Paddy Walsh


Patrick Yost Walsh was an Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the VFL/AFL.

Family

The son of Michael Walsh, and Matilda Walsh, née Yost.

Football

Having attracted the Essendon club's attention, as one of the best players on the ground during Essendon's Tasmanian tour match against a combined North-Eastern Football team, at Scottsdale on 28 July 1926, he was recruited in 1927.
Walsh was a left-footed ruckman who won the Essendon Best and Fairest award in 1933. He played 115 games for the club over 10 seasons, and represented Victoria at interstate football 12 times in his career. He badly injured his knee in Essendon's 4 June 1934 match against Richmond, and did not play again that season.
He resumed his career in 1935, and played another 12 senior games before he announced his retirement after the 18 July 1936 against Footscrary.
He was employed by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Fire Brigade — as were his team-mates Garnet Campbell, Jack Vosti, Ernie Watson, and Len Webster.
He was made a life member of the Essendon Football Club in 1961.

VFL Representation

He was selected for VFL representative teams in thirteen Intra-State and Inter-State matches over six different years; however, although selected to represent the VFL in the 1930 ANFC Adelaide Carnival — in which he could have played another five games for the Victorian team in Adelaide — he was forced to withdraw from the team because he could not get leave from his employment as a fireman.

Intra-State VFL team

He was one of the inaugural inductees into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Footnotes