fullname years death_date position statsend birth_date nickname article_title name
william mcspeerin 1897 -- 1904 3 june 1943 rover 1904 25 september 1874 the shark bill mcspeerin
 bill mcspeerin
bill mcspeerin

william `` bill '' mcspeerin -lrb- 25 september 1874 -- 3 june 1943 -rrb- was an australian rules footballer who played with fitzroy in the victorian football league -lrb- vfl -rrb- .
a rover , mcspeerin debuted with fitzroy when the club was still in the victorian football association -lrb- vfa -rrb- and was a member of their 1895 premiership side .
when the victorian football league was formed in 1897 , mcspeerin was a key member of the team and appeared in 10 out of a possible 14 games that season , including one match against st kilda football club where he reportedly ran the entire length of the oval to kick a goal .
mcspeerin became one of the leading players of the early vfl years , playing in fitzroy premierships in 1898 and 1899 , appointed club captain in 1901 and in 1903 he became the first fitzroy footballer to play 100 vfl games .
mcspeerin retired at the end of the 1904 vfl season , his last game being fitzroy 's grand final win over carlton football club .
