Walter Henry "Dick" **Lee ** (19 March 1889 – 11 September 1968) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL).

Family

The son of long-term Collingwood trainer Walter Henry Lee (1863–1952), and Isabella Lee (1867–1929), née Turnbull, Walter Henry Lee was born in Collingwood on 19 March 1889. He married Zella Dixon (1888-1972) in 1927.

Football

Lee was one of the first great forwards in Australian Football with an ability to win the ball on the ground or in the air. He was considered one of the finest practitioners of the place kick in the game, a reputation which followed long after the skill disappeared from the game. In 1912, Lee had a cartilage removed from his knee; and, according to his (then) team captain, Dan Minogue, writing in 1937, Lee was the first senior VFL footballer to have that operation. His last kick in his last match for Collingwood scored Collingwood's final goal in its 11-point loss to Fitzroy in the 1922 VFL Grand Final.

Death

He died at Northcote, Victoria, on 11 September 1968.

Honours

Life Member

He was made a life member of the Collingwood Football Club in 1918.

Australian Football Hall of Fame

In 1996, Lee was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Team of the Century

In 1998, he was selected on the half-forward flank in the Collingwood team of the Century.

Footnotes