Lindsay Head
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | September 16, 1935, North Adelaide, South Australia |
| Recruited from | |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | 1952, West Torrens, SANFL vs. , at |
| Team(s) | West Torrens (1952-1970)
327 games, 494 goals |
| Coaching career¹ | |
| Team(s) | West Torrens (1981) |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career highlights | |
|
|
Lindsay Head MBE (born September 16, 1935) is a former Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). His consummate skills were acknowledged by being awarded three Magarey Medals during his career.
Contents |
[edit] SANFL
Lindsay Head seemed always to be destined to be a great footballer. His first experience of State representation came in 1947, when he played in a State schoolboys Carnival at the age of eleven. In 1953 he lined up in the senior South Australian State team to play Victoria. By the time he was nineteen he had won the first of his three Magarey Medals in only his third League season.
Head played for eighteen seasons at SANFL League level - all with his beloved West Torrens Eagles. His list of achievements for his club was remarkable: he played the most games for the club (334); won the club best and fairest award eight times; was club leading goalkicker twice; was captain-coach in 1959-1960 and captain in 1961; coached the club in 1981; and was club President for five years. He was the first SANFL player to play more than 300 games. During his playing career he won the Magarey Medal - the highest individual award in the league - in 1955, 1958 and 1963.
At State level he also had a phenomenal record, representing South Australia on 37 occasions. He captained the State side in 1960, and was named an All-Australian from the 1956 carnival in Perth, Western Australia.
The Australian Football Hall of Fame's description refers to his "magnificent skills on both sides of his body"[1], which is unfortunate as Head never learned to kick with his left foot. Instead he developed a check-side punt for passing and goal-shooting which was very accurate. A versatile player, he mostly played either in the centre or across half-forward, displaying wonderful balance and ball winning abilities, strong marking and accurate passing.
Head played in a premiership side in only his second ever season, but thereafter his side made the finals barely a handful of times in his remaining 16 seasons. His loyalty to his Eagles was therefore remarkable, particularly given that he was pursued not only by other SANFL clubs, but also from the wealthier VFL competition.
[edit] Other
Head played cricket for South Australia as a Right-hand opening batsman (1957/58 - 1958/59). In nine matches he scored 425 runs at 28.33 average.
He was awarded the MBE for services to football.
[edit] References
- Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers, p. 75. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
