Frank Dunne (footballer)

Frank Dunne
Personal information
Full name	Francis Charlton Dunne
Nickname(s)	Diver
Date of birth	(1875-08-13)13 August 1875
Place of birth	Kilmore, Victoria
Date of death	16 February 1937(1937-02-16) (aged 61)
Place of death	Forestville, South Australia
Original team(s)	Albury, St Kilda
Position(s)	Ruck
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1905	St Kilda	1 (1)
1906–1908	South Fremantle	44 (10)
1909–1913	Sturt	54 (27)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1913.
Career highlights
Representative for Western Australia 1908 South Australia 1911
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Francis Charlton "Diver" Dunne (13 August 1875 – 16 February 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL), South Fremantle in the West Australian Football Association (WAFA) and Sturt in the South Australian Football League (SAFL).^[1]

Family

The son of William Dunne (1833-1889),^[2][3] and Annie Theresa Dunne (1837-1896),^[4] née Murphy, Francis Charlton Dunne was born in Kilmore, Victoria on 13 August 1875.

He married Matilda Bridget Fensling (1877-1960) in Albury in 1902.

Football

Dunne was recruited to St. Kilda from Albury in the Ovens and Murray Football League.^[5]

During his time at South Fremantle and Sturt he was considered one of the best "ruck shepherds" in the game,^[6] and represented Western Australia at the 1908 Melbourne Carnival and South Australia at the 1911 Adelaide Carnival.^[7]

Death

He died at Forestville, South Australia on 16 February 1937.^[8]

See also

• 1908 Melbourne Carnival
• 1911 Adelaide Carnival

Footnotes

1. Lysikatos (2015), p.46.
2. A Man Lost in The Bush, The Ballarat Star, (Friday, 3 May 1889), p.2.
3. Deaths: Dunne, The Age, (Thursday, 28 November 1889), p.1.
4. Deaths: Dunne, The Age, (Monday, 6 July 1896), p.1.
5. "Frank Dunne - Albury FC". NSW Football History. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
6. This unusual position is closest to what is known today as ruck rover. As one of Sturt's "Big Three" ruckmen, Cecil Wickens ([1]), Vic Cumberland, and Frank Dunne (considered by many to be Sturt's best-ever ruck combination), Dunne's specific task — as Sturt's ruck shepherd — was "to shelter the brilliant Cumberland from knocks and interference" (Still in Uniform, The (Adelaide) News, (Thursday, 3 May 1928), p13).
7. "Death of Diver Dunne". The News. Vol. XXVIII, no. 4, 235. South Australia. 17 February 1937. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
8. Deaths: Dunne, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, (Wednesday, 17 February 1937), p.14.

References

• Lysikatos, John (2015). We Are Sturt - Vol.1 1901-1944. Mile End, South Australia: Newstyle Printing. ISBN 978-0-9943026-0-1.
• "Fremantle Footballers. Their Play and Methods. No 5. Diver Dunne". The Empire. Vol. I, no. 12. Fremantle, Western Australia. 3 August 1907. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2017.

External links

• Frank Dunne's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Frank Dunne at AustralianFootball.com