Joe Pearce ( footballer ) Arthur Mueller " Joe " Pearce ( 28 January 1885 – 25 April 1915 ) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ( VFL ) . Throughout his life , he was always known as " Joe " . He was a member of the First AIF , and was killed in action whilst landing at Gallipoli , Turkey on 25 April 1915 . Family . The son of Arthur John Pearce , the headmaster of the Bendigo Grammar School , and Lena Margaret Pearce , née Mueller , he was born at Sandhurst ( Bendigo ) on 28 January 1885 . He was educated at Bendigo Grammar School , and was employed in a well - paid position in the Australian Mutual Provident Society , firstly in Bendigo , and then in Melbourne . Once he had moved to Melbourne he became very involved in the community of the Anglican Holy Trinity Church , in East Melbourne ; he was Church Treasurer , the Sunday School Superintendent , the Secretary of the Church of England Men ' s Society , and a member of the church choir . His cousin , Jack Mueller , played 216 senior VFL games for Melbourne from 1934 to 1950 . Footballer . Recruited from the South Bendigo Football Club in 1904 , he played as a strict amateur , and even refused to accept out of pocket expenses . He played his first senior game for Melbourne , aged 19 , against Collingwood , at the MCG , on Saturday , 14 May 1904 ( round two ) . Pearce played well in a Melbourne team that lost by 6 points to Collingwood . He played his last senior match for Melbourne against Essendon , on the MCG , on Saturday , 30 August 1913 ( round eighteen ) . Essendon won by 10 points , 6 . 16 ( 52 ) to 6 . 6 ( 42 ) , and Pearce was one of the best players in a losing team . A specialist full - back , Pearce was a regular player for Melbourne from 1904 to 1913 , and was noted for " clear [ ing ] his goal with a dash which took the ball past the centre " , playing 152 games , and represented Victoria at the 1908 Melbourne Carnival . In 1922 , champion full - forward Dick Lee , who played for Collingwood from 1906 to 1922 , told a reporter that he thought that Pearce was , by far , the best full - back of his day ; and only matched in that time ( 1922 ) by the current Richmond full - back Vic Thorp . Sportsman . He played sub - district cricket with Coburg , and also played with the Melbourne Cricket Club ' s Club XI ' s . He was also good at lawn tennis , and at lacrosse . Soldier . Leaving his lucrative employment as a clerk with the Australian Mutual Provident Society , he enlisted in the First AIF on 17 August 1914 ( he was the eighth man to enlist at Essendon on day one ) ; he was immediate given the rank of Lance - Corporal , and was promoted to Corporal on 6 April 1915 . Death . He was killed in action with the 7th Battalion , whilst taking part in the landings at Gallipoli , Turkey on 25 April 1915 . He was shot before his boat could reach the beach . Remembered . He was buried at No 2 Outpost Cemetery , Gallipoli , Turkey ( one and a half miles from where he first landed ) , and his name is located name is located at panel 51 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial . A bronze memorial plaque was erected at the Holy Trinity Church , East Melbourne . On Saturday , 12 June 1915 , playing against Essendon ( in round eight ) , " the Melbourne players wore black armbands , as a token of respect for a former comrade , Lance - Corporal Pearce , a well - known back man of a few seasons ago , who was killed in action at the Dardanelles " . As a devoted church - man , Joe Pearce would have been pleased to know that he was the subject of a sermon , " Football , the Game and the Barracker " , delivered by Rev . Ernest George Petherick ( 1879 – 1950 ) at the Horsham Presbyterian Church on Sunday , 12 September 1926 . His sister Ethel , and a " F . W . Hastings " each inserted an " In Memoriam " notice in the newspaper , every year , at least until 1954 .