Clen Denning

Clen Charles Denning (28 February 1911 – 9 November 2009) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Clen Denning
Personal information
Full name Clen Charles Denning
Date of birth (1911-02-28)28 February 1911
Place of birth Collingwood, Victoria, Australia
Date of death 9 November 2009(2009-11-09) (aged 98)
Place of death Keysborough, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s) Oakleigh (VFA)
Position(s) Wing
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1935–1937 Carlton 018 (23)
1938–1947 Fitzroy 159 (59)
Total 177 (82)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1947.
Career highlights

Player in the 1944 Fitzroy Premiership

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Thomas Clen Denning (1879-1917),[1] and Agnes Caroline Denning (1880-1974), née Gunther, Clen Charles Denning was born at Collingwood, Victoria on 28 February 1911.

He married Winifred Adelaide Newman (1915-2002) in 1938.

Football

Soon after he turned 16, Denning played for Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Oakleigh. He got his start in the VFL after a long wait when Oakleigh coach Frank Maher moved to coach the Carlton Football Club. Denning debuted with Carlton in 1935.

Early in his career, Denning made a name for himself as a promising goalkicker; he scored six goals from his first six kicks—all in his first match—a record that stands to this day.[2][3][4]

He only stayed with Carlton until the end of 1937, having played 18 games for 23 goals.

In 1938, he crossed over to the Fitzroy Football Club, as he was said to be unhappy at Carlton. He scored 37 goals in 1939 to be their leading goalkicker. From then on he focused more on a defensive role, becoming a back pocket. He represented Victoria at interstate football in 1941, and in 1944 he was back pocket in Fitzroy's premiership side.

After leaving Fitzroy, Denning played for and coached Ararat.[5] In 1958, he was the inaugural VFA coach of the Dandenong Football Club.[6]

Death

From the October 2009 death of Jimmy Bates until his own death, at Keysborough, Victoria on 9 November 2009, at 98 years old, he was the oldest living former VFL player.[7]

References
  1. Deaths: Denning, The Age, (Saturday, 11 August 1917), p.4.
  3. Mystery Man: Six Goals to Denning, The Argus, (Monday, 20 May 1935), p.12.
  4. Fine, Mark (2011). The Book of Footy Lists. Australia: Slattery Media Group. p. 300. ISBN 978-1-921778-30-8.
  5. "ARARAT SECURES FITZROY STAR". The Horsham Times. 17 February 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 6 August 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Fiddian, Marc (2004). The VFA: a history of the Victorian Football Association, 1877–1995. p. 173.
  7. "Fitzroy great Clen Denning passes away". World News Australia. SBS. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
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