Death of Footballer

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVII, Issue 8510, 17 June 1904, Page 1

Death of Footballer

By Telegraph. Wellington, June 16. A ccrcr.ei's inquiry was held tins t-.iu-r- ---;: mj:; i;,:-i the cii'cuti,stances sinaoiiiKbug tin: lie;..;i! ei Edgar ilu.ms.m, aged 21. wuich ccctiiicd ye.-at. itlay In.m (he ii.m-e.pir:.', e;> of a kick c:i t:;o'bead iei.e;ved iturmg the i':,-.nb.ii| maieli ou Saturday. 'l'ite evi;:eiice givui. p.h:;\ved thai- deceased, in stiqiping a cash ot the i,pp„sir,g ph.yeis, steeped' n, p.-ick uji the bail, and received a kieK from a member nf tiie J'oneke team. win. tn&l to kick tlui ball. Nunc, et the. witnesses c.-ulci give tinj nana: ~f the player. 'Hie pabec painted out that it would be a goad thing tor foofbiillers to rememner that any act which caused death or serious injury came within the piovisieiis of the Criminal Cade. It had been laid th.v.'ii in one'of tiie celebrated cases that it was not material tir consider whether the act which caused death was or was nut hi acct idauce with the rules and practices uf the game. A verdict oi accidental deatu we.s l'Ltained.

The Wellington Post gives the followity in connection with the above:

On Saturday afternoon tiie Wellington Club's junior lootball team played i'onece juniors at Miramar. Mitring tl.e game a Wellington player, Edgar <J. Thomson, received a knock on tin.' head, but there wa.. no cessation, of the game, and Thomson continued playing. ue came home with the team and did not appear to have anything wrong. On Saturday night or Sunday he took bad, and on 'Monday morning his father, who is Resident Secntary of the Urevmouth Harbor liotrd and District.. Engineer of Public Works, was telegraphed tor. I)r Logan and two other doctors were in attendance, but the injured player died e.ii'ly in the morning.

It appears that Wellington beat Poueke '.wno had onlv la or 15 men) very c.'.'ily. and it is said tint there was nothing specially rough about the game. 'George Kenneth Kitchiug, captain of the iWtllington team, states thai in the last ten minutes Thomson got a knock, rubbed his head, and went on playing. Kita hing's impression was that. Thomson, who was playing at- wing three-quarters, went down to take the ball, and was kicked on be back of the head bv a. charging opponent. who intended to kick the ball. He could not say wiio the opponent was. The'referee. W. Shilling, states that, ae does not remember any player being kicked on the head. He has some recollection of the Wellington wing three-quarter in in the second half colliding his head with the head of an opponent : the Wellington player rubbed his head, but went o:t playing.

"Alccrnon F. Worger. eonng-Mpfain of the Poceke team, states that he does cot remember seeing a Wellington man get a kick on the head. The onlv time play was stopped was when he (Worger) got a knock. In latter-day football knock-outs involving stoppages of play are sulticiemiy common, and injuries which cause, the player to rub the injured member, without ceasing play, are more than i ommon. Unfortunately injuries which attract no attention from anybody at the time, but which subsequently give rise to serious complications, are not uncommon.

Deceased was 23 years of age, smtill. and probably not over ten stone. Tn V'ctoria. he played Rugby :\gaiu*t Mullineux's English team, and also plaved a season .J the Victorian game. Last year he played on the West Coast, and last Saturday 1 c was playing for Wellington second only to fill a vacancy.