Alan Lynch, a VFA star with Geelong West in the 1970s playing the Roosters 1975 premiership and also a talented athlete who competed in the Stawell Gift a number of times, died from Parkinson's Disease at age 70 on Tuesday. While Lynch was one of many stars of the VFA, SANFL, WAFL, TFL and other high level state/territory leagues whose AFL/VFL career proved short and fleeting, Lynch's one season for 7 games at the top level in 1976 is unusual in that he played for two different clubs that year - Footscray for 5 games and then Richmond for 2 games.
In his short career he would meet Geelong twice. Once was as a Bulldog in Round 7 - the Cats winning a thriller by 2 points - and then as a Tiger in Round 13, another heart-stopper in which Richmond held on for a 4-point win over their feline cousins at the MCG. Lynch would later play for the Geelong Cats only at reserves level but he did win their B & F reserves trophy in 1980 and presumably played in Geelong's reserves flag that same season Lynch's win loss record in his one year was 1-4 at the Bulldogs but 2-0 at the Tigers, interesting in that Footscray made the finals in 1976 while Richmond did not. He remarkably also wore the same number 6 for both the Dogs and the Tigers.
While possible that there are other one season players for two clubs, they would have to be very rare and probably either in the very early years of the league or during wartime. I can't think of any other cases from 1950 onwards and until I read about Alan Lynch had no idea of his career.
For example, I don't remember any situations like the following hypothetical occurring: The West Coast Eagles are very impressed by a young Claremont player in the Tigers' victory in the 1991 WAFL Grand Final and draft him later that year. However after just four matches for limited game time at the Eagles early in 1992 and spending most of his time at Claremont he is delisted. Adelaide decide to give him a go and draft him in the 1992 mid-season draft. But after moving to South Australia things go very similarly at the Crows as the Eagles in the second half of the 1992 season - four games with limited game time for Adelaide, and he spends most of his time with the then-struggling Sturt in the SANFL, before being delisted at season's end, returning home to Perth and playing the rest of his career in the 1990s with WAFL team Claremont, never playing AFL again.
If you know any other one season two club players, please post them.
There are six players I've found so far who fit the criteria -
John Somer 1911
Fred Edwards 1913
Algy Millhouse 1913
Bill Donald 1927
Arthur Smith 1930
Clarrie White 1937
Millhouse was from Norwood FC in SANFL, and moved to VFL due to transfer in employment, then moved back to Norwood in 1914. Worth a little booklet perhaps, he had quite a life story.
PEOPLE IN SPORT - News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954) - 23 Jan 1925
Algie Millhouse, who played football for Norwood some years ago, and was a fine all-round athlete, came over from Melbourne to the third Test to meet ...
trove.nla.gov.au
Muriel Cheek Dead At 60 - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) - 13 Dec 1947
Mrs Elizabeth Muriel Millhouse, noted singing teacher and lieder singer, died early today at her home in Commercial Road. ...
trove.nla.gov.au