A tribute to our Wee Men

[LaurieHolden]

Post Bobby Hills feats in last year's Premiership, I started doing a little digging into players that measured 175cm or less and their contribution to the Club.

Let's hope we can see Bobby Hill reach the 100-game milestone, I'm sure there's a few more highlights and accolades remaining in his career.
*#Hill, Bobby 175cm 66kg 38 games.

Listed at 155cm and 53kg, Jim 'Nipper' Bradford is both our shortest and lightest player to have played senior football games for Collingwood (7 senior games).
Over the years there have been many and varied reports as to how tall Bradford was. One source listed his size after his debut game as 152cm (less than five foot), though he is registered in official league records as being 155cm (just under five-foot one inch), which still sees Bradford as the shortest player to have played a senior game in VFL-AFL history.
So, let’s work with the 155cm figure and put a context to it. In today’s terms, it would have made him 13cm shorter than Western Bulldogs premiership player Caleb Daniel.
Bradford was on our list in 1943 for his 7 games, kicking 16 goals, including 4 goals on debut, all 48kg of him (7st 7lbs in the old money), against Melbourne.
He later bobbed up again for North Melbourne in 1949 for another 9 games and 8 goals.
It's a good read on his career One Hit Wonders: One Hit Wonders: https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/one-hit-wonders-jim-bradford/

This honor role of 33 remarkable footballers contains 13 Copeland Trophy Winners, 27 Premiership players and 2 Brownlow medallists.

I can't be helped but left lamenting that Copeland Trophy winners Barry Price & Ray Shaw and Ron Wearmouth, all teammates never achieved Premiership success.

* Wilson, Percy 168cm 70kg 183 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/percy-wilson/
* Anderson, George 168cm 80kg 104 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/percy-wilson/
* Sadler, Jim 168cm 72kg 135 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/george-p-anderson/
*XX Healey, Des 168cm 69kg 149 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/des-healey/
*XX Merrett, Thorold 168cm 62kg 180 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/thorold-merrett/
*XX Pannam Jnr, Albert 169cm 66kg 181 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/alby-c-pannam/
XX Utting, Charles 170cm 74kg 125 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/charlie-utting/
* Wescott, Leo 170cm 70kg 143 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/leo-wescott/
*XX Richards, Lou 170cm 73kg 250 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/lou-richards/
* Laxton, Charlie 170cm 73kg 147 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/charlie-laxton/
*XX# Shaw, Tony 170cm 80kg 313 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/tony-shaw/
*XX Rumney, Harold 171cm 76kg 171 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/harold-rumney/
*XX Francis, Tony 171cm 74kg 142 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/tony-francis/
* Chesswas, Harry 173cm 72kg https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/harry-chesswas/
*XX^ Collier, Harry 173cm 72kg 253 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/harry-collier/
* Hams, George 173cm 76kg 108 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/george-hams/
* Ross, Jack 173cm 70kg 142 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/r-jack-ross/
* Froude, Fred 174cm 82kg 148 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/fred-froude/
* Blair, Jarryd 174cm 81kg 157 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/jarryd-blair/
* Libbis, Billy 175cm 80kg 138 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/billy-libbis/
* Lee, Dick 175cm 76kg 230 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/dick-lee/
* Dibbs, Charlie 175cm 76kg 216 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/charlie-dibbs/
* Saunders, Harry 175cm 76kg 135 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/harry-saunders/
* Reeves, Ron 175cm 76kg 122 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/ron-reeves/
* Green, Jack 175cm 79kg 108 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/jack-w-green-snr/
* Sheehy, Maurie 175cm 86kg 110 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/maurie-sheehy/
Hutchesson, Errol 175cm 74kg 127 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/errol-hutchesson/
*XX#^ Whelan, Marcus 175cm 67kg 173 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/marcus-whelan/
* Gray, Brian 175cm 76kg 111 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/brian-gray/
Wearmouth, Ronnie 175cm 71kg 186 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/ron-wearmouth/
XX Shaw, Ray 175cm 70kg 146 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/ray-shaw/
XX Price, Barry 175cm 73kg 158 games https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/barry-price/

Legend :
* Premiership
#Norm Smith
XX Copeland Trophy
^ Brownlow Medal

So, here's a tribute to our Wee Men, the Club stands tall on their shoulders.

[Harrysz]

Brilliant stuff Laurie.

[Charlie Oneeye]

Gold.

[Take_a_Screamer]

^^ Interesting post
You got Harry Collier in there twice, LH

[think better]

Great post - I was trying to find stats about changing height in men in Australia. I know the average height has gone up a far bit but I couldn't find the right page to source it.
A 175cm man in 2024 is just average height whereas 50 years ago they would have been above average.
John Nichols as a ruckman was 189 cm which is shorter that Pendlebury.

[inxs88]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bisset_(footballer)
Missed the most obvious given the "Wee" tagline.

[LaurieHolden]

^didnt play 100 games for CFC

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

I would also like to give tribute to my Wee Man, Dr Jenkins....flow problems were killing me!

In all seriousness, I do think we are a Club best known by our small fellas...who is the last KPF for example, who is a real Club legend? Without some sort of qualifier?
No offense, we have had honest triers, but our class has also been smaller

[LaurieHolden]

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

Its your ABC Laurie

[Pies4shaw]

Well, it's interesting to think of the possibility of matching up Sidebottom - a small mid by today's standards - on Dick Lee: a bloke about 4 inches shorter than him who was one of the greatest full-forwards of all-time.

[stui magpie]

^Or a guy like Daryl Baldock who played CHF at 179cm.

[Pies4shaw]

^ Yes, Baldock had no useful phyiscal attributes. He was as slow as a coach and would be completely useless in today's game (and would have been at any time after 1975).

[stui magpie]

^Similar could be said of many champions of past eras.