Len White (Australian footballer)

Leonard Joseph "Len" White (26 August 1922 – 26 August 2010)[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Len White
Personal information
Full name Leonard Joseph White
Date of birth (1922-08-26)26 August 1922
Place of birth Camperdown, Victoria
Date of death 26 August 2010(2010-08-26) (aged 88)
Original team(s) Camperdown
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Half back
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1947–1948 Geelong 32 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1948.
Career highlights
  • Geelong "best first year player": 1947
  • Camperdown best and fairest: 1946, 1949-51
  • Camperdown premiership coach: 1951
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early career

Born in Camperdown, White was one of eleven born to Eugene and Ellen White (née Nolan). White started his senior career at the Camperdown Football Club, in the Hampden Football League.[2][3] One of four brothers in the Camperdown team, White won the club's best and fairest award in 1946, as a full-back.[4]

Geelong

White was used mostly as a half back by Geelong, which he joined in 1947.[5]

In his debut season he made 17 appearances and was described by Jim Blake of the Sporting Globe as one of the "best recruits" that season.[6] At the end of the season he won Geelong's award for the "best first year player".[7] It was noted in The Argus that there was confusion at the Brownlow Medal count that year when a vote was awarded to "White, Geelong", which could also have been for his teammate Lindsay White.[8]

He played 15 league games in 1948, his second and final season in the VFL.[9]

Coach of Camperdown

White returned to Camperdown in 1949 as the new coach.[10] He went on to coach Camperdown to a premiership in 1951, secured with a 31-point grand final win over Cobden.[11] His on field performances that season won him a third successive club best and fairest.[12][13][14]

Although he retired in 1952, White came back as coach the following year, when his replacement Bob Kelsey was unable to get a clearance from Port Melbourne.[15] In the opening round of the 1953 season, White suffered a broken leg, which would keep him out for the rest of the year, so he stood aside as coach, allowing the club to recruit former Carlton premiership player Ritchie Green.[15] During the 1953 season, a seventh White brother joined Camperdown.[16]

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References
  1. "Len White – Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. "World War Two Nominal Roll". Government of Australia. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  3. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  4. "Football Club Officials and Players Entertained". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 21 October 1946. p. 2 Edition: Afternoons. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  5. "Strong Camperdown team lead Hampden League". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 9 July 1947. p. 31. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  6. "Football". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 8 May 1947. p. 2 Edition: Afternoons. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  7. "Lindsay White Best and Fairest". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 1 September 1947. p. 18. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  8. "Votes decide Brownlow Medal winner". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 4 September 1947. p. 20. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  9. "Len White – Games Played". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  10. "Camperdown Appoints Len White Coach Coach for 1949". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 20 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  11. "Football". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 11 September 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  12. "Trophies Presented at Football Club Dance". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 2 December 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  13. "Len. White Camperdown's Best and Fairest". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 13 October 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  14. "Len. White and N. Sharp Camperdown's Best and Fairest Footballers". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 2 October 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  15. "Camperdown Football Club in Sound Position". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 2 February 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  16. "Football Notes". Camperdown Chronicle. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 26 June 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
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