Horrie Clover

Horace Ray Clover (20 March 1895 – 1 January 1984) was a leading Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL).

Horrie Clover
Clover in 1922
Personal information
Full name	Horace Ray Clover
Date of birth	20 March 1895
Place of birth	Carisbrook, Victoria
Date of death	1 January 1984(1984-01-01) (aged 88)
Place of death	Mordialloc, Victoria
Original team(s)	Temperance, Carisbrook, Maryborough[1]
Debut	Round 2, 1920, Carlton vs. Richmond, at Punt Road Oval
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s)	centre half forward
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1920–1931	Carlton	147 (396)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1922–1923, 1927	Carlton	45 (26–18–1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1931.
Career highlights
Carlton captain/coach 1922–24, 1927 Carlton leading goalkicker 1920–1923, 1926, 1928 Carlton Best & Fairest 1929 VFL Leading Goalkicker 1922 Victorian representative (9 games, 20 goals).
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Robert James Clover (1864-1900), and Phoebe Rubina Clover (-1901), née Smith, Horace Ray Clover was born at Carisbrook, Victoria on 20 March 1895.

He married Alberta Victoria Porter (1901-1983) on 29 January 1927.^[2][3]

Football

At 6 ft. 1in., he had a long reach: his finger-tip to finger-tip span was 6 ft. 5in.^[4]

Carlton (VFL)

"There's quite a story behind Horrie Clover's entry into Carlton, showing that his connection with football was something of a freak. The bare outline of this story will be sufficient. Actually he came to Melbourne in 1919 and joined the Carlton Cricket Club, with no thought of football.
While on a cricket tour with the V.C.A. team to Mildura and Wentworth in association with the late Lyle Downs, a dyed-in-the-wool Carltonite. He and Lyle joined a group of locals having some practice kicks at Wentworth. Evidently Lyle saw enough because, as Horrie himself said, "After that he never let up on me until I put of a [Carlton] uniform". — Rod McGregor, The Sporting Globe.^[5]

Clover was a high-marking centre half-forward who starred from his first game, kicking three goals and hitting the post four times.^[6]

Victoria (VFL)

He was selected to play for Victoria against South Australia on the MCG on 29 May 1920, after having only played three senior VFL games;^[7] however, due to an injury he sustained in the match against Essendon on 22 May 1920, he was unable to play, and was replaced in the selected side by Paddy O'Brien.^[8]

Carlton official

Clover was Carlton's key player during his career, including stints as playing coach in 1922-23 and 1927 for 26 wins from 45 matches. He also served as club secretary, vice-president and president over many years.

Hall of fame

Called "one of the finest exponents of the centre-half-forward position that the game has known",^[6] Clover was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

Cricket

Clover played 20 games of first eleven cricket with the Carlton Cricket Club in the Melbourne District Cricket Association.^[9]

References

1. "1921 - LEAGUE PLAYERS WHO WON". The Herald (Melbourne, Vic). 10 September 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
2. Horrie Clover Married, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 29 January 1927), p.3.
3. The Woman's World: Church Crowded for Sportsman's Wedding, The Herald, (Saturday, 29 January 1927), p.10.
4. The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 5 June 1929), p.1.
5. McGregor, Rod, "Unforgettable Characters in Football: Horrie Clover: A Star in His First Year", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 2 August 1941), p.7.
6. Atkinson, p. 35.
7. J.W., "The Interstate Match", The Australasian, (Saturday, 29 May 1920), p.25.
8. Football: Interstate Match: Victoria v. South Australia, The Age, (Saturday, 29 May 1920), p.15.
9. "Premier Cricket: Mens Records & Stats". Cricket Victoria. Retrieved 11 May 2024.

Sources

• Discovering Anzacs: Profile: Horace Ray Clover (4455), at National Archives of Australia.
• First World War Embarkation Roll: Private Horace Ray Clover (4456), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
• First World War Nominal Roll: Private Horace Roy Clover (4455), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
• World War One Service Record: Private Horace Ray Clover (4455), at National Archives of Australia.
• Footballer Who Gambles With Death: Runs Grave Risk With Every Kick, The (Sydney) Daily Pictorial, (Tuesday, 12 August 1930), p.5.
• Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0 86788 009 0.
• Clover, H.R., "The Art of Forward Play: By Carlton's Own Clover", The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 30 August 1922), p.7.
• Clover, H.R., "Football Needs Cleansing: Horrie Clover's Timely Criticism", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 20 September 1924), p.7.
• J.W., "Notes and Comments", The Australasian, (Saturday, 22 May 1926), p.38: remarks on Clover's presence in the VFL's Umpire and Permit Committee.
• 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. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
• Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 51. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
• Sharland, W.S., "Idol of Carlton Crowds: Australia's Best Centre Half-Forward", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 4 August 1928), p.6.

External links

• "Horrie Clover, the famous Carlton centre half-forward, was caught by the camera making his place kick of 70 yards 1 foot 8 inches at the Melbourne Motordrome last week", The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 8 August 1928), p.1.
• Horrie Clover's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Horrie Clover at AustralianFootball.com
• Horrie Clover, at Boyles Football Photos.
• Horrie Clover, at Blueseum.
• Australian Football Hall of Fame