George Moloney

George Michael "Specka" Moloney (7 August 1909 – 5 January 1983) was a highly regarded Australian rules footballer in both the West Australian National Football League (WANFL) and the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL).

For other people named George Moloney, see George Moloney (disambiguation).
George Moloney
Personal information
Full name George Michael Moloney
Date of birth (1909-08-07)7 August 1909
Date of death 5 January 1983(1983-01-05) (aged 73)
Height 174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1927–30, 1936–45 Claremont 190 (555)
1931–1935 Geelong 88 (303)
Total 278 (858)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1929–1938 Western Australia 11
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1943–45, 1948–51 Claremont 135 (45–89–1)
1958–1959 Western Australia
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1951.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Moloney had a formidable reputation as a centre, a goalsneak and a key forward. After four years at Claremont in the 1920s, Moloney drew strong attention as a goalsneak for Western Australia at the 1930 Adelaide Carnival. The following year, he moved to Victoria and joined the Geelong Football Club, where he played for five years, generally at full forward; he won a premiership with the club in 1931, and kicked 109 goals in 1932.[1]

In 1936, Moloney returned to Claremont in the WANFL, he won the Sandover Medal in 1936 as the league's fairest and best player playing primarily as a centre.[1] In 1938, he led Claremont to its first-ever premiership, and repeated the feat in the next two seasons.[2]

All told, he played a total of 190 WA(N)FL games, some of them alongside brothers Robert (103 games 1930-36) and Syd (145 games 1934-41).

Arguably the greatest name in the history of the Claremont Football Club, and certainly one of the most uniquely versatile champions ever to have adorned the game, George "Specka" Moloney rounded off his association with the Tigers by coaching them, sadly without success, from 1948 to 1951.[3]

In 1996, Moloney was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and in 2004 he was inducted into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame where he has legend status.[4]

References
  1. "Forty-five years of Carnival Football". Western Mail. Perth, WA. 9 July 1953. p. 16.
  2. Casey, Kevin (1995). The Tigers Tale: The Origins and History of the Claremont Football Club. Lamb Print. p. 33-48. ISBN 0-646-26498-2.
  3. https://australianfootball.com/players/player/George+Moloney/5287
  4. http://www.wafootballhalloffame.com.au/inductees/2191-george-moloney
  • Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 100. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
  • AFL Hall of Fame
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