Alf Quill
Australian soccer player
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Alfred Quill (9 July 1910 - 3 October 1997) was an Australian soccer player who played for the Australian national team among several other clubs in his 24-year senior career. Often considered one of the best soccer players in New South Wales, he scored 868 goals in all NSW competitions in his professional career.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alfred Louis Quill | ||
| Date of birth | 9 July 1910 | ||
| Place of birth | Ultimo, Sydney, Australia | ||
| Date of death | 3 October 1997 (aged 87)[1] | ||
| Place of death | New Lambton, New South Wales, Australia[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1927–1928 | Pyrmont | 10 | (18) |
| 1929–1930 | Leichhardt-Annandale | 42 | (63) |
| 1931–1933 | Wallsend | 37 | (67) |
| 1934–1936 | Goodyear | 59 | (119) |
| 1937–1943 | Wallsend | 114 | (229) |
| 1943 | Lake Macquarie | 1 | (3) |
| 1943–1949 | Wallsend | 93 | (121) |
| Total | 356 | (620) | |
| International career | |||
| 1938 | Australia | 2 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Wallsend | |||
| Australia | |||
| Newcastle KB United (youth) | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early career
Quill was born in Sydney. He first showed his signs as a footballer, whilst attending Globe Public School. At the age of 12, he represented New South Wales as a schoolboy against Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. For three seasons he played for Wentworth Juniors before joining the senior side of Pyrmont.[3]
Club career
Beginning in his teens, Quill played 24 seasons.
Pyrmont
Quill began his career with Pyrmont at age 17 in the New South Wales State League in 1927.[4]
Leichhardt-Annandale
While contracted at Leichhardt-Annandale, English club Bolton Wanderers wanted to sign Quill on 25 April 1931, which was rejected.[5]
Wallsend
He made a return to Wallsend on a three-year contract on 6 January 1937.[6] Quill did not have any intentions on leaving Wallsend at the end of the 1939 season, as he signed a form to stay with Wallsend.[7] At the start of the 1943 season, he left Wallsend top play for Lake Macquarie, and returned to Wallsend on 22 May 1943 to play the remainder of the season.[8] In the 1937 season, he scored a record 78 goals for Wallsend as a state record for most goals in a season.[9]
He proposed a retirement from football at the end of the 1945 season,[10] but he came back to Wallsend's squad in April 1946 to play a home match against Lysaght's-Orb the next week.[11] Over his career he scored 802 goals in 477 league and cup matches,[12] but some sources state that he retired in 1949 with 1,002 goals in total, although these numbers probably include goals in friendlies and unofficial matches.[13] In total, he scored 271 top-tier goals after turning 30 years old in 1940, which makes him one of the most prolific top-tier goalscorers in that age bracket in the history of football.[14]
International career
Coaching career
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | State Premiership
Sheahan Cup |
State League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pyrmont | 1927 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 1928 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 23 | |
| Leichhardt | 1929 | 19 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 29 |
| 1930 | 23 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 46 | |
| Wallsend | 1931 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| 1932 | 10 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 28 | |
| 1933 | 15 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 37 | |
| Goodyear | 1934 | 17 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 54 |
| 1935 | 22 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 48 | |
| 1936 | 20 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 48 | |
| Wallsend | 1937 | 22 | 63 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 78 |
| 1938 | 22 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 52 | |
| 1939 | 19 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 29 | |
| 1940 | 22 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 37 | |
| 1941 | 19 | 41 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 53 | |
| 1942 | 10 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 50 | |
| Lake Macquarie | 1943 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Wallsend | |||||||||||
| 1943 | 13 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 41 | |
| 1944 | 20 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 32 | |
| 1945 | 13 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 29 | |
| 1946 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 15 | |
| 1947 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 23 | |
| 1948 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 19 | |
| 1949 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 14 | |
| Total | 356 | 620 | 19 | 29 | 57 | 93 | 53 | 70 | 485 | 812 | |
International
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 1938 | Royal Agricultural Showground, Sydney, Australia |  India |
1–0 | 5–3 | Friendly | [17] |
| 2 | 4–2 |