Name Harry Dowdall Years Club | Original team(s) South Melbourne Place of death Collingwood | |
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Date of birth (1872-06-24)24 June 1872 Date of death 9 May 1912(1912-05-09) (aged 39) | ||
Place of birth Emerald Hill, Victoria | ||
Henry Arthur 'Harry' Dowdall (29 June 1872 – 9 May 1912) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the 1897 inaugural Victorian Football League (VFL) season.
The son of James Dowdall and Isabella McGowan, Harry was small of stature and lightly built, and used these traits to his advantage, particularly in wet weather.
Harry and his older brother Jim had both previously played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), Jim from 1887. In 1892 they both tried to move to Collingwood. Jim was unsuccessful and instead played for Richmond.
Harry played in the 1896 Collingwood Premiership team in the VFA.
In Collingwood's final game of the 1897 VFL season, Harry refused to play unless he was allowed to play on the ball for the entirety of the game. Although not pleasing Collingwood officials with his stance, he remained at the club for a further three seasons, playing 38 games and kicking 21 goals, before crossing to St Kilda in 1901 at the age of 29, where he played only one game.
Newspaper reports of the time spell his name (and Jim's) variously as Dowdell/Dowdall. Dowdall is correct.