Paddy Shea

Who was Paddy Shea?

Patrick 'Paddy' Augustus Shea was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy and Essendon in the Victorian Football League. He was from a talented sporting family, with his brother Mark also having a career at Essendon and his nephew John played cricket for Western Australia. Shea himself was a first-class cricketer with Victoria.

Shea's VFL career began at Fitzroy in 1904 but after one season he opted to move to Western Australia where he joined Goldfields Football Association club Boulder City. He spent three years with Boulder City before returning to Victoria and making his Essendon debut in 1908.

He played mostly as a half forward flanker and was one of the first players to use the 'banana kick' as well as the 'checkside' punt. This goal sense saw him top Essendon's goalkicking in 1909 with 40 majors. Such was his consistency up forward that he kicked a goal in each of his 17 games in the 1911 season but finished the year with just 25 goals. He was a member of Essendon premiership sides in 1911 and 1912. A Victorian interstate representative, Shea coached Essendon Association in the VFA for a period after retiring from the VFL. He holds the record for most VFL goals kicked at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, with 85.