Peter Burns (footballer, born 1866)


Peter Charles Burns was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football Association and Victorian Football League.

Family

The son of John Burns, and Martha Burns, née Harrison, Peter Charles Burns was born at Steiglitz, Victoria on 5 January 1866. One of his brothers, Allen Burns, played for South Melbourne in the VFL.
Peter Burns married Elizabeth Corbett in South Melbourne on 18 April 1889.

Football

Burns was a tall ruckman and full-back who made his VFA debut in 1881, aged 16 years, with Ballarat Imperials before transferring to South Melbourne in 1885.

South Melbourne (VFA)

He played 126 games for South and played in four premierships before joining Geelong in 1892.

Geelong (VFA and VFL)

When the Victorian Football League was formed in 1897, he had played 216 games, the most of any active player, and continued to play for Geelong until his retirement in 1902 due to a leg injury he sustained while playing for Victoria against South Australia on 26 June 1902, rather than due to any loss of form.
He served as Geelong's timekeeper from his retirement in 1902, until the end of the 1941 season. Geelong did not compete in the VFL competition in 1942 and 1943, due to war-time travel restrictions.

305 VFA/VFL games

Burns was the first player in elite Australian rules football to play 300 games, and his career total of 305 remained a Victorian football record until it was broken by Gordon Coventry in the 1937 Grand Final, with Burns in attendance as Geelong's timekeeper.

Death

He died in Williamstown, Victoria on 11 October 1952.

Honours

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

Footnotes