Harry Vallence

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Harry Vallence
Personal information
Full name Henry Francis Vallence
Nickname(s) Soapy
Date of birth 4 June 1905
Place of birth Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
Date of death 25 July 1991(1991-07-25) (aged 86)
Original team(s) Bacchus Marsh (BFL)
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Full forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1926–1938 Carlton 204 (722)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
Victoria 4 (17)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1938.
Career highlights
  • Carlton premiership player (1938)
  • VFL leading goalkicker 1931
  • Carlton leading goalkicker 1929, 1931–1933, 1935–1938
  • Carlton Hall of Fame (1987)
  • Carlton Team of the 20th Century
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Henry Francis "Soapy" Vallence (4 June 1905 – 25 July 1991) was a champion Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Victorian Football Association (VFA). He played at full-forward for the VFL's Carlton Football Club in the 1930s, and in the 1940s for the VFA's Williamstown and Brighton Football Clubs.

Family[edit]

The son of Michael Vallence and Mary Ann Vallence, née Pattinson,[1] Henry Francis Vallence was born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, on 4 June 1905.

He married Lorna Josephine Bliss (1915–1996) on 17 June 1940.[2]

Football[edit]

Carlton (VFL)[edit]

Originally from Bacchus Marsh, in 1926 he came to Carlton as a half-forward. He soon moved to full-forward, where he became known for his safe hands and mighty kick. He kicked 11 goals in a match on four occasions—twice in finals.

Williamstown (VFA)[edit]

In 1937, he left Carlton to play with Williamstown Football Club in the Victorian Football Association as captain-coach. His dispute with Carlton arising when he returned from representing Victoria in an interstate match to find himself selected at centre half-back in the seconds' grade.

Carlton (VFL)[edit]

He was lured back to Carlton for the 1938 season, helping to secure the Blues' first premiership in 23 years.

Williamstown (VFA)[edit]

Vallence returned again to Williamstown in 1939, this time playing under the Association's throw-pass rules adopted in 1938. In 1939, Vallence kicked 133 goals and helped Williamstown to a premiership, and he kicked another 111 goals in 1940. On 24 May 1941, Vallence achieved two significant milestones: he kicked a career-high twenty goals against Sandringham and brought up his 1000th career goal across both the League and Association.[3] His career with Williamstown ended after 1941, when the competition went into recess during World War II.

Carlton (VFL)[edit]

He was captain-coach of the Carlton Reserves for three seasons (1942–1944).[4]

Brighton (VFA)[edit]

Vallence resumed playing after World War II as the captain-coach at Brighton, where he played his last game in 1946 (kicking 11 goals).[5][6]

Vallence played 204 games and kicked 722 goals for Carlton in his career; the latter was a club record until broken by Stephen Kernahan in 1997. He scored a further 337 goals for Williamstown, 88 for Brighton, and 19 in representative games for Victoria, for a career total of 1166 goals.

Death[edit]

He died on 25 July 1991 of Alzheimer's disease in Geelong Hospital.

Recognition[edit]

In 1996, Vallence was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Myrniong, The Bacchus Marsh Express, (Saturday, 17 November 1900), p.3.
  2. ^ Brides To Say "I Will", The Williamstown Chronicle, (Saturday, 15 June 1940), p.2.
  3. ^ "Twenty goals to Vallence". Williamstown Chronicle. Williamstown, VIC. 30 May 1941. pp. 1, 10.
  4. ^ Carlton Makes a "Raid", The Williamstown Chronicle, (Friday, 7 August 1942), p.2.
  5. ^ Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 131. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
  6. ^ Devaney, J., Biographies T-U-V Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 30 October 2010.

References[edit]

External links[edit]