Bill Downie
Footscray and St Kilda
AFL career
69 games28 goals
- Debut
- R3 1929 v NTH11 May 1929
- Most recent
- R18 1933 v CAR2 Sept 1933
Stats
Bio
Recruited from Eaglehawk in the Bendigo league, Bill Downie was a durable ruckman who played a physical brand of football during the Depression era. He spent four seasons leading the follower division at Footscray before crossing to St Kilda in 1933, where he famously played through a broken thumb in the Saints' legendary win over North Melbourne with just 15 men on the field. A tough competitor who thrived in the contest, Downie departed the VFL to captain-coach Deniliquin and later starred in the VFA with Northcote, where he won the 1938 Recorder Cup as the association's best and fairest player. His football journey ended tragically when he died as a prisoner of war on the Burma Railway during World War II.
Profile
- Full name
- Bill S. Downie
- Born
- 04 Dec 1908
- Died
- 11 Sept 1943 (aged 34y 281d)
- Birthplace
- Raywood, VIC
- Deathplace
- Burma (Thai-Burma Railway)
- Height
- 184 cm
- Weight
- 81 kg
Teams
Bio
1 revisionRecruited from Eaglehawk in the Bendigo league, Bill Downie was a durable ruckman who played a physical brand of football during the Depression era. He spent four seasons leading the follower division at Footscray before crossing to St Kilda in 1933, where he famously played through a broken thumb in the Saints' legendary win over North Melbourne with just 15 men on the field. A tough competitor who thrived in the contest, Downie departed the VFL to captain-coach Deniliquin and later starred in the VFA with Northcote, where he won the 1938 Recorder Cup as the association's best and fairest player. His football journey ended tragically when he died as a prisoner of war on the Burma Railway during World War II.