# Arthur Rayson

Arthur William Rayson (1 December 1901 – 21 January 1970) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the VFL.

## Family

The son of George Rayson (1873-1960), and Minnie Rayson (1876-1939), née Dawson, Arthur William Rayson was born at Dunolly, Victoria on 1 December 1898.
He married May Perrett (1900-1984) in 1922. They had three children: a daughter, Dorothy, and two sons, Alan Arthur Rayson (1924–1982), and Coleman Medalist Noel Douglas Rayson (1933–2003), both of whom played for Geelong.

## Football

Recruited to Geelong from the Cobden Football Club, Rayson was a rover who liked to use the stab kick. He played at half-forward flank in Geelong's 1925 premiership team.

### Geelong (Seconds)

He kicked 4 goals, and was one of Geelong's best players in the team that won the VFL's 1923 "Junior League" premiership, against Richmond, 9.12 (66) to 5.10 (40), despite having to play the entire second half with only 17 men.

### Geelong (Firsts)
#### 7 August 1926

   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)
It is important to note that Main and Allen, (2002, p. 336) have, along with Feldman and Holmesby (1992), become confused between John Thomas "Jack" Shelton and the other St Kilda Shelton (John Frederick "Jack" Shelton). John Thomas "Jack" Shelton was not in the St Kilda team that played against Geelong at the Corio Oval on 7 August 1926, but John Frederick "Jack" Shelton did play for St Kilda on that day. Therefore, the "Shelton" mentioned in the account of the thuggery directed, particularly, at Rayson (who also worked as the caretaker at the Corio Oval), by members of the St Kilda team, and the account of the spectators' response to Rayson's injury (which included broken ribs), specifically directed at Shelton, refers exclusively to John Frederick "Jack" Shelton, and not John Thomas "Jack" Shelton (as Feldman and Holmesby, and Main and Allen have mistakenly supposed).

## Death

He died at Geelong West, Victoria on 21 January 1970.

## Footnotes

* ↑ The Argus, "Cobden", 13 October 1923. p. 5
* ↑ Junior League Final: Geelong Beat Richmond, The Herald, (Saturday, 22 October 1923), p.4.
* ↑ Junior League Grand Final: Geelong Premiers, The Argus, (Monday, 22 October 1923), p.16.
* ↑ Second Eighteen Wins Premiership: Richmond Well Beaten in the Grand Final: Geelong Plays with Seventeen Men, The Geelong Advertiser, (Monday, 22 October 1923), p.17.
* ↑ Junior League Final: Geelong Wins Easily, The Age, (Monday, 22 October 1923), p.15.
* ↑ VFL list of Geelong and St Kilda players participating in the 7 August 1926 match.
* ↑ Football Sensations: Disgraceful Scenes: Police Intervention at Geelong, The Argus, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.11.
* ↑ Football: Topical and Personal: Melee at a Melbourne Match, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, (Friday, 13 August 1926), p.25.
* ↑ Brawl at Geelong: Players and Spectators Fight: Picket Used in Melee, The Age, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.7.
* ↑ A Spiteful Game, The Argus, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.16.
* ↑ St Kilda Outplayed, The Age, (Monday, 9 August 1926), p.7.
* ↑ Headstone, at Arthur William Rayson, at Find a Grave.