Len Fitzgerald
| Len Fitzgerald | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | 7 May 1929 | ||
| Died |
17 April 2007 (aged 77) Adelaide | ||
| Original team | Collingwood Technical School | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1945–1950 | Collingwood | 96 (49) | |
| 1951–1955, 1959–1962 | Sturt | 125 (201) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| Victoria | 2 | ||
| South Australia | 20 | ||
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 1951–1955 | Sturt | ||
| 1963–1966 | Glenelg | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1962. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1966. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Len Fitzgerald (7 May 1929 – 17 April 2007) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and South Australian National Football League (SANFL). At various time he played in the positions of centre half-forward, centre half-back and ruck-rover.
VFL career
Fitzgerald started his career at Collingwood at the age of 15, in 1945.[1]
Move to SANFL
In 1951 he transferred to the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian competition, in order to gain the better paying employment proffered by Sturt.[1] One source has suggested[who?] that the move was engineered by Collingwood powerbroker John Wren at the behest of a political ally in South Australia.[2]
SANFL career
Arriving at Sturt in 1951, Fitzgerald was appointed captain after three games, and took over the coaching role mid-season. In 1952 Fitzgerald won his first Magarey Medal. He won two more in 1954 and 1959.[citation needed]
In 1955 Sturt got to the preliminary final.[2] Fitzgerald transferred to the Ovens and Murray League for the next three seasons, coaching and playing for Benalla.[citation needed]
Fitzgerald returned to Sturt in 1959. Fitzgerald finished his playing career in 1962 after playing 127 games for Sturt, kicking 201 goals and winning the club's best and fairest award three times. He represented his adopted State of South Australia 20 times and was named an All Australian in the 1953 Adelaide Carnival.
Fitzgerald coached Glenelg for three seasons after his retirement as a player, but with little success.
He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the SANFL Hall of Fame in 2002, as one of the inaugural inductees in each.[citation needed]
References
External links
- Len Fitzgerald's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Len Fitzgerald at AustralianFootball.com
- SANFL Hall of Fame
- Rucci, Michelangelo (17 April 2007). "Sturt legend Fitzgerald dies". Archived from the original on 6 June 2007.