Vince Irwin


Vincent Michael Irwin was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League during the 1920s.

Family

The son of John Irwin and Margaret Irwin, née Humphries, Vincent Michael Irwin was born in West Melbourne, Victoria on 4 February 1899.
He married Dora Peters in 1921.

Football

North Melbourne (VFA)

Irwin played a total of 43 games with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association over three seasons, and scored 34 goals.

Essendon (VFL)

Along with a number of other North Melbourne footballers, including Syd Barker, Charlie Hardy, Ralph Gardiner, and Tommy Jenkins—who, upon the disbandment of North Melbourne, in anticipation of the proposed merge of the North Melbourne VFA club into the VFL club Essendon—Irwin moved to Essendon.
Irwin started his career as a defender, and played in the back pocket when Essendon won the 1923 premiership.
In 1924, he moved from the backline to the forward pocket, kicking 10 goals against St Kilda, at Windy Hill, on 14 June 1924. He finished 1924 with 28 goals and in 1925 and 1926 kicked 27 and 30 goals, respectively. In total, Irwin played 78 games for Essendon, kicking 102 goals, and was a four-time Victorian interstate representative.

"Mosquito Fleet"

Irwin was only 5'6" tall; and, along with six others — Jack Garden, Charlie Hardy, Frank Maher, George "Tich" Shorten, Jimmy Sullivan, and Rowley Watt — Maher was one of Essendon's legendary "mosquito fleet". According to some, there were another two Essendon players that were diminutive enough to be considered to be "mosquitoes": Garnet Campbell, and Greg Stockdale.
The term "mosquito fleet" was drawn by analogy from a maritime expression relating to particular assemblies of small vessels.

South Bendigo (BFL)

In 1927, Irwin was appointed captain-coach of the South Bendigo Football Club in the Bendigo Football League, replacing the former South Melbourne footballer Arthur Hando.

Oakleigh (VFA)

In 1929, two new teams, Oakleigh and Sandringham, were admitted to the Victorian Football Association competition.
In 1929, along with Geelong's Eric Fleming, St Kilda's Wal Gunnyon, Essendon's Frank Maher, and Chris Gomez, and Richmond's Fred Goding, and George Rudolph, all of whom went to Oakleigh without a clearance from the VFL. Irwin also went to Oakleigh — albeit with a clearance from South Bendigo.
He played a single season of 22 games with Oakleigh, and scored 39 goals.

Yallourn (CGFL)

In 1930, Irwin was appointed captain-coach of the Yallourn Football Club in the Central Gippsland Football League, and coached them for six seasons. during which time the team won three premierships and was runner-up twice.

Death

He died at Yallourn, Victoria on 29 May 1959.

Footnotes