Vic Cumberland

Vic Cumberland
Personal information
Full name	Harry Vivian Cumberland
Date of birth	(1877-07-04)4 July 1877
Place of birth	Tasmania
Date of death	15 July 1927(1927-07-15) (aged 50)
Original team(s)	Brighton (Tasmania)
Height / weight	182 cm / 86.5 kg
Career highlights
Club Magarey Medal: 1911 VFL Premiership: 1900 Australian Football Hall of Fame Sturt Team of the Century Representative Australian National Football Carnival Championship: 1911
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Harold Vivian "Vic" Cumberland (4 July 1877 – 15 July 1927), also known as Harry Cumberland, was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

The youngest son of Perrygring and Lillian Cumberland, he was born in Tasmania, on 4 July 1877. His older, much taller and much heavier brother, Cec Cumberland, played five senior VFL games for Melbourne in 1899 alongside Vic — and, due his brother's size, weight, and seniority, Vic was often referred to as "Little" Cumberland.

Initially playing senior football in Tasmania, Cumberland returned to Victoria and played with VFL club Melbourne from 1898 to 1901. Later he had several periods at rival VFL club St Kilda, starting in 1903. In 1905 and 1906 Cumberland spent time in New Zealand and played for the Auckland Imperial Football Club in the Australian Football League of Auckland.

After returning to Australia and another stint with St Kilda, Cumberland moved to South Australia in 1909 to play with SANFL club Sturt, winning the league's Magarey Medal award as the fairest and most brilliant in 1911, his final year with the club.

Although only 182 cm, Cumberland was immensely strong and a natural running ruckman. He was a strong mark and an excellent long kick, especially renowned for his place-kicks, with the skill to grab the ball from the ruck and handpass to a team-mate.

Cumberland was — and still is to this day — the oldest player to ever play VFL football; he was 43 years of age when he retired. He went to World War I (First AIF Service Number 2886) and was wounded three times.

In 1927, Cumberland was involved in an accident when he was riding his motorbike in Ferntree Gully, Victoria and hit a cow. He died in hospital several months later, on 15 July 1927.

References

• Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
• Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
• Ross, J. (ed), The Australian Football Hall of Fame, HarperCollinsPublishers, (Ryde), 1999. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X
• Spaull, Roger, "H.V. 'Vic'. Cumberland ~ A Giant of his Era", Boyles's Football Photos, (15 June 2014).
• New Zealand Herald, 8 May 1905, 15 May 1905, 14 July 1906 and 11 August 1906

External links

• Vic Cumberland's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Vic Cumberland at AustralianFootball.com
• Spectator, "These Days of Sport: One of the Hickeys", The Argus, (Saturday, 7 September 1935), p.29.