Bill 'Bice' Cleary was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Cleary came from South Ballarat and was 28 when he captained Fitzroy in the inaugural VFL season. He lost the captaincy to Alec Sloan

Alec Sloan

Alec Sloan was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL.Sloan was a member of Fitzroy's inaugural VFL team in 1897 and captained the club from 1898 to 1900. He played most of his football at half back and was a premiership winning captain in 1898 and 1899...

 the following season. His final league game was as a forward pocket

Forward pocket

In Australian rules football, the forward pocket refers to a position on the field deep in offense.Forward pocket players, situated in the forward line, need to have good avoidance and goal sneak skills and usually, quality forward-pockets are noted for their agility and ability to score difficult...

 Fitzroy's 1899 Grand Final

1899 VFL Grand Final

The 1899 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the St Kilda Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 16 September 1899. It was the 2nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...

triumph, having come into the side towards the end of the season after not playing for over a year.