| Bill Flintoft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | William Morris Musson Flintoft | ||
| Born | 20 March 1889 South Yarra, Victoria | ||
| Died | 3 May 1951(1951-05-03) (aged 62) Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Original team | Prahran College /South Yarra | ||
| Position | Centre / Half forward flank | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1909–1912 | Melbourne | 42 (18) | |
| 1913 | St Kilda | 1 (0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1913. | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
William Morris Musson Flintoft (20 March 1889 – 3 May 1951) was anAustralian rules football player with theMelbourne Football Club and theSt Kilda Football Club in theVictorian Football League (VFL). He playedVictorian Premier Cricket for theMelbourne Cricket Club. Flintoft also served in theFirst Australian Imperial Force in World War I. In later life Flintoft wasMayor of Prahran, on the Committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and on the Board of the Melbourne Football Club, serving as president of the latter for three years.
Flintoft was born inSouth Yarra, Victoria,[1] the son of Josiah James Walter Flintoft, a three-time mayor of Prahran, and Fanny (née Mitchell),[2] on 20 March 1889. He was educated atPrahran College and he became aclerk.[3]
Flintoft was recruited from theSouth Yarra Football Club, at the age of 19, and made his VFL debut for the Melbourne Football Club in round 3 of the1909 season. His career with Melbourne lasted from 1909 to 1912, playing 42 games and kicking 18 goals.[4] Described as "theBeau Brummell of League football", Flintoft played in the centre and was known for being "dapper on and off the field".[5] Flintoft left Melbourne at the end of the1912 season and joinedSt Kilda for the1913 season.[4] However, his time with St Kilda was unsuccessful, playing only one game in the lone season he was at the club.[4] The 1913 season was Flintoft's last in the VFL.[4]
Flintoft was an accomplishedcricketer, playingVictorian Premier Cricket, the top level of cricket inVictoria, with theMelbourne Cricket Club (MCC).[5][6] He played for the MCC from 1909 to 1927,[6] with a hiatus from 1915 to 1919, in order to serve in World War I.
Flintoft enlisted in theFirst Australian Imperial Force, to serve in World War I, on 2 August 1915.[3][7] He began his service as aSecond Lieutenant in the58th Battalion,[3][7] with which he would remain for the entirety of World War I, and embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on 16 December 1916, on the HMAT A7Medic.[3][7] The 58th Battalion was attached to the5th Australian Division and saw action inEgypt[5] and on theWestern Front, fighting in France[5] and Belgium. Flintoft fought in many of the deadliest battles of World War I, such asFromelles,Amiens andMont St. Quentin. Flintoft, however, remained unharmed throughout World War I, was promoted to the rank ofLieutenant, and returned to Australia on 3 March 1919.[3]
Flintoft wasMayor of Prahran[5] from 1934 to 1935. In 1934, Flintoft's wife gave birth to a son.[8] He served on the board of theMelbourne Football Club and took over fromJoe Blair as president of the club in 1947, serving in the position until 1949, whenAlbert Chadwick took over the presidency.[9] During his time as president, Melbourne won the1948 premiership. He was awarded life membership of the club in 1945.[10] Flintoft was also on the Committee of theMelbourne Cricket Club, from 1937 until his death on 3 May 1951.[11] Flintoft was survived by his wife and two sons.[5]
