Ernest McIntyre

Who was Ernest McIntyre?

Ernest "Ernie" McIntyre was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and Collingwood in the Victorian Football League during the 1940s.

McIntyre, a ruckman, began his football career at Sandringham in 1939 before crossing to the VFL where he joined St Kilda. A dentist by profession, he played his football as an amateur and didn't appear at all for St Kilda in 1942 due to Navy commitments. He represented Victoria in an interstate match against South Australia at Adelaide in 1945.

Noted for his sportsmanlike conduct on the field, on one occasion during a game he helped an opponent Don Cordner to his feet and also once applauded another opponent Bill Morris after he took a good mark. This rubbed coach Fred Froude and the St Kilda committee up the wrong way and when McIntyre was relegated to 19th man for a game in 1948 he resigned and switched to Collingwood. He appeared in his first ever final series that year, kicking two goals in Collingwood's losing Preliminary Final against Melbourne.

He also played two first-class cricket matches for Victoria, as a right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, taking 11 wickets at 16.45.