Doug Wade - Geelong Career

Geelong Career

Having trained as a hairdresser, and after trying out with the Melbourne Football Club in a number of practice games in 1960, he returned home to Horsham before being lured back by the Geelong Football Club. He made his VFL debut in 1961 with Geelong, recruited from Horsham.

Doug Wade was a member of the Geelong side which won the VFL Premiership in 1963, and a Grand Final player in 1967.

Wade was involved in one of the most memorable umpiring decisions in VFL history. In 1962 Geelong were trailing Carlton by 5 points in the preliminary final when the ball came down to Doug Wade and Carlton full-back Peter Barry. Wade had kicked six goals and when he outmaneuvered Barry to mark 25 metres out in front, he looked certain to make it seven. More than 90,000 supporters waited for Wade to take his kick- but suddenly they noticed something was wrong. Wade was standing there stunned, shaking his head in frustration and Barry was going back to take a free kick. Down went Barry's kick-and with it Geelong's Grand Final chance. After the game Carlton players said umpire Irving had penalized Wade, who was in front, for holding on to Barry's shorts! Wade said: "All I did was to keep my eyes on the ball and maneuvered for position. The only possible way he could have penalized me was for sticking out my posterior as I went to mark." Percy Beames wrote in The Age: "Wade was extremely unlucky. Nine times out of ten these incidents are overlooked." Former umpire Allen Nash said at the time:"It was the most courageous decision I've ever seen by an umpire."

In the final minutes of a match against South Melbourne late in 1970, Wade had a shot at goal to put Geelong in front. A spectator threw an apple on the field, which collided with the football in mid-air as it dropped between Wade's hand and foot, and knocked the football clear of his boot which failed to even connect with the ball. The umpire, faced with an unprecedented circumstance, signalled 'play on'. South Melbourne's key defender, John Rantall (later to be a teammate of Wade's when they both crossed to North Melbourne in 1973/4) picked up the ball and cleared it down field. South Melbourne scored a goal on the rebound and won the game by 7 points making it into the finals for the first time since 1945. Geelong fell to fifth place and missed the finals (then played off between the top four teams) for the first time since 1961. (In Round 22, they lost to North Melbourne, who were last on the ladder, and had Geelong won against South Melbourne they could have also made it into the finals). The umpire's 'play on' decision was considered valid, since there was no rule at the time, to account for this kind of 'spectator interference' situation. South Melbourne went on to lose to St. Kilda in the Semi Final. This had an interesting parallel in cricket when Ashley Mallett bowled a player with a ball which ricocheted of a swallow which swooped across the Adelaide Cricket Ground pitch. The batsman was given 'out'.