View source for Alec Eason

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1887}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Alec Eason
| image = Alec Eason 1912.jpg
| caption = Cigarette card of Eason in 1912
| fullname = Alexander Eason
| birth_date = 8 November 1889
| birth_place = [[Geelong]], Victoria
| death_date = {{death date and age|1956|5|5|1889|11|8|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Geelong]], Victoria
| originalteam = Barwon
| debutdate = Round 12, 1909
| debutteam = [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]]
| debutopponent = [[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]]
| debutstadium = [[Corio Oval]]
| height = 175 cm
| weight = 78 kg
| position = 
| statsend = 1921
| years1 = 1909–1915
| club1 = [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]]
| games_goals1 = 112 (57)
| years2 = 1916
| club2 = [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]]
| games_goals2 = {{0}}12 {{0}}(8)
| years3 = 1919–1921
| club3 = [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]]
| games_goals3 = {{0}}38 (23)
| games_goalstotal = 162 (88)
| coachyears1 = 1920
| coachclub1 = [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]]
| coachgames_wins1 = 16 {{0}}(5–11–0)
| coachyears2 = 1929
| coachclub2 = [[Footscray Football Club|Footscray]]
| coachgames_wins2 = 18 {{0}}(6–11–1)
| coachgames_winstotal = 34 (11–22–1)
| careerhighlights = *[[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]] Best & Fairest 1915
*[[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]] Hall of Fame and Team of the Century {{ref|GFCwebsite1}}
}}

'''Alexander Eason''' (8 November 1889 – 5 May 1956) was an [[Australian rules football]] player, coach and administrator in the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]] and [[Victorian Football Association]].

==Family==
The seventh of the eight children of Richard Alexander Eason (1842–1909),<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article147929555 Deaths: Eason, ''The Geelong Advertiser'', (Monday, 19 April 1909), p.1.]</ref> and Annabella Bayfield Eason (1845–1921), née Sisson,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165780116 Deaths: Eason, ''The Geelong Advertiser'', (Tuesday, 13 September 1921), p.1.]</ref> Alexander Eason was born at [[Geelong]], Victoria on 8 November 1889.<ref>An older brother, also "Alexander Eason" (1885–1886), died (aged 15 months) on 21 September 1886 ([http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149046610 Death: Eason, ''The Geelong Advertiser'', (Wednesday, 22 September 1886), p.2]).</ref>

He married Sarah Isobel Huggett (1885–1950) in 1911.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150101225 Pre-Maternity Claim, ''The Geelong Advertiser'' (Wednesday, 13 September 1911), p.6.]</ref> They had eight children.

One of his brothers, [[Bill Eason|William Eason (1882–1957)]], played for, and coached Geelong in the VFL; another of his brothers, George Alexander Eason (1882–1957), was due to play for Geelong in its Finals match [[1899 VFL season#Sectional Round 3|against St Kilda on 9 September 1899]], but died as the consequence of a ruptured liver sustained in a football match, when playing for the [[Barwon Football Club]], on the preceding Saturday;<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9029156Fatal Football Accident, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 5 September 1899), p.6.]</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150445199 (Report of Death), ''The Geelong Advertiser'', (Tuesday, 5 September 1899), p.2.]</ref> and his son, [[Dick Eason|Richard Thomas Eason (1913–1979)]], played with both Footscray and Essendon in the VFL.

==Football==
Eason was a talented and hard-working player, nicknamed "Bunny" because of his speed. His accuracy with both kicking (particularly stab-kicking) and handpassing were highly regarded, as was his ability to win the ball from either his or his opponents' ruck tap-outs, and he was considered one of the finest rovers in Victoria in the early 1920s.<ref name="appraisal" /> He had two fingers on his right hand missing, but this did not greatly affect his skill.{{ref|profile}} A highly regarded rover, Eason played most of his football for the [[Geelong Football Club]], playing a total of 150 games for the club between 1909 and 1921. His time at Geelong was broken up by World War I: upon Geelong's withdrawal from the league in 1916, he crossed to [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]] and played twelve games there, before enlisting and serving in the war for the next two years. He returned to play for Geelong from 1919 until 1921,<ref name="appraisal">{{cite news|newspaper=The Sporting Globe|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Brilliancy of veteran Alex Eason|page=6|date=3 May 1924}}</ref> earning selection for [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]] in interstate football during that time.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|date=11 July 1921|page=3|title=Australian carnival – Victorian team}}</ref>

In 1922, Eason crossed to [[Footscray Football Club|Footscray]] in the [[Victorian Football Association|VFA]] without a clearance,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Geelong Advertiser|publication-place=Geelong, VIC|title=Will Eason return?|page=4|date=25 July 1922}}</ref> and played there until 1924, continuing to earn high acclaim and winning two premierships; he received £12 per week at Footscray, with ''the Sporting Globe'' reporting that he was the highest paid footballer at that time.<ref name="appraisal" /> In 1925, when Footscray joined the VFL, Eason was unable to remain with the club due to his suspension from the VFL for leaving Geelong without a clearance,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Sporting Globe|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Much discussed player – Norman Ford, of Coburg|author=Qui vive|date=27 June 1925|page=6}}</ref> and he crossed to [[Brighton Football Club|Brighton]] for the final year of his senior career.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|date=9 July 1925|page=5|title=Eason for Brighton}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|title=A. Eason to coach Sunshine|date=8 March 1926|page=8}}</ref>

He later coached Footscray in the VFL for the 1929 season, [[Ballarat Imperial Football Club|Ballarat Imperial]] in 1932<ref>{{cite web |title=1932 -  The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic) |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/276271858 |publisher=Alec Eason Coach At Ballarat |access-date=20 May 2024 |page=27 |date=13 February 1932}}</ref> and [[Prahran Football Club|Prahran]] in the latter part of the 1933 season. He became an administrator at Footscray, serving as chairman of selectors.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Sporting Globe|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Making a machine at Footscray|date=7 April 1937|page=8|author=Alex Eason}}</ref> He was well-regarded for his on-field and off-field wit, and wrote columns for ''the Sporting Globe''.<ref name="appraisal" />

==Recognition==
He is a member of [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong's]] Hall of Fame and was named on the interchange bench of the club's [[List of Geelong Football Club individual awards and records#Geelong's Team of the Century|Team of the Century]].

==Death==
He died (suddenly) at Geelong on 5 May 1956,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71801341 Deaths: Eason, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 7 May 1956), p.10.]</ref> and was buried at the Footscray General Cemetery.

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2017-03-14/200-club-push-for-mulga-baxter-and-bob|last=De Bolfo|first=Tony|title=200 Club push for 'Mulga', Baxter and Bob|publisher=Carlton Football Club|date=14 March 2017}}
* Hogan P: ''The Tigers of Old: A complete History of Every Player to Represent the '''Richmond Football Club''' between 1908 and 1996'', Richmond FC, (Melbourne), 1996. {{ISBN|0-646-18748-1}}
* [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1067379/large/5369073.JPG First World War Embarkation Roll: Private Alexander Eason (6999), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial.'']
* [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1068898/large/5357810.JPG First World War Nominal Roll: Private Alexander Eason (6999), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial.'']
* [https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3532334 First World War Service Record: Private Alexander Eason (6999), ''National Archives of Australia''.]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*{{AFL Tables|A/Alec_Eason}}
* [http://gfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=printerfriendly&spg=default&articleid=176517 Geelong Football Club website]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060903164758/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/e.htm#Alec%20Eason%20(Geelong,%20Richmond,%20Footscray) Profile at Full Points Footy]}}

{{Geelong Football Club captains}}
{{Western Bulldogs coaches}}
{{Geelong Team of the Century}}
{{Carji Greeves Medal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eason, Alec}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Carji Greeves Medal winners]]
[[Category:Geelong Football Club players]]
[[Category:Richmond Football Club players]]
[[Category:Footscray Football Club (VFA) players]]
[[Category:Brighton Football Club players]]
[[Category:Western Bulldogs coaches]]
[[Category:Ballarat Imperial Football Club players]]
[[Category:Prahran Football Club coaches]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Geelong]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Australian people of English descent]]