Colin Benham
Encyclopedia
Colin Benham was an Australian rules football
er, who played for Fitzroy Football Club
in the Victorian Football League
(VFL).
, with tremendous stamina, who was also a good mark, especially valuable when resting in the forward lines, and combined well with champion rover Haydn Bunton (who started playing with Fitzroy in 1931).
Colin played 81 senior games for Fitzroy, and kicked 70 goals, between 1930 and 1936.
at the Lake Oval in front of a crowd of 27,000, plus Baron Huntingfield
, who served as Governor of Victoria from 1934 to 1939, who had come to see his first match of Australian Rules Football.
With only seconds to go in the match, with South Melbourne leading Fitzroy 13.19 (97) to 12.10 (82), Colin took a strong mark close to the goals, and went back to line up his kick.
Although a goal could not win the match for Fitzroy, there was still pride at stake.
The final bell rang out (there being no sirens in those days) and, by the time he had started to run in to kick for goal, most of his team mates had begun to run to the change-rooms.
As the same time as the ball left his boot, the local boys all started to jump the fence and they began to race towards their South Melbourne heroes in order to congratulate them, oblivious of the fact that the match was not yet over.
The ball had veered sideways off his boot and, from Colin's perspective, it was clear that it would be a behind; but, as the ball neared the goal-line, it struck one of the running boys and was deflected, off him, into the space between the two goalposts.
Because the football had not hit another player, the Goal Umpire had no alternative but to award the goal (6 points), rather than the behind (1 point) that it had otherwise been destined to be, and South Melbourne’s winning margin was reduced to nine points: 13.19 (97) to 13.10 (88).
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 Football Club
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).
Fitzroy
Recruited from Hamilton Football Club, Colin was solid, hard working ruckmanRuckman (Australian rules football position)
In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...
, with tremendous stamina, who was also a good mark, especially valuable when resting in the forward lines, and combined well with champion rover Haydn Bunton (who started playing with Fitzroy in 1931).
Colin played 81 senior games for Fitzroy, and kicked 70 goals, between 1930 and 1936.
Benham's famous "in-off the small boy" goal
On Saturday 30 June 1934, Fitzroy were playing against South MelbourneSydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
at the Lake Oval in front of a crowd of 27,000, plus Baron Huntingfield
William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield
William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield, KCMG was a British Conservative Party politician, Governor of Victoria and Administrator of Australia.-Early life:...
, who served as Governor of Victoria from 1934 to 1939, who had come to see his first match of Australian Rules Football.
With only seconds to go in the match, with South Melbourne leading Fitzroy 13.19 (97) to 12.10 (82), Colin took a strong mark close to the goals, and went back to line up his kick.
Although a goal could not win the match for Fitzroy, there was still pride at stake.
The final bell rang out (there being no sirens in those days) and, by the time he had started to run in to kick for goal, most of his team mates had begun to run to the change-rooms.
As the same time as the ball left his boot, the local boys all started to jump the fence and they began to race towards their South Melbourne heroes in order to congratulate them, oblivious of the fact that the match was not yet over.
The ball had veered sideways off his boot and, from Colin's perspective, it was clear that it would be a behind; but, as the ball neared the goal-line, it struck one of the running boys and was deflected, off him, into the space between the two goalposts.
Because the football had not hit another player, the Goal Umpire had no alternative but to award the goal (6 points), rather than the behind (1 point) that it had otherwise been destined to be, and South Melbourne’s winning margin was reduced to nine points: 13.19 (97) to 13.10 (88).