Date of birth 22 September 1895 Name Frank Maher Role Footballer | Original team(s) Lilydale Died November 7, 1976 | |
Date of death 7 November 1976(1976-11-07) (aged 81) Debut 11 June 1921, Essendon
v. Carlton, at East Melbourne Cricket Ground | ||
Place of birth Ballarat, Victoria Height/Weight 167.5cm (5'6") 70 kg | ||
Frank H. Maher (22 September 1895 – 7 November 1976) was an Australian footballer, and coach in the Victorian Football League.
Career
Maher served in the army in World War I from 1916 to 1919, and was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry for his actions in France on 19 May 1918. He only began playing football when serving overseas with the AIF. On his return to Australia, he started playing football with two clubs, Shepparton and Lilydale.
Recruited from Lilydale Football Club, he played his first game for Essendon in 1921 at the advanced age of 25, playing against Carlton at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground on 11 June 1921. He went on to play 137 games with Essendon Football Club from 1921 to 1928; and 118 of those games were played consecutively. He was part of the Premiership Team in 1923 (first rover, kicking 2 goals), 1924 (forward flank, kicking four goals in the three matches)
He represented Victoria on nine occasions in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927 (captain), and 1928 (captain). He was nominated for the Brownlow Medal in 1925, coming in third place with four votes.
Maher was captain-coach of Essendon in 1927; whilst his application to coach Essendon in 1928 was rejected, he captained Essendon in that year. After leaving Essendon, he went on to coach at Oakleigh in the VFA. He also coached the Fitzroy Football Club and the Carlton Football Club. From 1958 and 1968 he was president of Essendon's past players and officials association.