His father, Jim Collins, who had been the captain-coach of the Yarraville Football Club from 1918 to 1919, played 30 senior games for Essendon from 1919 to 1921.
In June, he was cleared of a striking charge against South Melbourne captain Ron Clegg,[2] but later in the season he was involved in an incident with Collingwood's Frank Tuck.
[5][6] Collins' four-week suspension meant he would miss the finals of the 1953 VFL season in which Footscray finished third.
As one of the flag favourites, Footscray had lost their first two games to St Kilda and Richmond before they beat South Melbourne by 87 points; Collins starred with eight goals.
[9] After retiring from football after 154 games and 385 goals,[10] Collins served as a players representative, then secretary, and finally president of the club.