Bill O'Hara

Recruited from the amateur ranks at Collegians, Bill O'Hara's tenure at Junction Oval was brief but historically significant. The surgeon's son arrived at St Kilda in 1900, joining a club that had failed to register a single victory during its first three years in the VFL. A robust athlete for the era at 180cm, O'Hara immediately cemented his place in the side and featured in the club’s famous maiden win against Melbourne in Round 1—a match originally declared a draw before a protest awarded the Saints the points. He remained a consistent performer throughout the struggling side's campaign, missing only one match for the year, but his football journey was cut short by professional ambition. O'Hara retired after just one season to travel to Edinburgh for medical studies, swapping his football boots for a stethoscope to follow in his father’s footsteps as a surgeon.