Denis Cordner

George Denis Pruen Cordner (28 June 1924 – 17 October 1990) was an Australian rules footballer, industrial chemist and diplomat.

Denis Cordner
Personal information
Date of birth (1924-06-28)28 June 1924
Place of birth Diamond Creek, Victoria
Date of death 17 October 1990(1990-10-17) (aged 66)
Place of death Kew East, Victoria
Original team(s) University Blacks (VAFA)
Debut Round 5, 1943, Melbourne vs. Richmond, at the MCG
Height 191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 91 kg (201 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1943, 1948–56 Melbourne 152 (82)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1956.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early years

Cordner was the third of four sons to Edward "Ted" Cordner and Margaret Constance née Pruen. Like his father, Cordner and his brothers Ted (1919-1996), Don (1922-2009) and John (1929-2016) were also notable sportsmen. All of them represented Melbourne Grammar School, University Blacks and Melbourne in Australian rules football.[1][2]

Football

Melbourne (VFL)

Cordner made his senior VFL football debut in Round 5 of the 1943 VFL season for Melbourne against Richmond at Punt Road Oval while on leave from the Royal Australian Navy. It was the only time he played with his older brothers Don and Ted. Cordner was flattened five seconds into the match, but recovered and went on to kick two goals in a losing cause.[1]

University Blacks (VAFA)
University Blacks in 1946 - Cordner is in the back row, 4th from the right

Following the war, Cordner played in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) for the University Blacks while studying a Bachelor of Science, specializing in metallurgy.[3] He was the fifth Cordner to represent the Blacks and provided outstanding service in his three seasons with the club, finishing second in the VAFA A Grade Best and Fairest Award count in 1946 and 1947 before winning it in 1948.[3] That year he was also club premiership captain.[4]

Melbourne (VFL)

At the same time, Cordner was still a registered Melbourne player, and was called up to play his second senior VFL game in the drawn 1948 VFL Grand Final,[5] where he played a sterling high marking game at centre half-back. He played again in the Grand Final Replay and was a Melbourne premiership player in just his third game of senior football.

Cordner switched permanently to the Melbourne Football Club in 1949, and played for the club primarily in the ruck for the next eight years. He was particularly noted for his ability in wet weather; after watching Melbourne's win over Geelong in the 1954 Preliminary Final, Richmond ruckman and Brownlow medallist of that season Roy Wright wrote in The Herald:

He is the greatest wet weather ruckman I have seen. Cordner's a freak. Wet weather is bad news for most big men but not for Cordner. He seems to be able to mark the greasy ball when and how he likes. It is fascinating to watch him mark the wet ball. He gets well up in the air, seems to funnel the ball into his arms and then smothers it onto his chest. Before he retires I will have to persuade him to give me a few lessons in wet weather tactics.[6]

Cordner went on to play in two more premiership teams for Melbourne, in 1955 and 1956. He retired at the end of the 1956 season, and was notable for having played his entire VFL career as an amateur.[7]

Cricket

Cordner was also a capable cricketer, known for his bowling. He played 40 district cricket matches for University between 1946/47 and 1953/54, taking 60 wickets at 23.8.[8] In an intervarsity match at the University Oval in Sydney in 1949, he took nine wickets (six of those in the second innings) for the match to help Melbourne beat Sydney.[9]

Life after football

Australian Consul-General in New York

In September 1981, Cordner was appointed Australian Consul-General in New York.[10] He took up the post in March 1982.[11] Cordner's wife Pat was mugged on her first day out in New York city.[12] In March 1984, Cordner was asked to return to Australia within three months.[13]

Business leader

On returning to Australia, Cordner served in a number of leadership positions. He became a chairman of John Holland Constructions, chairman of Australian Motor Industries and a director of the Australian branch of British Petroleum and Plessey Pacific.[14]

Death

Cordner died of coronary heart disease on 17 October 1990 at his home in East Kew, and was buried in Point Lonsdale Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.[11]

Posthumous honours

Team of the Century (MFC)

In 2000, he was named in the Melbourne's "Team of the Century" as the starting ruckman, with Ron Barassi as his ruck-rover, and Stuart Spencer as his rover (his brother, Don Cordner, was selected as the back-pocket ruckman).

Hall of Fame (MFC)

In 2001, he was one of the 24 inaugural inductees into the Melbourne Football Club's "Hall of Fame" (his brother, Don Cordner, was also an inaugural inductee).

"150 Heroes" (MFC)

On 7 June 2008, as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, the Melbourne Football Club announced its list of "150 Heroes", Denis Cordner and two of his brothers, Don Corner, and Ted Cordner, were named on the list.

See also

References
  1. "THAT AMAZING CORDNER FAMILY". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 33, 093. Victoria, Australia. 26 September 1952. p. 4 (The Argus Magazine). Retrieved 17 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Allen, David, "Dynasty: The Cordner Family", The Yorker, (Spring 2019), pp.26-31.
  3. "University Football Club: Biographies" (PDF). p. 19.
  4. "Another Cordner is 'tops'". Weekly Times. 1 September 1948. p. 28.
  5. Daffey, Paul (2 October 2010). "Drama of 1948 had everything". The Age.
  6. "Roy Wright somersaults on first tip and picks: FOOTSCRAY FOR TITLE". The Herald. No. 24, 123. Victoria, Australia. 20 September 1954. p. 14. Retrieved 5 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Denis Cordner". Australian Football.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  8. "VCA 1st XI CAREER RECORDS 1889-90 to 2019-20 A-C" (PDF). Cricket Victoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. "Great Bowling by D. Cordner". The Age. No. 29, 241. Victoria, Australia. 14 January 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 17 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "New consul". The Canberra Times. ACT. 17 September 1981. p. 6.
  11. Hibbins, Gillian M., "Cordner, George Denis Pruen (1924–1990)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 27 February 2016
  12. "Australia's Consul-General... at home in the Big Apple", The Australian Women's Weekly, p. 42, 24 November 1982
  13. "Envoy in New York asked to return". The Canberra Times. ACT. 21 March 1984. p. 3.
  14. Hutchinson (2008), p. 50

Bibliography
  • Hutchinson, Garrie (2008). Heroes : 150 players, 150 years : Melbourne Football Club. Prahran, Victoria: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 9781740666152.
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