Bill Cosgrove
Richmond
AFL career
3 games0 goals
- Debut
- R1 1940 v FSC27 Apr 1940
- Most recent
- R5 1940 v FIT25 May 1940
Stats
Bio
Born on Armistice Day 1918, William "Pax" Cosgrove was a talented key defender recruited from Xavier College whose football career was tragically cut short by World War II. Standing 188cm, he debuted at centre half-back in the opening round of 1940, notably holding his own against Footscray's Brownlow Medallist Norman Ware, but managed just three senior appearances before enlisting in the RAAF. Cosgrove's devotion to the club was legendary; he famously painted the Richmond crest and the slogan "Eat 'em Alive" on the fuselage of his aircraft while on active duty. His service included a harrowing escape from the fall of Java, where he survived a 44-day voyage in a small lifeboat to reach Western Australia, though he was eventually killed in action over the Solomon Sea in 1943. The uncle of future Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, his legacy is immortalised at Punt Road through the Bill Cosgrove/Harry Jenkins Trophy, which is awarded annually to Richmond's best first-year player.
Profile
- Born
- 11 Nov 1918
- Died
- 11 Aug 1943 (aged 24y 273d)
- Birthplace
- Melbourne, VIC
- Deathplace
- Papua New Guinea (off Goodenough Island, Milne Bay
- Height
- 188 cm
- Weight
- 83 kg
Teams
Bio
1 revisionBorn on Armistice Day 1918, William "Pax" Cosgrove was a talented key defender recruited from Xavier College whose football career was tragically cut short by World War II. Standing 188cm, he debuted at centre half-back in the opening round of 1940, notably holding his own against Footscray's Brownlow Medallist Norman Ware, but managed just three senior appearances before enlisting in the RAAF. Cosgrove's devotion to the club was legendary; he famously painted the Richmond crest and the slogan "Eat 'em Alive" on the fuselage of his aircraft while on active duty. His service included a harrowing escape from the fall of Java, where he survived a 44-day voyage in a small lifeboat to reach Western Australia, though he was eventually killed in action over the Solomon Sea in 1943. The uncle of future Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, his legacy is immortalised at Punt Road through the Bill Cosgrove/Harry Jenkins Trophy, which is awarded annually to Richmond's best first-year player.