Albert 'Bert' Ryan was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for Essendon

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Ryan was an established player at West Melbourne

West Melbourne Football Club

West Melbourne Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the Victorian Football Association . They were based at the North Melbourne Cricket Ground and had a red and white striped guernsey.-History:...

 before he came to the VFL. He had finished joint first in the VFA's goal-kicking in 1903 with 44 goals and again in 1904 when he kicked 51 goals. On each occasion he was the joint winner with Richmond's Jack Hutchinson

Jack Hutchinson

Jack Hutchinson was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football Association between 1901 and 1910. He played his first two seasons for the Port Melbourne Football Club then crossed to the Richmond Football Club in 1903 and played there until they left VFA at the end of the...

. Ryan was then a fixture in their 1906 premiership. His season at Essendon consisted of 17 matches and although they made the Grand Final that year, Ryan wasn't picked at all during the finals campaign.