Mick Blake
Personal information
Full name Michael Patrick Blake
Date of birth (1874-09-13)13 September 1874
Place of birth St Kilda, Victoria
Date of death 2 January 1931(1931-01-02) (aged 56)
Place of death St Kilda, Victoria
Original team(s) Collegians
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1897–1899 St Kilda 30 (5)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1899.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Michael Patrick Blake (13 September 1874 – 2 January 1931) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Biography

Early life and family

Blake was born in St Kilda, Victoria on 13 September 1874, one of 11 children to Irish emigrants John Blake and Ellen Coen, who came from County Galway.[1] He had seven brothers, many of whom were also gifted sportsmen, two of them played in the VFL.[2] A younger brother, George Blake, was a two-time olympic long-distance runner who also appeared in the VFL, for St Kilda and Carlton.[1] James Blake and Tom Blake, both elder brothers, played football for the same two clubs.[3] James, who captained St Kilda, retired by the time the VFL was formed, but Tom continued his career in the VFL.[4] Another brother, Harry Blake, was a prominent cross country runner.[5]

He had three children with wife Holly: Allyn, Thomas and Winifred.[6]

Football

Recruited from Collegians, Blake started his career with Carlton in the VFA, where he played until transferring to St Kilda in the 1895 season.[7][8]

At Carlton he had played under the captaincy of his brother Tom and was described by the Sporting Globe as having been one of the formidable ruckmen in the team.[1]

He missed St Kilda's inaugural league game in the 1897 VFL season but was in the side from round two and played 13 games that year, followed by 14 in 1898.[9] Both were winless seasons and he was also in the losing team for his three appearances in 1899, which agonisingly included a two-point loss.[9] He didn't continue in 1900 and finished his VFL career with 30 games and no wins, joint fourth most in the league's history, all ahead of him played for University.[10]

Other sports

Blake, a member of the Collegian Harriers, was also an amateur athlete like some of his brothers.[1] He first competed in athletics at the Victorian 10-mile cross-country championships in 1891.[1] In addition to athletics and football, Blake was a good enough diver to win the Victorian title, in a field which included Cecil Healy.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ""Mick" Blake passes". Sporting Globe (First ed.). Melbourne. 17 January 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 4 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Late Mr J. J. Blake". Sporting Globe (1 ed.). Melbourne. 5 June 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 4 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Tom Blake". Blueseum – Online Carlton Football Club Museum. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Family Notices". The Argus. Melbourne. 10 June 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 4 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Obituary". The Australasian. Melbourne. 18 May 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 4 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Family Notices". The Argus. Melbourne. 3 January 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 4 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  8. ↑ "Football". The Argus. Melbourne. 4 May 1895. p. 9. Retrieved 4 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. 1 2 "AFL Tables – Mick Blake – Games Played". AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "AFL Tables – Miscellaneous Player Records". AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
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