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John Frederick Shelton (29 January 1903 – 8 March 1983) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Football

From Koo Wee Rup, in southeast Victoria, he played for St Kilda from 1925 to 1928. His brother, James Patrick Shelton (1897—1970) also played three senior games with St Kilda: two at the end of 1921, and one in round eight 1922.

A forward, he was St Kilda's leading goalkicker for three consecutive seasons in 1925, 1926 and 1927.

He also represented Victoria four times.

   Geelong hit the lead in the third quarter, a signal for
St Kilda to apply greater force. Down went Chambers of
Geelong, a boundary umpire histrionically threatening to
report a St Kilda player. Next, Rayson, a brilliant Geelong
player and also the Geelong caretaker, fell to the ground
and with broken ribs. He was carried dramatically to his
house within the grounds.
    It was the signal for all hell to break loose. When the
bell rang, the Saints sensed big trouble and tried to leave
the ground hurriedly; Shelton and Stan Hepburn were
engulfed on the field by swarming, shouting barrackers.
The Geelong supporters had become an unruly, vengeful
mob.
    Shelton was hit by an umbrella wielded with wounding
purpose and suffered a torrent of abuse and blows.
Another Geelong fan wrenched a picket from the fence
and advanced on Shelton. Shelton smartly dodged the
blow, grabbed the picket and held it to defend himself.
A mounted policeman rode up, tore the picket from
Shelton's hands and with arrogant urgency hustled
Shelton and Hepburn up the race and into the rooms.
                (Main and Allen, 2002, p.336)

Tribunal

On Saturday, 7 August 1926, as the extensive contemporary newspaper reports attest, Shelton was involved in an act of violence directed at Geelong's full-back Arthur Rayson (who also worked as the caretaker at the Corio Oval), through which Rayson received broken ribs, amongst other injuries. The spectators' response to Rayson's injury, specifically directed at Shelton was such that Shelton required police protection from attacks with fence pickets.

In his last season (1928), he was charged with attempting to kick Essendon's Tom Clarke in the ankle, during the eighth round match at Windy Hill on 4 June 1928. Given the possibility that Shelton might have been kicking at the ball, rather than either intending to kick Clarke in the ankle or mis-timing a trip, the tribunal found that the charge had not been sustained.

On 4 August 1928, during a torrid match against Carlton, at the Junction Oval, Shelton was reported for striking Carlton's Ray Brew in the third quarter; the tribunal sustained the charge and Shelton was suspended for eight matches. He did not play senior VFL football again.

Footnotes

1. "ST. KILDA". The Herald. Victoria, Australia. 17 April 1925. p. 3.
2. "Jack Shelton – Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
3. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2011). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (9th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing. p. 783. ISBN 978-1-921496-12-7.
4. VFL Statistics: Jim Shelton
5. Sharland, W.S., "McNamara;s Successor: Jack Shelton, Wonderful Distance Kick", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 30 June 1928), p.6.
6. Kicking Finals: Champions at Melbourne Ground on Friday, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 19 September 1928), p.8.
7. Football Sensations: Disgraceful Scenes: Police Intervention at Geelong, The Argus, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.11.
8. Football: Topical and Personal: Melee at a Melbourne Match, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, (Friday, 13 August 1926), p.25.
9. Brawl at Geelong: Players and Spectators Fight: Picket Used in Melee, The Age, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.7.
10. A Spiteful Game, The Argus, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.16.
11. St Kilda Outplayed, The Age, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.7.
12. It is important to note that Main and Allen, (2002, p.336) have, along with Feldman and Holmesby (1992), become confused between this "Jack Shelton" (John Frederick "Jack" Shelton), and the other St Kilda "Jack Shelton" (John Thomas "Jack" Shelton). They have mistakenly stated that it was the second Jack Shelton involved in this incident; when, in fact, not only was it most definitely this Jack Shelton who was involved, but also a plain fact that the second Jack Shelton did not play in that St Kilda team, against Geelong, on that day, at all.
13. Football: Charges Against Players: Wittman and Shelton Absolved, The Argus, (Friday 8 June 1928), p.6.
14. Football: Desperate Encounter: St. Kilda Succeeds, The Argus, (Monday, 6 August 1928), p.6.
15. Football: Football Offence: J. Shelton Disqualified, The Argus, (Friday, 10 August 1928), p.5.

References

• Feldman, Jules & Holmesby, Russell, The Point of it All: The Story of the St Kilda Football Club, Playwright (on behalf of the St Kilda Football Club), (Sydney), 1992.
• Main, J. & Allen, D., "Shelton, J.T. 'Jack'", pp. 335–337 in Main, J. & Allen, D., Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War, Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.

External links

• John F. Shelton's playing statistics from AFL Tables

• 1903 births
• 1983 deaths
• Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
• Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
• St Kilda Football Club players
• People from Melton, Victoria