Charlie Ahern

Charlie Ahern
Ahern in 1929
Personal information
Full name	Charles David Ahern
Date of birth	25 June 1905
Place of birth	Northcote, Victoria
Date of death	7 April 1931(1931-04-07) (aged 25)
Place of death	Heidelberg, Victoria
Original team(s)	Northcote
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	79 kg (174 lb)
Position(s)	Rover
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1929	Collingwood	3 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1929.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Charles David Ahern (25 June 1905 – 7 April 1931) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

After playing junior football for Williamstown C.Y.M.S.,^[1] Ahern's senior career began in the Victorian Football Association with Northcote, where he played, mostly as a half-back, between 1925 and 1928.^[2] After trialling unsuccessfully with Fitzroy in 1927 preseason training,^[3] Ahern joined Collingwood in 1928.

Ahern played most of his two seasons with Collingwood in the seconds, and by the end of 1929 had played only two senior games, in rounds 9 and 12 that season. He was thus a surprise inclusion in Collingwood's side for the 1929 grand final against Richmond, brought in to provide weight and strength in the ruck which Collingwood had lacked in its semi-final loss against the same team.^[4] Collingwood won and Ahern became the least experienced premiership player in the history of the club.

The grand final was Ahern's last senior match, as he fell seriously ill in the months following the match. He died 18 months later on 7 April 1931.^[5]

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