Charlie Forbes

Charles Forbes
Charles Forbes
	Forbes in 1899
Personal information
Full name	Charles Forbes
Nickname(s)	Tracker
Date of birth	8 May 1865
Place of birth	West Melbourne, Victoria
Date of death	20 June 1922 (aged 57)
Place of death	West Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s)	North Park Juniors
Height	191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	84 kg (185 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club
1889–1896	Essendon (VFA)
1897–1902	Essendon
Total
	1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1902.
Career highlights
	VFA premiership player 1891-94; VFL premiership player: 1897;
	Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Charlie "Tracker" Forbes (8 May 1865 – 20 June 1922) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Family

The son of James Forbes (1815-1900),^[1] and Jessie Forbes (1830-1914), née Walker,^[2] Charles Forbes was born at West Melbourne, Victoria on 8 May 1865.

Football

Forbes was a high marking ruckman — "being strong and wiry with a long reach he was able to take the ball well above the head of the average size footballer"^[3] — who, with his Essendon team-mates, ruckman Fred Ball and rover Colin Campbell, formed the dominant ruck combination of the era.^[4]

Essendon (VFA)

Recruited from the North Park "junior team" in West Melbourne, Forbes played 140 games between 1889 and 1896 for Essendon in the VFA, prior to the VFL's foundation.

A member of the Essendon teams that won four successive premierships from 1891 and 1894, Forbes was named Player of the Season in 1892 by The Argus.^[5]

Essendon (VFL)

In 1897, already 32, and playing as a "follower", he was one of the 20 who played for Essendon in its first VFL match against Geelong, at Corio Oval, on 8 May 1897: Jim Anderson, Edward "Son" Barry, Arthur Cleghorn, Tod Collins, Jim Darcy, Charlie Forbes, Johnny Graham, Joe Groves, George Hastings, Ted Kinnear, George Martin, Bob McCormick, Pat O'Loughlin, Gus Officer, Ned Officer, Bert Salkeld, George Stuckey, George Vautin, Norman Waugh, and Harry Wright.^[6]

He played in Essendon's VFL premiership team in 1897 (there was no "Grand Final" that year). He also played in the first-ever VFL "Grand Final" in 1898, which Essendon lost to Fitzroy.

Death

Forbes died at his residence in West Melbourne, Victoria, following a protracted period of illness, on 20 June 1922.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Notes

References

'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", The Leader, (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8

External links

Charlie Forbes's playing statistics from AFL Tables
Charlie Forbes at AustralianFootball.com
Essendon Football Club profile
Charlie Forbes, at Boyles Football Photos
Charles "Tracker" Forbes, at Find a Grave

[1] Deaths: Forbes, The Age, (Thursday, 22 March 1900), p.1.

[2] Deaths: Forbes, The Argus, (Monday, 19 January 1914), p.1.

[3] "Tracker" Forbes: Noted Footballer Ill, The Herald, (Saturday, 3 June 1922), p.5.

[4] Maplestone (1996), p.558.

[5] Close of the Football Season, The Argus, (Monday, 26 September 1892), p.6.

[6] Maplestone (1996), p.50.

[7] Deaths: Forbes, The Age, (Wednesday, 21 June 1922), p.1.

[8] Death of "Tracker" Forbes: An Old-Time Footballer, The Age, (Wednesday, 21 June 1922), p.9.

[9] "Tracker" Forbes Buried: Football Pennant Drapes Coffin, The Herald, (Thursday, 22 June 1922), p.4.

[10] Worrall, Jack (J.W.), "Death of Charles Forbes", (Saturday, 24 June 1922), p.1157.

[11] Wilmot, W.R.E., "'Tracker' Forbes: Footballer and Comedian", The Australasian, Saturday, 1 July 1922), p.25.

[12] McMichael, Samuel ('Onlooker'), "Tribute to Tracker Forbes: One of the Greatest Victorian Footballers", The Referee, (Wednesday, 5 July 1922), p.12.

[13] Memorial to Famous Footballer, The Argus, (Friday, 4 May 1923), p.7.

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