Syd Anderson (footballer, born 1918)

Sydney Louis Anderson (13 January 1918 – 20 May 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

For the former South Melbourne player, see Syd Anderson (footballer, born 1949).

Syd Anderson
Anderson (centre) with other members of his RAAF squadron
Personal information
Full name Sydney Louis Anderson
Date of birth (1918-01-13)13 January 1918
Place of birth Moonee Ponds, Victoria
Date of death 20 May 1944(1944-05-20) (aged 26)
Place of death Wewak, Territory of New Guinea
Original team(s) South Port
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Position(s) Wing
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1939–1941 Melbourne 52 (12)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1941.
Career highlights
  • Triple premiership player, 1939–41
  • Melbourne's Most Improved Player, 1940
  • Melbourne's Most Consistent Player, 1941
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Sydney Sims Anderson (1888-1964), who became Town Clerk of the City of Port Melbourne,[1] and Adela Myrtle Anderson (1884-1983), née Day, Sydney Louis Anderson was born on 13 January 1918.

He married Lorna Jean Waddell on 22 February 1941.[2][3]

Football

A tall wingman,[4] Anderson was a premiership player in every one of his three VFL seasons.

His father played 98 games for Port Melbourne in the VFA;[5] his brother, Claude Anderson, played 2 games for South Melbourne; and his nephews (Claude's sons), Syd Anderson played 4 games for South Melbourne and 56 games for Port Melbourne, and Graeme Anderson played 71 games for Collingwood and 144 games for Port Melbourne.

Military service

Anderson enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in December 1941.[6] Commencing as a Pilot Officer, he was promoted to Flying Officer in September 1943.

Whilst serving on air operations near Wewak in the Territory of New Guinea in 1944, Anderson's Bristol Beaufort was shot down by Japanese flak, and all aboard save one were killed, including Anderson.[7][8]

Legacy

In 1949, his parents donated a trophy in his memory to the Melbourne Football Club,[9] and the club decided to award the Syd Anderson Trophy annually to the player who came second in the club's best and fairest — the trophy to the winner was named after "Bluey" Truscott, and the trophy to the season's third best and fairest player was named after Ron Barassi Sr..[10]

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See also
  • List of Victorian Football League players who died in active service

Footnotes
  1. Half-Century of Service to "The Borough": Town Clerk's Achievement, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 20 October 1951), p.2.
  2. Their Engagements are Announced, The Age, (Saturday, 23 December 19139), p.7.
  3. Approaching Marriages, The Age, (Thursday, 30 January 1941), p.3; Items of Personal Interest, (Saturday, 22 February 1941), p.2; Anderson—Waddell, The Argus, (Monday, 24 February 1941), p.6; Footballer Marries, The Age, (Monday, 24 February 1941), p.3.
  4. Sid Anderson: Resembles His Father, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 26 July 1939), p.9.
  5. Syd Anderson, australianfootball.com.
  6. Taylor, Percy, "Melbourne are Proud of their Great War Record", The Australasian, (Saturday, 24 June 1944), p.23.
  7. "Picture of Syd Anderson's crewmates". awm.gov.au. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  8. "P. M. TOWN CLERK'S SON MISSING", "The Record", (Saturday, 27 May 1944), p.1
  9. Melbourne Includes Heywood: Geelong Unchanged, The Argus, (Friday, 8 July 1949), p.18.
  10. Taylor, Percy, "'Spencer for Captain' is Demon move", The Argus, (Friday, 21 September 1956), p.22.

References
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