James Alfred Thurgood (21 June 1876 – 31 July 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).Holmesby & Main (2014), p. 884.
Family The son of James Thurgood (1841–1923),Deaths: Thurgood, (Monday, 5 February 1923), p. 1. and Elizabeth Thurgood (1844–1894), née Weir,Deaths: Thurgood, The Age, (Thursday, 1 November 1894), p. 1. James Alfred Thurgood was born in Hotham, now known as North Melbourne, Victoria on 21 June 1876.
He was the cousin of Essendon great Albert Thurgood.
He married Ethel Dalkin (1876–1959) on 16 April 1908.Marriages: Thurgood—Dalkin, (Saturday, 16 May 1908), p. 13.Deaths: Thurgood, The Age, (Friday, 10 July 1959), p. 15.
Football He made his debut for Essendon in the match against Fitzroy on 29 May 1897. He scored two goals, one of which "[was] a magnificent long angled shot, which fairly staggered the spectators".'Follower', "The Football Season: A Day of Surprises: The League Matches", The Age, (Monday, 31 May 1897), p. 6."Young Thurgood, a cousin to Essendon's departed marksman, sustained the credit of the family name by kicking a brace of goals, one of them a singularly brilliant effort for a considerable distance, and at a very difficult angle": Markwell, "Football Notes", The Australasian, (Saturday, 5 June 1897), p. 19. His cousin, Albert Thurgood, who also played for Essendon, was described as the "first icon of football".”Albert Thurgood: The Champion of Champions", AFL Record, 17 September 2010, pp. 38–42
Death He died at Malvern, Victoria on 31 July 1946.Deaths: Thurgood, The Argus, (Thursday, 1 August 1946), p. 15.
Notes
References
Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
External links