoria on 5 January 1866. One of his brothers, Allen Burns, played for South Melbourne in the VFL.

Peter Burns married Elizabeth Corbett (1867-1951) in South Melbourne on 18 April 1889.[3][4]

Football

Burns was a tall ruckman and full-back who made his VFA debut in 1881, aged 16 years,[5] with Ballarat Imperials before transferring to South Melbourne in 1885.[6]

South Melbourne (VFA)

He played 126 games for South and played in four premierships before joining Geelong in 1892.

Geelong (VFA and VFL)

When the Victorian Football League was formed in 1897, he had played 216 games, the most of any active player, and continued to play for Geelong until his retirement in 1902 due to a leg injury he sustained while playing for Victoria against South Australia on 26 June 1902,[7] rather than due to any loss of form.[8]

He served as Geelong's timekeeper from his retirement in 1902,[9] until the end of the 1941 season (the sixtieth year of his association with Australian rules football).[10] Geelong did not compete in the VFL competition in 1942 and 1943, due to war-time travel restrictions.

305 VFA/VFL games

Burns was the first player in elite Australian rules football to play 300 games,[11] and his career total of 305 remained a Victorian football record until it was broken by Gordon Coventry in the 1937 Grand Final (which was Coventry's last game), with Burns in attendance as Geelong's timekeeper.

Death

He died at his residence in Williamstown, Victoria on 11 October 1952.[12][13]

Honours

In 1996, Burns was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Footnotes
  1. Deaths: Burns, The Age, (Monday, 15 November 1897), p.1.
  2. Deaths: Burns, The Argus, (Monday, 27 April 1914), p.1.
  3. Marriages: Burns—Corbett, The Leader, (Saturday, 25 May 1889), p.45.
  4. Deaths: Burns, The Argus, (Monday, 20 August 1951), p.15.
  5. Sporting Notes, The Colac Herald, (Friday, 18 July 1902), p.2.
  6. Peter Burns Looks Back On 60 Years of Sport, The Weekly Times, (Wednesday, 29 April 1942), p.32.
  7. 'Kickeroo', "Football", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 4 July 1902), p.2.
  8. Sporting, The Riverine Grazier, (Friday, 18 July 1902), p.4.
  9. Geelong's Timekeeper: Peter Burn's 34-Years Record, The Age, (Saturday, 15 February 1936), p.29.
  10. Champion Footballers, The Mercury, (Wednesday, 7 June 1944), p.19.
  11. Gartland, Bob, "Peter Burns: The first to 300 elite games", geelongcats.com.au, 16 August 2016; Gartland, Bob, "Peter the Great", sydneyswans.com.au, 16 August 2016.
  12. Deaths: Burns, The Argus, (Monday, 13 October 1952), p.13.
  13. Obituary: Mr P. C. Burns, The Williamstown Chronicle, (Friday, 17 October 1952), p.4.

References
  • Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 44. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
  • de Lacy, H.A., "Unforgettable Characters in Football: Greatest Player Game Has Produced", Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 3 May 1941), p.6.
  • 60 Years Connected With Football: Peter Burns Celebrates Diamond Jubilee, The (Emerald Hill) Record, Saturday, 9 May 1942), p.3.
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