William Edward Libbis (2 July 1903 – 15 August 1986) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family William Edward Libbis was born in Port Melbourne, Victoria on 2 July 1903.
He married Stella Millicent Hannebery (1905–1961) in 1929.
Collingwood Libbis was a rover and made his debut in 1925. He became a member of the successful Collingwood side which won four consecutive premierships from 1927 to 1930, Libbis the first rover for each grand final. Gordon Coventry called him "the best rover he ever saw".Holmesby & Main (2011), p.497.
In 1931, he was suspended for eight weeks for striking Ted Pool in the match against Hawthorn on 9 May 1931.In Trouble: Six Players Reported, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 13 May 1931), p.8.Unfair Football: Six Players Charged: Three Disqualifications, The Argus, (Friday, 15 May 1931), p.5; League Tribunal, The Age, (Friday, 15 May 1931), p.6. Returning from his suspension, he only played in three matches before he was hospitalized and operated on for appendicitis.Victorian Football Jottings, The Referee, (Wednesday, 26 August 1931), p.14. He did not play again that season.
Melbourne At the beginning of the 1933 season Libbis protested against the player's weekly match payments being reduced and he was cleared to leave the club for Melbourne.Will Libbis Go?, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 13 May 1933), p.2; Collingwood Clears Libbis. The Argus, (Wednesday, 17 May 1933), p.11; Snapshots from Field and Clubroom: Never Tires, The Herald, (Friday, 18 August 1933), p.14.Piesse (1993), p.170.
Northcote Having transferred from being the coach of the State Savings Bank team in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) in 1938,Tymms as Coach, The Argus, (Thursday, 16 March 1939), p.20. he served as coach of Northcote from 1939 to 1941 (the VFA was in recess due to World war II 1942–1944); he began his tenure as a non-playing coach, but soon returned to the field as a captain-coach.V.F.A. Club Notes, The Age, (Friday, 24 March 1939), p.4;W. Libbis to Play, The Age, (Friday, 18 August 1939), p.7; Association, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 19 August 1939), p.6.
Footnotes
References Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim, The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (9th ed.), (Melbourne), Bas Publishing, 2011. Piesse, Ken, The Complete Guide to Australian Football, (Melbourne), Pan MacMillan Australia Pty Limited, 1993. Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.
External links
Biography: Billy Libbis 1925-1933, Collingwood Forever. Bill Libbis, Boyles Football Photos. Billy Libbis, Australian Football.com. Billy Libbis, Demonwiki.org.