Jack Mueller

DOB: 9 September, 1915
Died: 15 June, 2001

Debut: Round 1, 1934 against Richmond at Punt Road
Last Game: Semi Final 1950 against Geelong at MCG

Games: 216
Goals: 378
Career Statistics

From: Echuca

Number: 12 1934-1949, 36 1950

Honours:
Premiership Player - 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948
Grand Final team - 1946
Best and Fairest - 1937, 1939, 1946
Leading Goalkicker - 1934, 1936
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee
Victorian state representative - 1936, 1937, 1941 (4 games)
150 Heroes selection
Life Member

Recruited from Echuca after having dominated the Bendigo league, the tall, powerful forward beat the odds to become of the great goalkickers of his era despite having just 8 fingers due to a timber machine accident. He had been recommended to secretary Percy Page by former Redleg Hugh Dunbar. Desperate to get his man, Page arrived by train at 2am and did the deal. Hawthorn arrived to sign Muller at 9am but had been beaten to the punch.

He played for the seconds in 1933 and won a premiership, but it was in the rope factory of former Demon Francis Vine that he suffered his injury. He lost two fingers above the knuckle in a carton-cutting machine but still managed to line up in the first game of 1934 wearing a protective glove which left his marking unimpeded.

He got four goals on debut, seven in his second match and didn't kick less than two goals in any match that year en route to 52 from 14 games and an award as "Best Forward Player". The next year he spent the first six weeks of the year up front for 16 goals before being thrown to the backline for the rest of the season after which he didn't get another.

Mueller could play any key position, and in the 1939 Grand Final he was named at full-back but moved into the ruck after the first goal. That year saw him kick 35 goals, his best tally since his rookie season. He had been appointed as vice-captain the year before, and was a deadly option no matter where he played around the ground. The exciting forward line created by Checker Hughes meant that no one forward was relied on to get the goals any of Mueller, Ron Baggott or Norm Smith could get the goals.

Rejected by the army due to his injuries, Mueller was ironically still able to play in the 1940 and 1941 premiership sides. He kicked 38 and 45 goals respectively in those years. He finally managed to find his way into the army in 1943 and missed the entire season after the first round. He had five game stints in both 1944 and 1945 before returning as a regular in 1946. With Hughes back as coach for his second stint, Mueller was thrown back into the forward line permanently and responded with 58 goals for the year - including a match winning 8 in the Preliminary Final and 6 in the Grand Final loss.

Mueller played just two home and away games in 1948 and took to coaching the 2nds, but was recalled for the finals series and kicked eight goals in the Preliminary Final before helping himself to six each in the Grand Final and subsequent replay.

He played four games in 1949 before the club tried the finals trick again in 1950 after which he retired from VFL football for good. Mueller continued to play in the reserves until 1954 when he retired. In 1955, though, he was forced to come out of retirement and play a reserves match when the side could only muster 17 players.

Mueller's cousin Joe Pearce played for the club before World War I

Lists
Family

Media
"Mueller had to return" - The Age 23/05/1955

Links
Wikipedia profile