Football missives: Wee Willie Anderson and Big Buddy

The recruiting of the young Afro-American player (Wallace) by North Melbourne rings a bell with Robin Grow, who wants to know whether anyone remembers the experiment with Wee Willie Anderson, probably in the 70s?

In other news, Hawks fan Sasha Lennon was keen to see Buddy working hard this pre-season on the Sunshine Coast recently. No word on whether Buddy has had his “best pre-season yet”, or whether it’s the “fittest he’s ever been”, but we can assume that’s the case.

Buddy boxing 2

Buddy boxing

 

 

Comments

  1. Maybe Buddy will learn to take a mark over his head this pre-season.

  2. Pamela Sherpa says

    Who is he planning on fighting in round 1?

  3. Andrew Starkie says

    North may as well have recruited me.

    Hope AFL is chipping in on this pr exercise.

    Give me strength

  4. Rocket Nguyen says

    Ah yes, I remember North recruiting Wee Willie Anderson and making a a real hoo-ha about it. Never even played Reserves, I don’t think…

    And North didn’t have much at the time, very early 70s, maybe 71.

  5. Been away and just saw this. Buddy looked particularly fit that day up in Maroochydore. The only training mishap was a bee sting Buddy received while getting a massage on the turf! I guess he was flying like a butterfly and was stung by a bee…

  6. Wee Willie Anderson did trial with North Melbourne. Didn’t live up to the hype. Ended up trying to learn the game in the old EDFL for Scoresby. Ended up only playing in the seconds.

  7. Just came across this.He definitely played for the North reserves in the sixties and played in the ruck.

  8. ian patience says

    Wee Willie Anderson was an American Basketballer who came to Australia to play basketball. I believe he was contracted to play with the Dandenong Basketball team. At the same time he was also coaching the Monash university Basketball teams.
    Basketball in the 1960’s was an amateur sport so his playing time with Dandenong was cut short. It was after this I believe that he was recruited to play football with North Melbourne.
    He is probably the first American to try out for Australian Rules Football. His main asset was a great verticle leap. Sadly his time with North was short.

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