Fred McGinis, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetFred McGinis
Australian rules footballer
Date of Birth: 11-Nov-1874
Place of Birth: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Date of Death: 30-Mar-1953
Profession: Australian rules footballer
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio 
About Fred McGinis
- Fred McGinis (11 November 1874 in Hobart – 30 March 1953) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL). McGinis began his career with Melbourne at the age of nineteen in 1894 in the VFA, and was its leading goalkicker in 1895.
- A rover, he starred for Melbourne in its debut season in the VFL in 1897.
- He was a premiership player with Melbourne in 1900. Vision difficulties forced him out of the game by 1902 and he returned to Tasmania.
- As he neared total blindness, a match was played for his benefit between combined teams from the VFA and VFL on 4 September 1902; the match, won by the VFL, raised £200.
- The match was the first time that the two bitter rival football competitions had ever played against each other.McGinis was regarded as one of the best players of his era, with some contemporaries, including Mick Grace, Jack Leith and George Cathie, naming him as the best overall.
- Although primarily a rover, he could play and succeed at any position on the ground, and was proficient at all skills: accurate kicking, high marking, speed and endurance. In all my experience I have never seen a more accomplished player — one qualified to rank on the hlghest rung of the ladder of fame among the football champions of Australia.
- His scintilatin brilliancy on the field was unfortunately cut short at the height of his fame by failing eye-sight.
- (George Cathie, 1943).McGinis is the first listed inductee in the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame, his citation describing him as "Tasmania's first true football superstar".
Read more at Wikipedia