Collingwood Forever

In its early days, Collingwood had a habit of drawing its training staff from the ranks of past players.

The king of our early trainers, Wal Lee, had himself been a player with Britannia. Tom Bartlett served more than a decade with the towel after his brief playing career. And even the great Archie Smith took to training duties after he eventually hung up the boots in the early 1900s. It was a trend that would continue into the 1920s with Pen Reynolds.

Another of those early players-turned-trainers was William Mulgrave.

Little is known of his playing career before he joined Collingwood. He first appeared in the practice matches before the 1893 season, playing against the newly formed Collingwood Juniors and kicking a goal. It’s not known where he played after that, but there are references to a Mulgrave playing for a club called Britannia, and also with Primrose, during that year.

He didn’t make his senior debut until late in the season, when he was named on a half-forward flank against Carlton. The only clue as to where he’d been playing was that he had come from a junior club. The next week he was shifted into defence, and over the next fortnight won some praise in the press, with one newspaper noting he had been “smart in defence” in one game and describing him as “ever noticeable” in another.

In 1894 he played with Collingwood Juniors, and played a further three senior games late in the year – all largely passing without notice. He was named in senior squads during 1895, and was also named as one of Collingwood’s entrants in a 130 yard footballers race at a charity day. So he was still obviously very much part of the team and the club.

But by 1896 he had transitioned across into acting as an assistant trainer and massager, and that was a role he held until the early 1900s. A carpenter/joiner by trade, he seems to have been an important part of the backroom staff (there were usually four to five trainers, working under Wal Lee).

Sadly, life seemed to become a struggle for William Mulgrave after he left Collingwood. He was spoken of as one of the former players who might be available to play in an old players game against Fitzroy in 1913, though it’s not known whether he actually took the field or not. But just five years later, aged 52, he was admitted to the Kew Hospital for the Insane, where he was said to be in poor health. He died there five months later, early in 1919, suffering from enteritis and pneumonia. It was a sad end for someone who had given much to the football club.

– Michael Roberts