Career : 1934 - 1935
Debut : Round 1, 1934 vs Hawthorn, aged 23 years, 49 days
Carlton Player No. 504
Games : 11
Goals : 2
Last Game : Round 3, 1935 vs Richmond, aged 24 years, 35 days
Guernsey No. 25
Height : 178 cm (5 ft. 10 in.)
Weight : 81 kg (12 stone, 10 lbs.)
DOB : 17 March, 1911
Harry Maskell was born in Mortlake, was a journeyman follower-defender from Camperdown who represented three VFL clubs in the decade prior to World War II. After nine games for Geelong in 1932, he moved on to Collingwood, but he couldn’t break into the seniors and so spent most of 1933 running around with the Magpies’ Reserves side.
In 1934, Maskell came to Carlton, and straight away, won himself a place in the Blues’ team for the first match of the new season against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval. He was solid on debut in defence, and by mid-year, was playing in his tenth successive game when he was reported for striking during a torrid clash with his former club at Victoria Park. Found guilty by the tribunal, he was suspended for six matches, and ended up missing out on the rest of the season.
Maskell played only once more for Carlton after that; in round three of 1935 against Richmond at Princes Park. It was another typical Blues-Tigers battle of that era, with no quarter asked or given. Carlton’s rovers eventually won the day, with Ansell Clarke, Jack Hale and 19th man Ron Cooper booting six goals between them in a hard-fought 9-point victory.
Why Harry then decided to move on is a mystery - but shortly afterward, he turned up at Hawthorn, where he went on to play another eight senior matches before hanging up his boots for good in 1936. His 28-game VFL career at three clubs had spanned five years, and produced four goals.
When World War II began in 1939, Maskell volunteered for active service with the Australian Army. He qualified for the elite Commando force in 1942, and from then on fought against the invading Japanese Army in New Guinea and the neighbouring islands.
Harry survived the war, and came back home to Australia in late 1945. He passed away in September 1972, at the age of 61.