View source for Wally Lock

{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Wally Lock
| image = Wally Lock (before 1949).jpg
| alt = 
| caption = 
| fullname = Walter Albert Lock
| birth_date = {{Birth date |df=yes|1917|1|22}}
| birth_place = [[Maryborough, Victoria]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1992|6|17|1917|1|22|df=yes}}
| death_place = 
| originalteam = [[Maryborough Football Club|Maryborough]]
| height = 180&nbsp;cm
| weight = 83&nbsp;kg
| position = Half back flank
| statsend = 1949
| years1 = 1936–41, 1946–49
| club1 = {{AFL Mel}}
| games_goals1 = 140 (14)
| careerhighlights = *[[Australian Football League|VFL]] premiership: [[1941 VFL Grand Final|1941]]
*[[Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal]]list: 1947
*{{AFL Mel}} Team of the Century–<small>interchange</small>
*[[Melbourne Football Club#Hall of Fame|Melbourne Hall of Fame]]
}}

'''Walter Albert Lock''' (22 January 1917 – 17 June 1992)<ref>Demonwiki.</ref> was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played for [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]] in the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]] (VFL).

==Family==
The son of Walter "Paddy" Lock (1882–1951),<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205328509 Deaths: Lock, ''The Age'', (Wednesday, 19 September 1951), p.2.]</ref> and Mabel Rebecca Lock (1891–1965), née Eastman,<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gUUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3JYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7277%2C95754 Deaths: Lock, ''The Age'', (Monday, 1 November 1965), p.1.]</ref> Walter Albert Lock was born at [[Maryborough, Victoria]] on 22 January 1917.<ref>Service Record.</ref>

He married Margaret Greenough Day (1921–2005) on 14 October 1944.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11366214 Taylor, Percy, "Melbourne's New Players", ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 18 October 1944), p.7.]</ref> They had four children.

==Cricket==
He was a talented cricketer in the Maryborough and District Cricket Association.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11882578 'Spectator', "These Days of Sport: A Country Bradman", ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 15 February 1936), p.23.]</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1935 - Vigorous Batting at Maryborough |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11867394 |publisher=The Argus |access-date=22 April 2024 |page=4 |date=23 December 1935}}</ref>

==Football==
Recruited from [[Maryborough Football Club|Maryborough]], and granted a permit on 23 April 1936,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11029687 League Grants Permits, ''The Argus'', (Thursday, 23 April 1936), p.15.]</ref> Lock began his career with Melbourne as half forward flanker — according to [[Percy Beames]], he was known as Melbourne's "[[Haydn Bunton, Sr.|Bunton]]" in his early years.<ref name="real">{{cite news|last=Beames|first=Percy|title=Lock May Not Play Again|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VawTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6LwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3038,968778&dq=craddock+melbourne&hl=en|access-date=12 January 2011|newspaper=The Age|date=21 September 1948}}</ref> — and went on to later play in the backline as a valuable defender.
::"He was restricted to 13 games in his second season [1937] by a series of ankle injuries, as well as being bitten [in the back] by a horse while at work. In the 1939 pre-season he needed a tetanus injection after the nails of a boot stop punctured his skin." — ''Demonwiki".

Due to suspension, Lock did not play in Melbourne's 1939 premiership team. Due to an injury sustained in the 1940 preliminary final, he was unable to play in Melbourne's 1940 premiership. He played (at half-back flank) in Melbourne's [[1941 VFL Grand Final|1941 premiership]] side — as one of the team's best players, with a performance described as "outstanding".<ref>Hobbs (1984), pp. 42–43</ref>

On his discharge from the Army in 1946, and aged 29, Lock resumed his football career.

He was Melbourne's [[Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal|best and fairest]],<ref>Hobbs (1984), p. 144</ref> and was named in the ''Sporting Life'' "Team of the Year" in 1947. Due to an injury sustained in the 1948 semi final,<ref name=real /> he did not play in Melbourne's premiership match that year, and was only able to play four games in 1949. He retired in the 1950 pre-season when he discovered that his knee was "not likely to respond to treatment".<ref>{{cite news |first=Percy |last=Taylor |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22817264 |title=WAL LOCK WILL NOT PLAY AGAIN Melbourne loses star. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=20 March 1950 |access-date=12 January 2011 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Military service==
In 1942, Lock enlisted in the [[Australian Army]] to serve in World War II.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12685233 Taylor, Percy, "Melbourne are Proud of their Great War Record", ''The Australasian'', (Saturday, 24 June 1944), p. 23.]</ref> He held the rank of [[corporal]], served overseas in the 4th Field Ambulance, and was discharged on 4 January 1946.<ref>Nominal Roll.</ref>

==Legacy==
Lock was a boyhood hero of [[Ron Barassi]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Barassi's special mark|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=Wally+Lock&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=0&clsPage=1&docID=news950517_0138_1930|access-date=12 January 2011|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=17 May 1995}}</ref> Barassi described Lock as someone who "combined strength with guile and football intelligence" and "was dashing and played with flair".<ref>{{cite news|last=Holroyd|first=Jane|title=THOUGHTS ON SPORT – RON BARASSI|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=Wally+Lock&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=0&clsPage=1&docID=AGE050701IC7CB5D6L57|access-date=12 January 2011|newspaper=The Age|date=1 June 2005}}</ref>

===Life membership (M.F.C.)===
Lock was made a life member of the Melbourne Football Club in 1946.<ref>Hobbs (1984), p. 24</ref>

===Team of the Century (M.F.C.)===
In 2000, he was named on the interchange bench in Melbourne's official "[[Melbourne Football Club#Melbourne Team of the Century|Team of the Century]]".<ref>{{cite news|last=Ward|first=Janelle|title=2008 Player profiles|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=Wally+Lock&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=0&clsPage=1&docID=AGE0803142D5EA5LE7NK|access-date=12 January 2011|newspaper=The Age|date=14 March 2008}}</ref>

==="150 Heroes" (M.F.C.)===
In 2008, during the Melbourne Football Club's 150th anniversary celebrations, Lock's name was included in the list of the club's "[[Melbourne Football Club#"150 Heroes"|150 heroes]]".

===Hall of Fame (M.F.C.)===
In 2013, he was inducted into Melbourne's "[[Melbourne Football Club#Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]]".

==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}}
* {{cite book|last=Hobbs|first=Greg|title=125 yrs of the Melbourne Demons|year=1984|publisher=Progress Press Group|location=Jolimont|isbn=0-9590694-0-2}}
* [https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=508464&c=WW2#R World War Two Nominal Roll: Corporal Walter Albert Lock (VX106529, V132513), ''Department of Veterans' Affairs''.]
* [https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=6104984&S=1&T=PDF&D=D World War Two Service Record: Corporal Walter Albert Lock (VX106529, V132513), ''National Archives of Australia''.]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{AFL Tables | W/Wally_Lock }} 
* {{AustralianFootball|ref=Wally%2BLock/6048}}
* [http://demonwiki.org/Wally+Lock Wally Lock, at ''Demonwiki''.]
* [http://www.boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Wally+Lock Wally Lock, at ''Boyles Football Photos''.]

{{Melbourne Football Club Team of the Century}}
{{1941 Melbourne premiership players}}
{{Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners}}
{{1947 'Sporting Life' Team of the Year}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lock, Wally}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Melbourne Football Club players]]
[[Category:Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Maryborough Football Club players]]
[[Category:Australian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Australian Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Melbourne Football Club premiership players]]
[[Category:VFL/AFL premiership players]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]