Herb Howson
{{short description|Australian rules footballer, cricketer, and coach}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Herb Howson
| image = Herb Howson.png
| fullname = Herbert Howson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1872|8|11}}
| birth_place = Newstead, Victoria
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1948|5|8|1872|8|11}}
| death_place = Murrumbeena, Victoria
| height =
| weight =
| position = Wingman
| statsend = 1908
| years1 = 1893–1896
| club1 = {{AFL SM}} (VFA)
| games_goals1 = 52 (0)
| years2 = 1897–1908
| club2 = {{AFL SM}}
| games_goals2 = 152 (2)
| games_goalstotal = 204 (2)
| coachyears1 = 1918–1919
| coachclub1 = {{AFL SM}}
| coachgames_wins1 = 33 (27–6–0)
| careerhighlights = *{{AFL SM}} premiership coach 1918
- {{AFL SM}} captain 1906
}}
Herbert Howson (11 August 1872 – 8 May 1948) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
The son of Harry Josiah Howson (1849-1923),[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2005118 Deaths: Howson, The Argus, (Saturday, 14 July 1923), p. 11.] and Margaritta Armstrong Howson (1848-1922), née Firman,[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4621897 Deaths: Howson, The Argus, (Tuesday, 27 June 1922), p. 1.] Herbert Howson, widely known as "Bert",[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162545147 Sudden Death of Mr. "Bert" Howson: Magnificent Service to South Melbourne, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 15 May 1948), p. 3.] was born at Newstead, Victoria on 11 August 1872.
His brother, Henry Josiah Howson (1872-1948), also played for South Melbourne in the VFL.
He was the cousin of the world-famous soprano, Emma Howson 1844-1928).
Football
A wingman, Howson played with South Melbourne for four seasons in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) {{em-dash}} including the 1896 premiership match loss to Collingwood, in which he played on the wing[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139731909 Football, The Australasian, (Saturday, 10 October 1896), p. 17.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164473496 Our Own Yesterdays, The (Emerald Hill) Record'', (Saturday, 21 September 1935), p. 4.] {{em-dash}} before he joined their inaugural VFL side in 1897. He was part of the team's 1899 Grand Final one-point loss to Fitzroy.
=1899 team of "champions"=
At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for The Argus, Reginald Wilmot ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition:
- Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong).
- Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne).
- Centres: Fred Leach (Collingwood), Firth McCallum (Geelong), Harry Wright (Essendon).
- Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne).
- Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong), Charlie Colgan (South Melbourne).
- Ruck: Mick Pleass (South Melbourne), Frank Hailwood (Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong).
- Rovers: Dick Condon (Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy), Teddy Rankin (Geelong).
From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — Wilmot selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9030781 'Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p. 6.]
Cricket
In 1903 he appeared in a first-class cricket match for Victoria, against Tasmania. He scored 40 in his first innings and took a couple of wickets.{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/6/6126.html|title=Victoria v Tasmania 1902/03| publisher=CricketArchive}}
Coaching
Howson was appointed coach of South Melbourne, in a non-playing capacity, in 1918 and led them to the premiership with the help of Henry Elms, who shared the coaching duties with him. That season the club were premiers and the following season finished third.
Club Secretary
Death
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197540599 'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", The Leader, (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p. 17.]
- [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175400318 South Melbourne Team (Photograph), Melbourne Punch, (Thursday, 4 June 1903), p. 16.]
- [https://eprints.qut.edu.au/100083/18/Mark%27s%2BBook%2BVolume%2B4%2Br.pdf Pennings, Mark (2016), Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's early History: Volume 4: Tough Times: Victorian Football loses its Way, 1891 to 1896, Brunswick, Victoria: Grumpy Monks Publishing.] {{isbn|978-0-646-93604-8}}
External links
- {{AFL Tables | B/Bert_Howson }}
- {{AustralianFootball | bert+howson/1110 }}
- [http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/5886.html Cricinfo profile]
{{1918 South Melbourne premiership players}}
{{Sydney Swans captains}}
{{Sydney Swans coaches}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howson, Herb}}
Category:Sydney Swans premiership coaches
Category:South Melbourne Football Club (VFA) players
Category:Australian cricketers
Category:Cricketers from Victoria (state)
Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Category:VFL/AFL premiership coaches
{{AFL-bio-1870s-stub}}
{{Australia-cricket-bio-1870s-stub}}