WEG, William Ellis Green (1923 – 2008)

William Green WEG original cartoon artwork.

William Green WEG was an Australian editorial cartoonist and illustrator who drew the Australian Football League premiers posters from 1954 until his death. WEG studied architecture because his mother warned: "You'll starve if you're a cartoonist." He went to New Guinea with the 15th Brigade during the Second World War. He drew cartoons that were published in the Army's newspaper. WEG completed a painting course after the war and joined The Melbourne Herald in 1946. Sam Wells went on holiday for 6 weeks and WEG filled in. He continued to be a political cartoonist for The Melbourne Herald until he retired in 1986 after 40 years in that role. In the 1954 VFL season, WEG began drawing premiership posters of the winning teams of the Victorian Football League (VFL) Grand Final for the Weekend Herald. By 1966 Green's posters had become so popular that The Herald started producing and selling them after the Grand Final. The premiership posters continued to sell around 100,000 copies each year. Although the series started in 1954, Green produced posters for all the Grand Finals back to 1897 to satisfy collectors.