Henry Elms

Henry "Sonny" Elms (c. 1861 – 14 September 1928[1]) was an Australian rules football coach with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Henry Elms
Personal information
Full name Henry Elms
Date of birth c. 1861
Date of death 14 September 1928(1928-09-14) (aged 66–67)
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
1882–1895 South Melbourne (VFA) 189 (2)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1918–1919 South Melbourne 33 (27–6–0)
Career highlights
  • VFA premiership player 1885, 1888–1890
  • South Melbourne premiership coach 1918
Source: AustralianFootball.com

He had previously played 189 games for the club in the VFA between 1882 and 1895, being part of premiership teams in 1885 and 1888–1890. This career total of matches remained a record until round 6, 1900, when it was broken by teammate Bill Windley.[2]

He was South Melbourne captain in 1894 and 1889.[3]

He was made coach in 1918 and shared the duties with former player and teammate Herb Howson. After the club defeated Collingwood by five points in the Grand Final they became the first pair to coach a premiership team. He remained the coach for the 1919 season and finished with a coaching record of 27 wins from 33 games.

References
  1. "Death of "Sonny" Elms". Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946). 22 September 1928. p. 36.
  2. For many years, it was erroneously believed that another teammate, Dinny McKay, had broken his record in 1897, but McKay actually played for Richmond in 1892–1893.
  3. "SENIOR FOOTBALL CAPTAINS". Leader. No. 2001. Victoria, Australia. 19 May 1894. p. 30. Retrieved 7 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.