DOB: 27 July 1911
Died: 28 March 2004
Debut: Round 8, 1931 against Carlton at Princes Park
Last Game: Round 18, 1944 against Hawthorn at Punt Road
From: Ballarat College/Golden Point
Number: 24 (1931-1944)
Honours:
Chairman's Award for Best Player - 1934
Premiership Player - 1939, 1940, 1941
Captain/Coach - 1942 - 1944
Life Member - 1943
Team of the Century - Forward Pocket
Australian Football Hall of Fame member
MFC Hall of Fame - 2001
Victorian state player - 1932 (two games), 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938 (two games)
150 Heroes selection
Games: 213
Goals: 323
Career Statistics
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % | |
| 113 | 1 | 99 | 53.05 | |
School captain of the Ballarat College football and cricket sides, Beames had played just two games for Golden Point and was suiting up for his third when a committeeman informed him that he was off to Melbourne for an interview with the Redlegs.
Upon his arrival the club arranged for Beames to stay in a local boarding house. During the first night he heard strange noises from adjourning rooms only to discover in the morning that he was staying in a brothel. The next day he came out of his interview with a job at chairman Joe Blair's Vacuum Oil Company and a promise of more legitimate lodgings.
Having never seen a game of VFL football before, Beames was a guest in the MCC Members pavilion for the game against Footscray. Not sure what he was going to see, Beames came out of the game believing he could easily match it with these players.
Two weeks later he kicked four of Melbourne's nine goals in a reserves match against Collingwood and was promoted to the seniors. In the wet he was voted best on ground. Beames was an instant sensation, being voted Best on Ground on debut and finishing equal 5th in the 1931 Brownlow Medal despite only having played 11 games for the year. During the off-season he was seriously injured playing cricket but return to play 16 games and finished equal 5th in the Brownlow again in 1932.
Beams was voted "Best All Around Player" in 1934, and graduated to the Deputy Vice-Captain the next year and Vice-Captain in 1936. He won the "Most Consistent Player" award in both 1937 and 1938.
After his retirement as Melbourne's last playing coach Beames served as Chairman of Selectors in 1945.
He also excelled in the summer as a state cricketer. First selected in 1932 he scored three first class centuries with a top score of 226. He was still in contention to play for Australia when he retired from the game in 1946.
Beames was named in the forward pocket of the Melbourne Team of the Century. In addition to his eight State games he also played twice for VFL representative sides against the VFA - in 1934 and 1936.
| Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow | |
| 1931 | 11 | 2 | 15 | |
| 1932 | 16 | 7 | 12 | |
| 1933 | 12 | 14 | 4 | |
| 1934 | 18 | 28 | 6 | |
| 1935 | 14 | 25 | 7 | |
| 1936 | 14 | 17 | 2 | |
| 1937 | 20 | 44 | 3 | |
| 1938 | 16 | 37 | 3 | |
| 1939 | 13 | 37 | 0 | |
| 1940 | 15 | 30 | 1 | |
| 1941 | 18 | 29 | 0 | |
| 1942 | 14 | 28 | 0 | |
| 1943 | 14 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1944 | 18 | 17 | 0 | |
Tribunal record
| Round | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 8, 1944 | Unknown | Withdrawn | ||
Coaching
First game: Round 1, 1942 vs Essendon at Windy Hill
Last game: Round 18, 1944 vs Hawthorn at Punt Road
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | % |
| 48 | 19 | 0 | 29 | 39.58 |
After Checker Hughes had retired from the Demons for the first time after the premiership hat-trick, Melbourne chairman Joe Blair appointed Beames as successor. The new coach presided over three years far removed from those that they had just enjoyed, but it wasn't all his fault - the playing list had been decimated by World War II.
In Round 8, 1944, the playing/coach was reported by four umpires but the charges were dismissed on protest because the umpires had all signed the same charge sheet.
He resigned as MFC coach on Friday 16 February 1945, and Hughes came out of retirement to take over.
In his later years became a distinguished journalist and covered both football and cricket for The Age until 1976.
His nephew (G. Beames) joined Essendon in 1949 but did not play.
Lists
Coaches
Notes
May have initially retired at the end of 1940.
Media
Argus - 04/06/1931, 24/01/1945, 17/02/1945
Age - 04/02/1932, 23/05/1944, 29/03/2004, 29/01/2021
Sporting Globe - 27/04/1940, 25/06/2000
Sun - 28/06/1944
Football Record - R6 1949
Links
Boyles Football Photos
Cricinfo profile
Demonwiki image gallery
Wikipedia profile