Ron "Smokey" Clegg (17 November 1927 – 23 August 1990) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League.
Ron Clegg | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Date of birth | 17 November 1927 | ||
Date of death | 23 August 1990 | (aged 62)||
Original team(s) | South Melbourne Under 19's | ||
Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1945-1954, 1956-1960 | South Melbourne | 231 (156) | |
Coaching career | |||
Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
1958–1959 | South Melbourne | 36 (15–21–0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1960. | |||
Career highlights | |||
| |||
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Clegg was recruited from the South Melbourne Under 19's after winning the 1944 Melbourne Boys Football League's best and fairest award[1] and was best on ground in the 1944 grand final for South Melbourne.[2]
Richmond were very keen to secure Clegg's signature in 1944, before he settled on South Melbourne.[3][4][5]
Clegg debuted in 1945 and from early on South Melbourne knew they had a star in the making[6] and he played in South Melbourne's losing 1945 VFL grand final.[7]
By the time Clegg was 18 years old he had established himself as a gifted senior player in the VFL in 1946.[8]
A brilliant key position player at either centre half-forward or centre half-back, he was awarded the Brownlow Medal in 1949[9] while playing with the then South Melbourne Football Club and was runner up in the Brownlow in 1951.[10]
He won the club's Best and Fairest award three times, in 1948,[11] 1949[12] and 1951[13] and was runner in the 1953 award to follower, Jim Taylor[14] and again in 1954 to Eddie Lane.[15]
Clegg sought a clearance to New Norfolk in early 1951 and was refused a clearance,[16] then was later appointed as vice captain of South Melbourne FC in 1951.[17] Clegg won the 1951 London Stores Best Player Award in the VFL.[18]
In 1951, Clegg took an incredible 32 marks against Fitzroy at the Lakeside Oval.[19]
Clegg was appointed as club captain in 1953 and also lead the club in 1954 too.[20]
In 1955, Clegg was captain-coach of the North Wagga Football Club in the Albury & District Football League,[21] winning the £50 - Border Mail Newspaper / Albury & DFL Footballer of the Year Award, before returning to South Melbourne in 1956.[22]
Clegg represented Victoria on 15 occasions in the key positions at either half forward or half back.
In 1961 and 1962, Clegg was captain-coach of the Brunswick Football Club.
Clegg played 42 first eleven games of Victorian Premier Cricket for South Melbourne between 1942 and 1947[23] before giving it away to concentrate on VFL football. Clegg made his debut in round one, 1942 as a 14 year old left hand bat.[24]
In 1996, Clegg was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.[25]
In 2003, Clegg was named at centre half back in South Melbourne's Team of the Century.[26]
References
edit- ^ "1944 - Ron Clegg wins best and fairest trophy". Record. 23 September 1944. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1944 - Ron Clegg best on ground". Record. 23 September 1923. p. 3. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1944 - Richmond & South Junior". Record. 27 May 1944. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1944 - Ron Clegg a coming star". Record. 12 August 1944. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1944 - Promising boys impress officials". Record. 19 August 1944. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1945 - Promising Recruits". The Age. 9 June 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1945 - Carlton Premiers". Record. 6 October 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1946 - Key player at 18". The Age. 20 June 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1949 - Ron Clegg's Year". Record. 3 September 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1951 - Two-men contest from start". The Argus. 6 September 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1948 - Ron Clegg, winner of best & fairest". Record. 2 October 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1949 - Clegg, Donald & Austen best players". The Argus. 2 September 1949. p. 18. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1951 - Ron Clegg wins £250". Record. 8 September 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1953 - Taylor best at South". The Argus. 4 September 1953. p. 16. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1954 - Eddie Lane wins award at South". The Age. 10 September 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1951 - South emphatic over Ron Clegg". Record. 10 March 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1951 - I won't play again". The Herald. 20 April 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1951 - Two share football award". The Age. 7 September 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Richard Davis (11 September 2012). "Almanac Footy History: Clegg's Match". The Football Almanac. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1953 - He's skipper at South". Weekly Times. 15 April 1953. p. 67. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "1954 - Clegg's move to North Wagga". Record. 22 December 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1956 - Clegg will go to South". The Argus. 29 February 1956. p. 26. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "Victorian Premier Cricket Register". Victorian Cricket Association. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1942 - The final call". Record. 10 October 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "1996 - AFL - Hall of Fame". AFL. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "2003 - Team of the Century". Sydney Swans Football Club. 2003. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 50. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
External links
edit- AFL Hall of Fame
- Ron Clegg's AFL Statistics
- Ron Clegg's profile at Australian Football.com
- Ron Clegg's profile at Boyles Football photos
- 1951 - South Melbourne FC team photo
- North Wagga FC website
- Victorian Representative Football Teams