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{{Short description|Australian rules footballer}}
⚫
'''Wilfred 'Chicken' Smallhorn''' (1911-1988) was an [[Australian Rules]] footballer who played 150 games between 1930 and 1940 for the [[Fitzroy]] football club. Standing at just 170 centimetres tall and weighing 62 kg, Chicken (so nicknamed because his mother could never catch him when he was young) was a deceptively quick winger who played 150 games for Fitzroy between 1930 and 1940, won the [[Brownlow Medal]] in 1933 and represented [[Victoria]] seven times. He kick 31 goals.
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Chicken Smallhorn
| image = Chicken Smallhorn.png
| caption = Smallhorn in 1933
| fullname = Wilfred Arthur Smallhorn
| nickname = Chicken
| birth_date = 25 February 1911
| birth_place = [[Fitzroy North, Victoria]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1988|11|27|1911|2|25|df=y}}
| death_place = Repatriation General Hospital, [[Heidelberg, Victoria]]
| originalteam = [[Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE#Collingwood Technical School|Collingwood Technical School]], [[East Brunswick]] Methodists
| height = 170 cm
| weight = 62 kg
| position = Wing
| guernsey = 21
| years1 = 1930–1940
| club1 = {{AFL Fit}}
| games_goals1 = 150 (31)
| sooyears1 = 1932–1939
| sooteam1 = [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]]
| soogames_goals1 = 7 (0)
| careerhighlights =
* [[Brownlow Medal]]: [[1933 Brownlow Medal|1933]]
}}


'''Wilfred Arthur "Chicken" Smallhorn''' (25 February 1911 – 27 November 1988) was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played for the [[Fitzroy Football Club]] in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] (VFL). Smallhorn played 150 games for Fitzroy between 1930 and 1940, winning the [[Brownlow Medal]] in 1933.
⚫
Recruited from [[Collingwood Technical School]] and [[East Brunswick]] Methodists, where he was coached by former Fitzroy player Arnold Beitzel, Smallhorn later became a long-time panellist on [[Harry Beitzel]]'s TV show. His early football was played as a rover, but a best-on-ground performance on a wing in his debut with Fitzroy had him permanently shifted to that position,


==Football career==
He was inducted into the [[AFL Hall of Fame]] in 2006.
⚫
Standing at just 170 centimetres tall and weighing 62 kg, Chicken (so nicknamed because his mother could never catch him when he was young) was a deceptively quick winger who played 150 games (kicking 31 goals) for Fitzroy between 1930 and 1940.


⚫
Recruited from [[Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE#Collingwood Technical School|Collingwood Technical School]] and [[Brunswick_East,_Victoria|East Brunswick]] Methodists, where he was coached by former Fitzroy player [[Arnold Beitzel]], Smallhorn later became a long-time panellist on [[Harry Beitzel]]'s TV show (Harry was Arnold's son). His early football was played as a rover, but a best-on-ground performance on a wing in his debut with Fitzroy had him permanently shifted to that position.
⚫
After his playing career was over due to a knee injury he enlisted but during WWII he was taken prisoner by the Japanese and was in [[Changi]] prison for three years and he was on the [[Burma railway]] prior to that. In 1942 Smallhorn was the main organiser of a football competition which consisted of six teams named after VFL clubs. The season lasted nine months and was run under similar lines to the VFL. They had clearances, tribunals and even their own Brownlow Medal known as the 'Changi Brownlow'. The first winner was [[Peter Chitty]], who had played for [[St. Kilda]] in the VFL. The climax of the season was the final game between 'Victoria' and the 'Rest of Australia', which attracted 10,000 spectators.


He played his first game for Fitzroy, on 24 May 1930 (round four), against St Kilda at the Junction Oval.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gApiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kpYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5729%2C2128444 "The Teams: St Kilda v. Fitzroy", ''The Age'', (Friday, 23 May 1930), p.5.]</ref> It was reported that "Smallhorn … was particularly cool and clever on the wing", in a side that unexpectedly lost to St Kilda 15.18 (118) to 8.10 (58), and that "in Smallhorn they have unearthed a most promising wingster, who in his first game was their best performer."<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ggpiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kpYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1210%2C2385448 "Loser's Reversal of Form", ''The Age'', (Monday, 26 May 1930), p.6.]</ref>
When he left to go to the war his wife had become pregnant with their son, who was named Robert, but Smallhorn didn't get home for five years so he was almost five before he was introduced to him. Tragically Robert was to die at 14 with cancer.


He won the Brownlow Medal in 1933, and represented [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] seven times.<ref>Muyt, Adam (2006).[http://www.maroonandblue.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=38 ''Maroon and Blue: An archive of Fitzroy History, Culture and Stories: The Remarkable Chicken'']. Retrieved on 6 May 2008.</ref>
⚫
In the [[Bruce Dawe]] poem 'Life cycle' Smallhorn is mentioned thus:


He had intended to retire at the end of the 1939 season; however, the Fitzroy Club convinced him to play again in 1940.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12131109 Will it be Smallhorn?, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 23 May 1939), p16]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12445051 Smallhorn to Train at Fitzroy, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 10 April 1940, p.17]; [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ZVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LJcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1154%2C4671921 Smallhorn Keen, ''The Age'', (Monday, 15 April 1940), p.4.]</ref> In the round four match against Essendon, on 18 May 1940, now 29 years of age, Smallhorn was Fitzroy's best player. He received a knock behind the knee in the last five minutes of the match; and the injury was so severe that it ended his career.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12462990 Around the League Clubs, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 22 May 1940), p.17]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47196248 Quist Enlists in A.I.F., ''The Advertiser'', (Monday, 3 June 1940), p.20]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12467488/607901 Enlistments of Sportsmen, ''The Argus'', (Monday 3 June 1940), p.7]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12468396 Footballers Enlist, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 5 June 1940), p.5.]</ref>
'''So that mythology may be perpetually renewed and Chicken Smallhorn return like the maize-god in a thousand shapes, the dancers changing '''


== World War II ==


He enlisted in the AIF in June 1940. During the war he was taken prisoner by the Japanese and was in [[Changi Prison]] for three years and he was on the [[Burma Railway]] prior to that.
'''
[[File:Cpl._W_(Chick)_Smallhorn_and_Sgt._W.Smith_cooking_stew_and_eggs._Argus_Newspaper_Collection_of_Photographs._State_Library_Victoria._H98_103-4083.jpg|thumb]]
⚫
In 1942 Smallhorn was the main organiser of a football competition in Changi which consisted of six teams named after VFL clubs. The season lasted nine months and was run under similar lines to the VFL. They had clearances, tribunals and even their own Brownlow Medal known as the "Changi Brownlow". The first winner was [[Peter Chitty]], who had played for [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]] in the VFL.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/20/1092972757200.html Forbes, M., "Changi Brownlow joins our sacred relics", ''The Age'', 21 August 2004]; [http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/books/the-gutsiest-brownlow/story-fn5bodiu-1225917515173 Brundrett, R., "The gutsiest Brownlow", ''Herald Sun'', 10 September 2010.]</ref>

The climax of the season was the final game between "[[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]" and the "Rest of Australia", which attracted 10,000 spectators.

==Family==
Engaged to Violet Phyllis Burn in May 1939, and married in 1940, he was in the army when their son, Robert Leonard Smallhorn, was born. Because Smallhorn didn't return home until October 1945, Robert was almost four before he was introduced to him.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12148881 Smallhorn Returns, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 24 October 1945), p15.]</ref> Robert died in 1957 (at 14) from cancer.

==Legacy==

Smallhorn later became a media personality. He died in 1988.

⚫
In the [[Bruce Dawe]] poem "Life cycle" Smallhorn is mentioned thus:
:''So that mythology may be perpetually renewed''
:''and Chicken Smallhorn return like the maize-god''
:''in a thousand shapes, the dancers changing ''

Smallhorn was named on the wing in Fitzroy's Team of the Century and he was inducted into the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] in 2006.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=433046 World War II Nominal Roll: Corporal Wilfred Arthur Smallhorn (VX20940)]
* [https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=6208738&D=D World War Two Service Record: Corporal Wilfred Arthur Smallhorn (VX20940)]
*{{cite book|last=Donald|first=Chris|title=Fitzroy: for the love of the jumper|year=2002|publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia|isbn=978-1-877029-18-9|pages=109–110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zu305oUYP5kC&q=chicken+smallhorn&pg=PA110}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{AFL Tables|W/Wilfred_Smallhorn|Wilfred Smallhorn}}
*{{AustralianFootball|wilfred+'chicken'+smallhorn/5102|Wilfred 'Chicken' Smallhorn}}
* [http://www.boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Wilfred+Smallhorn ''Boyles Football Photos'': Wilfred Smallhorn.]

{{AFL Brownlow Medallists}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smallhorn, Wilfred}}
[[Category:Fitzroy Football Club players]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Brownlow Medal winners]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Melbourne]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Japan]]
[[Category:Australian prisoners of war]]
[[Category:Burma Railway prisoners]]
[[Category:Australian rules football commentators]]
[[Category:People from Fitzroy, Victoria]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Melbourne]]

Latest revision as of 14:45, 22 August 2024

Chicken Smallhorn
Smallhorn in 1933
Personal information
Full name Wilfred Arthur Smallhorn
Nickname(s) Chicken
Date of birth 25 February 1911
Place of birth Fitzroy North, Victoria
Date of death 27 November 1988(1988-11-27) (aged 77)
Place of death Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria
Original team(s) Collingwood Technical School, East Brunswick Methodists
Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 62 kg (137 lb)
Position(s) Wing
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
1930–1940 Fitzroy 150 (31)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1932–1939 Victoria 7 (0)
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Wilfred Arthur "Chicken" Smallhorn (25 February 1911 – 27 November 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Smallhorn played 150 games for Fitzroy between 1930 and 1940, winning the Brownlow Medal in 1933.

Football career

[edit]

Standing at just 170 centimetres tall and weighing 62 kg, Chicken (so nicknamed because his mother could never catch him when he was young) was a deceptively quick winger who played 150 games (kicking 31 goals) for Fitzroy between 1930 and 1940.

Recruited from Collingwood Technical School and East Brunswick Methodists, where he was coached by former Fitzroy player Arnold Beitzel, Smallhorn later became a long-time panellist on Harry Beitzel's TV show (Harry was Arnold's son). His early football was played as a rover, but a best-on-ground performance on a wing in his debut with Fitzroy had him permanently shifted to that position.

He played his first game for Fitzroy, on 24 May 1930 (round four), against St Kilda at the Junction Oval.[1] It was reported that "Smallhorn … was particularly cool and clever on the wing", in a side that unexpectedly lost to St Kilda 15.18 (118) to 8.10 (58), and that "in Smallhorn they have unearthed a most promising wingster, who in his first game was their best performer."[2]

He won the Brownlow Medal in 1933, and represented Victoria seven times.[3]

He had intended to retire at the end of the 1939 season; however, the Fitzroy Club convinced him to play again in 1940.[4] In the round four match against Essendon, on 18 May 1940, now 29 years of age, Smallhorn was Fitzroy's best player. He received a knock behind the knee in the last five minutes of the match; and the injury was so severe that it ended his career.[5]

World War II

[edit]

He enlisted in the AIF in June 1940. During the war he was taken prisoner by the Japanese and was in Changi Prison for three years and he was on the Burma Railway prior to that.

In 1942 Smallhorn was the main organiser of a football competition in Changi which consisted of six teams named after VFL clubs. The season lasted nine months and was run under similar lines to the VFL. They had clearances, tribunals and even their own Brownlow Medal known as the "Changi Brownlow". The first winner was Peter Chitty, who had played for St Kilda in the VFL.[6]

The climax of the season was the final game between "Victoria" and the "Rest of Australia", which attracted 10,000 spectators.

Family

[edit]

Engaged to Violet Phyllis Burn in May 1939, and married in 1940, he was in the army when their son, Robert Leonard Smallhorn, was born. Because Smallhorn didn't return home until October 1945, Robert was almost four before he was introduced to him.[7] Robert died in 1957 (at 14) from cancer.

Legacy

[edit]

Smallhorn later became a media personality. He died in 1988.

In the Bruce Dawe poem "Life cycle" Smallhorn is mentioned thus:

So that mythology may be perpetually renewed
and Chicken Smallhorn return like the maize-god
in a thousand shapes, the dancers changing

Smallhorn was named on the wing in Fitzroy's Team of the Century and he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Teams: St Kilda v. Fitzroy", The Age, (Friday, 23 May 1930), p.5.
  2. ^ "Loser's Reversal of Form", The Age, (Monday, 26 May 1930), p.6.
  3. ^ Muyt, Adam (2006).Maroon and Blue: An archive of Fitzroy History, Culture and Stories: The Remarkable Chicken. Retrieved on 6 May 2008.
  4. ^ Will it be Smallhorn?, The Argus, (Tuesday, 23 May 1939), p16; Smallhorn to Train at Fitzroy, The Argus, (Wednesday, 10 April 1940, p.17; Smallhorn Keen, The Age, (Monday, 15 April 1940), p.4.
  5. ^ Around the League Clubs, The Argus, (Wednesday, 22 May 1940), p.17; Quist Enlists in A.I.F., The Advertiser, (Monday, 3 June 1940), p.20; Enlistments of Sportsmen, The Argus, (Monday 3 June 1940), p.7; Footballers Enlist, The Argus, (Wednesday, 5 June 1940), p.5.
  6. ^ Forbes, M., "Changi Brownlow joins our sacred relics", The Age, 21 August 2004; Brundrett, R., "The gutsiest Brownlow", Herald Sun, 10 September 2010.
  7. ^ Smallhorn Returns, The Argus, (Wednesday, 24 October 1945), p15.

References

[edit]
  • World War II Nominal Roll: Corporal Wilfred Arthur Smallhorn (VX20940)
  • World War Two Service Record: Corporal Wilfred Arthur Smallhorn (VX20940)
  • Donald, Chris (2002). Fitzroy: for the love of the jumper. Pan Macmillan Australia. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-1-877029-18-9.
[edit]
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