Weirdest injuries to oust a player

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Monster Joe said:
Try these on for size. They're old, and not all AFL-related, but...

12 Accidents/Injuries

1) Lyle Downs (Carlton, VFL) - was a top rover for Carlton from 1917, until he collapsed and died of a heart attack after team training at Princes Oval, on July 7, 1921.

2) Phil Skehan (Williamstown, VFA) - Skehan was badly injured in an accidental collision during a VFA match against Essendon City on June 21, 1921. He died from his injuries a few days later. A strong ruckman, Skehan had been a member of South Melbourne's 1918 VFL Premiership team.

3) Ron Doig (South Fremantle, WA) - Doig, a member of Western Australia's most famous footballing family, was captain-coach of South Fremantle when he was severely injured in a semi-final against East Perth in 1932. The football world was shocked when Doig died from his injuries a few days later.

4) Stan Poole (South Fremantle, WA) - South Fremantle, almost unbelievably, suffered another tragedy in 1940 when Stan Poole died as a result of injuries received in a game against Perth.

5) "Carbine" Gullen (Vic/WA) - A great follower, Gullen made his name in Ballarat and with South Melbourne (VFA/VFL) before moving West in the late 1890's to play in the strong Goldfields' competition. After a short sojourn back at Ballarat, he went to East Fremantle (WA) in 1903 and dominated every game that year. On June 13, 1904, Gullen felt ill prior to bed and, intending to drink castor oil, swallowed corrosive poison by mistake. When he discovered this, Gullen forced himself to vomit, and, feeling better, went to bed. Around 4 a.m., he was heard groaning in agony and minutes later, aged 29, he was dead. Only days later he would have been in the WAA side to travel to South Australia and Victoria. So highly regarded was Gullen that his funeral cortege to Fremantle Cemetery "stretched out for over a mile".

6) Les Witto (Vic) - Witto was a promising first-year player who had joined Carlton from Broken Hill in 1926 and immediately began to make a name for himself. Playing against Geelong at Princes Oval on August 14, however, Witto fractured his arm. He was making good progress towards recovery when tetanus set in, and he died on August 23, nine days after the accident. An appeal launched by the Carlton Committee raised $1390 to help his mother who was a widow.

7) Ambrose Palmer (Footscray, VFL) - Palmer, one of Australia's boxing "greats", suffered his hardest knock when playing for Footscray against Essendon on opening day, 1939. Caught in a sandwich by two Essendon players, Palmer was severely injured about the head, sustaining no fewer than sixteen jaw, cheekbone and skull fractures. For some time, it was feared he would not survive his injuries.

8) Keith Warburton (Carlton, VFL) - Warburton, a freakish mark and outstanding full-forward, was seriously injured in a semi-final against Fitzroy in 1952. After a Sunday morning operation, his condition worsened and for some time it was thought that he would not survive. Public response to a request for blood for the copious transfusions required to save Warburton's life was overwhelming, and Keith eventually recovered to play a further three seasons with Carlton.

9) Brian Johnson (North Melbourne, VFL) - An up and coming full-back in his fourth season at North, Johnson was accidentally struck in the eye by an opponent's outflung hand in a match against St. Kilda in 1956. He lost the sight in his right eye, and had only dim vision in his left, his injuries so moving the football public that a "Sporting Globe" appeal raised $20,000. Johnson later regained the sight in his left eye, but remained completely blind in the right. Steve Boyle (Footscray, VFL) was another player blinded in one eye - Boyle's accident occurred in 1972.

10) John Greening... I think enough's been said about this already...

11) Neil Sasche (Footscray, VFL) - A star in South Australia, Sasche was only minutes away from completing his second VFL game (on April 12, 1975) when, pushing the ball ahead of him, he stumbled as Fitzroy defender O'Keeffe rushed in to meet him. Sasche, with head down, was met full force by O'Keeffe and suffered a broken neck, which left him a permanent quadriplegic. The incident was, as newspapers reported, purely tragic mischance. It was certainly an accident that ranks with the most unfortunate in the history of the game.

12) Mornington Football Club (Victoria) - Fifteen members of the Mornington Football Club team drowned when the fishing boat, "Process" which they had hired for an outing, broke up and sank in Port Philip Bay, Victoria on June 21, 1892. The VFA donated $100 to a special fund for relatives of the drowned players, and organised a special benefit match. "The Argus" newspaper donated $400, and additional money was received from the sale of a poem entitled "The Football Accident" which sold for 1 penny a copy.


Taken from Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Australian Rules Football But Couldn't Be Bothered Asking by Graeme Atkinson
Click to expand...
and here I was thinking you were just extremely old
 
David Astbury got stabbed in the foot by a stingray during a recovery session last year.

I recall Brad Ottens got a few odd injuries (impaled by a garden stake comes to mind) when he played for us.

Brad Harvey recently had a close encounter with a chainsaw (luckily only got a small cut).
 
A rugby league one... Keith Harris, a North Sydney forward in the 1970s decided to top up his tan at the local solarium. Unfortunately, Keith nodded off during his session, and had to pull out of the next game with severe sunburn..
 
I believe there was a European footballer who climbed a fence to celebrate a goal. When he dropped down his wedding band got caught and damaged his finger badly.
 

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Sully90 said:
I believe there was a European footballer who climbed a fence to celebrate a goal. When he dropped down his wedding band got caught and damaged his finger badly.
Click to expand...
Paolo Diogo who playing in the Swiss First Division.. He also copped a yellow card for excessive celebrating to add insult to injury!
 
I don't think he missed any games as it happened in the 2008 pre-season, but Bulldogs player Jarryd Grant, whom was recruited from the Dandenong Southern Stingrays was stung by a stingray in Port Phillip Bay on what would have been the late Steve Irwin's 46th birthday.

One on field injury I've never been able to figure out was that of Swans rover Jamie Lawson in 1994 against Richmond at the MCG. Lawson appeared merely to trip, but somehow broke his leg so badly he never played football again.
 

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Weirdest injuries to oust a player

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