Ken Rollason

Australian rules footballer

Ken Rollason

Personal information
Full name	Kenneth Neville Cumstie Rollason
Date of birth	(1928-07-12)12 July 1928
Place of birth	Ballarat, Victoria
Date of death	27 July 2017(2017-07-27) (aged 89)
Place of death	Malvern, Victoria
Original team(s)	Old Melburnians Football Club
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	81 kg (179 lb)
Playing career¹
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1949–50	Melbourne	11 (13)
¹ Playing statistics correct to the end of 1950.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Kenneth Neville Cumstie Rollason (12 July 1928 – 27 July 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).^[1]

Family

The second son of Geelong player Neville Rollason (1895-1976) and Mary Agnes (Maisie) Cumstie (1891-1958), Kenneth Rollason was born on 12 July 1928 at Ballarat, Victoria.^[2]

He married Valma Janet Johnson (1931-) on 2 May 1956.^[3]

Education

Educated at Melbourne Grammar School, and already a tall lad,^[4] he played his first match for the school's First XVIII at the age of 14.^[5]

Football

Old Melburnians (VAFA)

In 1948, while playing for the Old Melburnians Football Club (OMFC) in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA)^{[broken anchor]}, he was selected in the Victorian team that played in Western Australia in the Third Amateur Football Carnival. Playing at full-back, he won the Grosvenor Medal, awarded to the Carnival's best and fairest player.^[6]^[7]

Melbourne (VFL)

Although he was originally "residentially bound to St Kilda",^[8] he was cleared to Melbourne from Old Melburnians on 13 April 1949,^[9] having resided in Melbourne's allotted territory for three years.^[10]

He played in 11 senior games for Melbourne (kicking 13 goals) over two seasons (1949 and 1950).^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]

He left Melbourne halfway through the 1950 season when he made a business trip to England.^[15]^[16]

Old Melburnians (VAFA)

He returned to Old Melburnians in 1953,^[17] and was still playing for them in 1957.^[18]^[19] He was selected at full-back in the Old Melburnians Football Club's "Team of the Century".^[20]

Death

He died at the Frances Xavier Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, Victoria on 27 July 2017.^[21]

Notes

^ Holmesby & Main (2009), p.719.
^ "Family Notices". The Argus. No. 25, 564. Victoria, Australia. 18 July 1928. p. 1.
^ Woman's Page, The Argus, (Thursday, 3 May 1956), p.8.
^ Melbourne Grammar School (photograph), The Australasian, (Saturday, 29 July 1944), p.22.
^ 'Old Boy', "In School and Out: Public Schools Football: A Stirring Contest", The Australasian, (Saturday, 15 July 1944), pp.20, 28.
^ Medal Winner, The West Australian, Friday, 13 August 1948), p.25.
^ Refused £14 Week to Play in W.A., The (Launceston) Examiner, (Thursday, 19 August 1948), p.14.
^ Cannon, Jack, "Umpires' Charges Not Sustained", The Argus, (Wednesday, 28 April 1948), p.16.
^ Coleman Cleared to Essendon, The Argus, (14 April 1949), p.15.
^ Demonwiki.
^ Taylor, Percy, "Melbourne's Search may be Over: Rollason Shines in New Position", The Argus, (Monday, 10 April 1950), p.15.
^ Rollason at Melbourne, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 15 April 1950), p.6.
^ Rollason kicks Eleven Goals, The Argus, (Monday, 17 April 1950), p.16.
^ Melbourne's New Star Forward, The Herald, (Tuesday, 25 April 1950), p.18.
^ Demonwiki.
^ Rollason Leaves, The Argus, (Friday, 11 August 1950), p.11.
^ Big Test for New Teams, The Argus, (Saturday, 18 April 1953), p.12.
^ What a Duel this will be!, The Argus, (Tuesday, 10 July 1956), p.15.
^ Collegians' Bid to Change Amateur Lead, The Age, (Thursday, 18 July 1957), p.17.
^ OMFC Team of the Century, "omfc.com.au.
^ Lovett, Michael (ed.). AFL Record Season 2018. p. 1198. ISBN 9781865133430.

References

Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
Photograph, The Age, (Thursday, 18 August 1949), p.5.