Es Downey

Es Downey
Personal information
Full name	Esmond Joseph Downey
Date of birth	11 August 1923
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria[1]
Date of death	3 March 2011 (aged 87)
Original team(s)	Xavier College
Height/Weight	183 cm / 85 kg
Position(s)	Centre half-back
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1944–45	Melbourne	22 (9)
^1 Playing statistics correct to end of 1945 season.

Esmond Joseph Downey AM (11 August 1923 – 3 March 2011)^[2] was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Career

Downey, who went to Xavier College, was a centre half-back for Melbourne University, before joining Melbourne in 1944.^[3][4] He played 16 league games for Melbourne in the 1944 VFL season and at the end of the year was named "Best First Year Player" at the club awards.^[5] He later played for Old Xaverians, coaching them in 1950 and 1951.^[6]

Later life

Downey was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2008, for "service to the community through a range of church, educational and aged care organisations."^[7]

Notes

1. "World War Two Nominal Roll". Government of Australia. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
2. Esmond Joseph Downey AM (PDF). Newman College Newsletter – Winter 2011. Newman College. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
3. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
4. "FOOTBALLERS TRAIN.". The Argus (Melbourne: National Library of Australia). 22 March 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
5. "MELBOURNE TROPHIES.". The Argus (Melbourne: National Library of Australia). 23 November 1944. p. 12. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
6. "Honour Roll". Old Xaverians Football Club. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
7. "It's an Honour – Honours". Government of Australia. Retrieved 14 November 2014.

External links

• Es Downey's statistics from AFL Tables