Jock McHale

Jock McHale
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Personal information
Original team(s)	Christian Boys College/ East Melbourne/ Coburg Juniors
Debut	1903, Collingwood
Playing career1
Collingwood (1903-20) 261 Games, 18 goals
Coaching career
Collingwood (1912-49) 714 matches, 8 premierships (467 wins, 237 losses, 10 draws)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1949.
Career highlights
Collingwood: Captain: 1912-13 Collingwood: Coach: 1912-49 Collingwood: premiership side/player: 1910, 1917. Collingwood: premiership side/coach: 1917, 1919, 1927-30, 1930, 1935-36. Collingwood Team of the Century (interchange) AFL Hall of Fame legend AFL Team of the Century (coach)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

James "Jock" McHale, (December 12, 1882 - 4 October, 1953) was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League.

McHale was born in Botany Bay, New South Wales but moved to to Melbourne at age 5. He played football at a young age for three junior teams (Christian Boys College, East Melbourne and Coburg Juniors) and tried out for Collingwood. He was rejected, although he did star in a pre-season match in a second attempt, beating superstar Fred Leech.

McHale made his first appearance in 1903 for the black and white, playing off half-back before moving into the centre. He became a durable centreman, starting a 191-game streak between years 1906 and 1917. He served as captain-coach from 1912-1913 and as a playing coach from 1914 up to the 1917 premiership, his second premiership after being part of the 1910 premiership side. McHale played matches in 1918 and 1920, but from 1918 to 1949. As a player, McHale played 261 games and kicked 18 goals, as well as representing Victoria.

McHale was the most successful coach ever, coaching 714 VFL games with 467 wins and 10 ties (66.1% win rate), and a finals record of 59 finals, including 17 Grand Finals and 8 premierships. Stylistically, he was more of an analysist and inspirer rather than a skills coach. His football brain earned him the respect of his players and the football public. As a playing coach, he saw his team to the 1917 flag. In 1918 when he set out as a non-playing coach, he saw them to the Grand Final for the next three seasons including the 1919 flag, his second as coach. He continued using a different coaching style, where he would assess his players each week on a traditional Thursday Night match-day type training. His style worked wonders, and in in 1927 he coached them to another premiership, his third as coach. It was the start of something special, as the Magpies, under the combination of Coach McHale and Captain Syd Coventry, would record 4 straight premierships, still an AFL Record. After another break from success, another two premierships would be won with McHale as coach in 1935-1936. For the next thirteen seasons he had no more success, coaching in three more losing Grand Finals straight after his seventh and eighth premierships as coach, an unbelievable record.

In 1953, after when Collingwood defeated Geelong in the Grand Final, McHale suffered a heart-attack on the sidelines, dying 4 days later, on October 3, 1953.

Recognition

In 1996 Jock McHale was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame and then was elevated to legend status in 2005. He was also named coach in the AFL Team of the Century, named in 1996.

Since 2001, the premiership coach would be awarded the Jock McHale Medal, in honour of McHale's brilliant coaching record. Each premiership coach since 1950, the year after McHale would retire as coach, would be named a medallist.