William 'Nipper' Truscott

William "Nipper" John Truscott (9 October 1886 – 20 June 1966) was an Australian rules footballer in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and the Goldfields Football League.

Truscott was a durable rover (175 cm, 66 kg), who played to age 41. Lithgow born Truscott was a doyen of West Australian football, and an all round sportsman, once representing Western Australia in a first-class cricket match as a wicket-keeper and also playing bowls. Partnered by Harry Snook, he won an Australian pairs bowls title in 1955.

Nicknamed 'Nipper' as a boy for his quickness in Rugby Union, he grew up in Sydney, only taking up Australian rules football when his family moved to the goldfields in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in 1899. He was an exceptional player for Mines Rovers club at a time when the Goldfields League was considered to be almost the equal of any other league in the country. Truscott was chosen to represent Western Australia in the 1908 national carnival side - the first of his record five carnival appearances over 18 years.

Having married in 1912 he then moved to Perth where he became a postmaster. He commenced in the 1913 season with the East Fremantle Football Club, and quickly established himself as the WAFL's leading centreman. His ability to pass the ball (always with a drop kick) accurately to team mates was a feature of his play. He played in three premiership teams and in seven that were runners-up. He later acted as coach, club and State selector, club secretary and delegate.

Truscott died at the age of 79, on the 20 June 1966 in London, England. He was an inaugural member of the Western Australian Institute's Hall of Fame in August 1985, and in the same year he was listed in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Truscott was made a member of the Fremantle Football Club created Fremantle Football Hall of Legends in 1996. In 2004 he was awarded Legend Status in the West Australian Football Hall of Fame. The Nipper Truscott Pavilion at East Fremantle Oval - site of the first AFL game for the Fremantle club - is named in his honor. In 1996 Truscott was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Career highlights

* Played 404 games (est) with Mines Rovers, East Fremantle and Western Australia
* East Fremantle Captain 1916-1922
* East Fremantle Coach 1925-1926
* Perth Coach 1934
* East Fremantle Premiership player 1914, 1918, 1925
* 20 State games for Western Australia

References

*
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120304b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography]
* [http://prod.www.afl.cfour.com.au/Season2007/Awards/HallofFame/Players/tabid/856/Default.aspx AFL: Hall of Fame]
* [http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8069.html Cricinfo profile]