There aren’t too many players who can claim to have played in two Premierships in the same week. But Eric Dalton, who played a few games for us in the 1932 season, is one of that rare band.

It came for him in the 1946 season, when he captain-coached North City to their first flag in Ballarat. The following weekend he played with Redan on permit in a different competition – once again being part of a Premiership team. He must have had quite the celebration when the second game was done!

But that was one of the few strokes of good fortune that fell Eric’s way during his football career. Certainly when it came to his attempts at a VFL career, his luck was nothing but the bad variety.

He was born in Wangaratta and by the age of just 15 was playing with Milawa in the Ovens and King Association. By the time he was 19 he was considered a star of the competition, and was reported to have regularly been winning games for his Milawa team off his own boot.

Collingwood was attracted by the reports, and brought him down in the middle of the 1932 season to play some games. He made his senior debut against St Kilda at the Junction Oval in Round 8, playing on a wing and coming under notice from one newspaper for “shining brightly in Collingwood’s spirited attacks”. He appeared in a newspaper photo after that game being sandwiched between Charlie Dibbs and Bill Mohr, and that’s where he likely broke his collarbone. He managed to come back for two further games late in the season, kicking a goal in each from the half-forward flank or wing.

But that wasn’t enough for the Magpies, who let Eric go during the 1933 pre-season program. He crossed to Footscray, but in just his second game with the reserves there, broke his ankle. The Dogs let him go without having played a senior game, and he ended his VFL career with five games at Essendon in 1934 (kicking four goals in his first appearance).

Eric was a cyclist of some renown, and he competed in two Melbourne-to-Warrnambool road races. He won plenty of country competitions across the years.

As a footballer was described in one newspaper as “a strong, game lad, with a pleasing way”.

He enjoyed quite the country career after leaving Essendon. He played first with Ballarat Imperials, then South Ballarat, then a long stint with Redan (he would eventually be chosen in their Team of the Century, and the Redan best and fairest award is jointly named in his honour), then captain-coached North City in 1946 before returning to Redan again as captain-coach in 1947.

And while that made for a wonderful country career, Eric Dalton would surely like to have used some of the good fortune away from the city to have had a better crack at life in the VFL.

- Michael Roberts