Albert Frederick Streckfuss (22 September 1888 – 23 June 1974) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and with Williamstown and Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
Family The son of Heinrich Moritz Streckfuss (1833-1917),Late Mr. Henry Streckfuss, (Tuesday, 14 August 1917), p.3. and his second wife, Lina Streckfuss (1848-1918), née Lohse,Marriage: Streckfuss—Lohse, The Bendigo Advertiser, (Thursday, 27 October 1887), p.2.Deaths: Streckfuss, The Argus, (Monday, 20 May 1918), p.1. Albert Frederick Streckfuss was born in Goornong, Victoria on 22 September 1888.
He married Lilian Victoria Chambers in 1912.
Football South Melbourne (VFL) Recruited from the Metropolitan Junior Football Association's (MJFA) Beverley Football Club,The Beverley Football Club, located in the South Melbourne district, competed in the Victorian Amateur competition from 1898 to 1915. Streckfuss made two appearances for South Melbourne in the 1909 VFL season.The Argus,"Club Gossip", 27 August 1909, p.4.AFL Tables: Bert Streckfuss.
He wasn't selected in South Melbourne's premiership team but was a member of the side which defeated West Adelaide to win the Championship of Australia.The Register,"Australian Championship", 11 October 1909, p.5.
In 1910 he played more regularly, making 16 appearances, two of them in the finals series.
28 May 1910 He was involved in a controversial incident that year in a game against Carlton, knocked unconscious by a George Topping king-hit, which resulted in a field invasion.Holmesby (2007); Ross (1996), p.73. The Carlton player was banned for 35 matches, but Streckfuss was fined (£10) as well, after it was later revealed in court that he had earlier struck Carlton's Andrew McDonaldKalgoorlie Miner,"Ruffianism In Football", 9 June 1910, p.5. (Four weeks into the 1910 season, it had already become a matter of controversy that a number of serious offences on the football field had not been reported.)Football Blackguardism: Drastic Measures Demanded: List of Offences, The Argus, (Tuesday, 31 May 1910), p.6.
Wiilamstown (VFA) Cleared from South Melbourne on 10 May 1911, Streckfuss went to Williamstown in 1911.Williamstown Chronicle,"Football Notes", 13 May 1911, p.3.Given the total absence of his name from football-related newspaper reports in 1912, 1913, and 1914, it seems that Streckfuss only played for Williamstown in 1911.
Port Melbourne (VFA) Cleared from Williamstown,Victorian Association, The Argus, (Friday, 16 April 1915), p.12. Streckfuss played 8 senior matches and kicked 11 goals for Port Melbourne in 1915.Port Melbourne Seniors and Juniors, The Age, Monday, 19 April 1915), p.6.The VFA Project.
He played in the Port Melbourne teamFootball, The Port Melbourne Standard, (Saturday, 31 July 1915), p.4. that lost the 1915 First Semi-Final to Brunswick 10.14 (74) to 8.8 (56) on 26 July 1915.Due to the First World War, the 1915 VFA season had been shortened by 5 weeks. The entire VFA competition was abandoned in 1916 and 1917. It resumed in 1918 — with only six teams (including Port Melbourne) competing. The VFA did not return to its pre-war ten teams until 1919, when Williamstown, Essendon A, Brighton, and Hawthorn re-entered the competition.
Umpire During the 1920s, Streckfuss served as a VFL boundary umpire. The 109 games that he umpired from 1921 to 1930 includes a stint as a VFL goal umpire in 1930.Football, The Age, (Thursday, 3 April 1930), p.6. He officiated in eight finals.
Death He died on 23 June 1974.Deaths: Streckfuss, The Age, (Tuesday, 25 June 1974), p.30.
Footnotes
References
League Football Players: "The Weekly Times" Ost-Card Series, THe Weekly Times, (Saturday, 13 August 1910), p.30. Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.
External links
Bert Streckfuss, Boyles Football Photos. The VFA Project: Albert Streckfus (sic).