List of Australian rules footballers who died during their playing careers

This is a list of Australian rules football who have died either during their respective playing careers or due to career-ending injury or disease incurred during their playing career. It includes both on-field and off-field deaths. People who had announced their retirement from playing despite still being at an age when they could still have been active, or who only continued to play in low-level amateur or exhibition matches are not listed.

Player	Age	Club	Position	Cause of death	Year
Allen, GeorgeGeorge Allen	22	Sunshine	full-forward	heart failure (during a practice match)	1971
Allister, JackJack Allister	27	North Melbourne		pneumonia	1946[1]
Barry, DaveDave Barry	24	North Fremantle (formerly South Melbourne)	half-forward	run over by a train	1913[2]
Baynes, RhettRhett Baynes	25	Perth (formerly Carlton)	ruckman	suicide (overdose)	1990[3]
Broadbridge, TroyTroy Broadbridge	24	Melbourne	defender	drowning (2004 Asian Tsunami)	2004[4]
Collins, NormNorm Collins	29	Hawthorn (formerly Fitzroy and Carlton)	utility	suicide (hanging)	1933[3]
Crimmins, PeterPeter Crimmins	28	Hawthorn	rover	cancer (testicular)	1976[5]
Doig, RonRon Doig	23	South Fremantle	captain-coach	on-field injury	1932[6]
Downs, LyleLyle Downs	24	Carlton	rover	heart attack	1921[3]
Eastick, BillBill Eastick	26	South Melbourne		illness	1914[7]
Fahey, JockJock Fahey	24	Numurkah (formerly South Melbourne)	utility	struck by motor vehicle	1936[8]
Ford, EddieEddie Ford	28	Katandra (formerly Richmond)		on-field injury	1946[9]
Fox, ArthurArthur Fox	29	Rupanyup (formerly South Melbourne)	wingman	motorcycle accident	1953[10]
Gibb, RayRay Gibb	24	Richmond	utility	motorcycle accident	1953[11]
Gilmore, BrianBrian Gilmore	26	Footscray	follower	car accident	1959[12]
Gordon, WayneWayne Gordon	29	Melbourne	wingman	cancer (Hodgkin's lymphoma)	1983
James, RonRon James	19	Footscray	rover	waterskiing accident	1990
Magor, DougDoug Magor	21	Footscray		car accident	1969
Mascoulis, MichaelMichael Mascoulis	20	Port Melbourne (former West Coast rookie)		car accident	2013[13]
McCarthy, JohnJohn McCarthy	22	Port Adelaide	midfielder	accidental fall in Las Vegas	2012
McKay, DinnyDinny McKay	29	South Melbourne	forward	peritonitis (from burst appendix)	1897
Millane, DarrenDarren Millane	26	Collingwood	wingman	car accident	1991
Moriarty, DanDan Moriarty	28	Melbourne		railway accident	1903
Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon	26	Warrnambool (formerly Richmond)	utility	car accident	1992[14]
Ogden, TerryTerry Ogden	23	Carlton	wingman	pleurisy	1935[3]
Orr, MaxMax Orr	24	Ballarat (formerly Melbourne)	half-forward	car accident	1955
Pearce, ArthurArthur Pearce	21	St Kilda		typhoid fever	1902
Pears, HarryHarry Pears	34	Port Melbourne (formerly Collingwood)	forward	died while playing	1912[15]
Phillips, FredFred Phillips	27	Hawthorn	captain-coach	blood poisoning	1933
Poole, StanleyStanley Poole	23	South Fremantle	goal-sneak	heart failure due to Oedema of the glottis from Ludwig's angina following on-field injury	1940[16]
Reid, BruceBruce Reid	19	South Melbourne	half-back	car accident	1970
Sankey, MaurieMaurie Sankey	25	Carlton	ruckman	car accident	1965[3]
Sexton, JackJack Sexton	35	Norwood	centreman	pleurisy	1935
Silcock, JeremyJeremy Silcock	26	East Perth (formerly North Melbourne)	defender	drowning in Bali	1996[17]
Skehan, PhilPhil Skehan	26	Williamstown (formerly South Melbourne)	follower	pneumonia resulting from an on-field injury	1921
Stewart, JimJim Stewart	24	North Melbourne		appendicitis	1942
Strauch, DenisDenis Strauch	28	Port Melbourne (formerly Carlton)	forward	tetanus	1965[3]
Tape, JamieJamie Tape	28	Woodville-West Torrens (formerly Richmond and Collingwood)	defender	car accident	2003[18]
Tassell, DougDoug Tassell	24	Essendon	defender	car accident	1970[19]
Turner, JockJock Turner	26	Yallourn (formerly Essendon)		motor bike accident	1935[20]
White, PeterPeter White	26	Kyabram (formerly at Carlton)		drowning	1996[3]
Williams, AnthonyAnthony Williams	26	Port Adelaide		building accident	1988[21]
Willis, BrianBrian Willis	21	Footscray			1951[22]
Witto, LesLes Witto	23	Carlton	defender	tetanus	1926[3]

See also

• List of Victorian Football League players who died on active service

References

1. "WHOLESALE CUTS AT NORTH.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 25 March 1946. p. 12. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
2. "A FOOTBALLER'S DEATH.". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
3. "Tragedies in Blue". 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
4. "AFL player's wife comes home". 4 January 2005.
5. "CANCER CAUSES PLAYER'S DEATH.". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 29 September 1976. p. 36. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
6. "Footballer's Death". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 19 September 1932. p. 9. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
7. "The Record.". South Melbourne Record. Emerald Hill, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 24 October 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
8. "FOOTBALL COACH KILLED.". The Independent. Deniliquin, NSW: National Library of Australia. 2 July 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
9. "FOOTBALLER DIES AFTER COLLISION IN GAME.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 15 July 1946. p. 20. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
10. "WIMMERA FOOTBALL STAR DIES.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 16 June 1953. p. 14. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
11. "Footballers rally to Gibb family.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 12 September 1953. p. 31. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
12. "Eleven die in road smashes". The Age. 30 November 1959.
13. Amy, Paul; Michell, Tim (2 December 2013). "Emotional Gary Ayres pays tribute to Port Melbourne recruit Michael Mascoulis after fatal car crash". Port Phillip Leader.
14. "Driver of fatal van read 0.055: court.". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1992. p. 18. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
15. "WELL-KNOWN FOOT-BALLER.". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
16. "FOOTBALLER'S DEATH.". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
17. Butler, Steve (16 September 2012). "Footy family share the pain". The West Australian.
18. Quayle, Emma (10 January 2003). "Jamie Tape: unassuming achiever who always looked forward".
19. "Wool Board Man Killed In Crash.". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 22 June 1970. p. 7. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
20. "Road Accidents". The Argus. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 9 March 1935. p. 30. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
21. Thring, Harry (7 September 2013). "How tragedy helped unite Port Adelaide – twice".
22. "Family Notices.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 5 September 1951. p. 14. Retrieved 17 May 2015.