Fred McGinis

Who was Fred McGinis?

Fred McGinis was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association and the Victorian Football League.

McGinis began his career with Melbourne at the age of seventeen in 1894 in the VFA. A rover, he starred for Melbourne in its debut season in the VFL in 1897. He was a premiership player with Melbourne in 1900 but vision difficulties two years later forced him out of the game and he returned to Tasmania.

As he neared total blindness, match was played for his benefit between combined teams from the VFA and VFL on 4 September 1902; the match, won by the VFL, raised £200. The match was the first time that the two bitter rival football competitions had ever played against each other.