Talk:Ted Terry

Date of birth

Although both the VFL records and the World War II records show his birth date as 4 July 1904, his birth certificate has 4 June 1904.

Given that he would not have been required to produce any physical, documentary confirmatory evidence of his birth date for either the VFL (who, probably, had done little else than duplicate a Tasmanian entry in his clearance documents) or the A.I.F. (who would have only been concerned whether he was over-age or under-age for enlistment, and had observed directly that he was neither), there is no reason to dispute the accuracy of his birth certificate; consequently, I have corrected his birth date in the article.Lindsay658 (talk) 01:35, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Also, despite the VFL listing, Edward Richard Terry was never known as "Ed Terry"; he was always known as "Ted Terry".Lindsay658 (talk) 01:52, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Unable to locate, confirm or otherwise identify the following information

I am rather wary of the accuracy of the possible sources and, in particular, the veracity of the informants, that stand behind the article in the Burnie Advocate of Friday, 5 November 1954, and its account of Terry's exceptional sporting career. There is a section within that article which I have been unable to make coherent sense of; and, in particular, I have been unable to find any supporting information from any of my available sources.

The questionable section of the article, near the end of the piece, reads as follows: — He was one of the best footballers St. Virgil's has ever seen. He was the star of the first team for two or three seasons. — In his last year at school he gained another distinction, that of being selected in the T.F.L. side for a North-South game. — Mr. Terry played one season with North Launceston, and was chosen in the N.T.F.A. side after only one game. — In 1928 he went to Victoria, and played for a season with St. Kilda. Probably his best game with the Saints was against Richmond, when he was one of the best on the ground against Brownlow Medal winner Stan Judkins. — The following year he played with Prahran, and tied for the best-and-fairest award with another Tasmanian, George Lucas.

Also, on the basis that my research has clearly and unequivocally shown that the assertions made in the fourth and fifth paragraphs are historically wrong, I have a lot of reservations about the (up to this time totally unsupported and entirely unsubstantiated) assertions that appear in the second and third paragraphs; and, as a consequence, have not included them in the article.

On the same theme . . . there is no record of Terry ever playing against Judkins in Victoria or in Tasmania, in a practice match, in an exhibition match, or in a premiership match, regardless of whether it was Seniors or Reserve Grade; and, moreover, as far as I can determine -- regardless of whether Judkins was at Northcote or Richmond -- he never ever played against a team that fielded Terry as a player (i.e., South Melbourne, St Kilda, Prahran, or any team anywhere in Tasmania). Further, in relation to the assertion that Terry tied for Prahran's best-and-fairest award with another Tasmanian ex-St KIlda player, George Lucas,[1], there is no record of Terry ever winning a best-and-fairest award whilst he was in Victoria. It seems that the Burnie Advocate's reporter's informant, an enthusiastic Brother Edward Dominic Joyce, who had been associated with St Virgil's College since 1916 (in its fifth year of operation) and who, apparently, was "one of the best known teachers and sports-masters in Tasmania", had a somewhat imperfect memory.

Notwithstanding this, however, it is also very clear that this amazingly talented schoolboy athlete was also a very talented footballer as an adult; and, therefore, if these otherwise ambiguous items can be confirmed, accurately described, and fixed against real dates, with supporting evidence, it is essential that they be included.Lindsay658 (talk) 04:05, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Also, I can find no record of an E.Terry playing with North Launceston (e.g., [2], [3], [4], or [5]); it seems most likely that there has been a mix-up with a J.Terry who did, indeed, play with North Launceston from, at least, 1924 to, at least, 1930. Lindsay658 (talk) 08:39, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Taking a little softer view on the loquacious Brother Edward Dominic Joyce . . . It might just be that, over the intervening years, he got a little mixed up, and confused Richmond's 1930 Brownlow medal winner Stan Judkins with Geelong's "Carji" Greeves who had won the inaugural Brownlow Medal in 1924, and who played in the centre for Geelong against St Kilda on the day that Terry played his one and only senior game for St Kilda.[6] Yet, it is also clear from the match report,[7] that Greeves was amongst Geelong's best players (and, as well, Terry had his thigh injured during the match [8]), and so this theory doesn't seem to help things either way very much.Lindsay658 (talk) 10:36, 10 August 2010 (UTC)