Jack Condon (footballer)

John Peter "Jack" Condon (9 May 1922 – 9 October 2015[1]) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Not to be confused with the Jack Condon who played in the VFA, see Coburg Football Club#Team of the Century.

Jack Condon
Personal information
Full name John Peter Condon
Date of birth (1922-05-09)9 May 1922
Place of birth Hamilton, Victoria
Date of death 9 October 2015(2015-10-09) (aged 93)
Original team(s) St Mary's
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1949–1950 Geelong 31 (47)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1950.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

VFL career

Condon was born in Hamilton, but recruited locally to Geelong, from the St Mary's club.[2][3] Following a premiership with the seconds in 1948, he made his senior debut for Geelong in the 1949 VFL season as a mature recruit, two weeks shy of his 27th birthday.[4][5] Condon, who worked off the field as a fireman, quickly became Geelong's regular ruckman.[6] Described as a "good battler", he won the club's "best first year player" award for 1949.[6][7] He played 14 of a possible 19 games that year, with a suspension for attempting to strike Footcray's Dick Wearmouth costing him four weeks.[8][9]

In 1950, Condon made 17 league appearances.[8] He showed his capabilities as a forward when he kicked eight goals in Geelong's 33-point win over Footscray at Kardinia Park in round two.[10] His final game for Geelong was the 1950 preliminary final loss to North Melbourne, when they gave up a 39-point quarter time lead.[11] He kicked two goals in the 17-point loss.[11]

Coaching

He accepted an offer in the 1951 pre-season to be playing coach of Portland in the Western District Football League.[12] They finished runners-up in Condon's first season as coach, then in 1952 he steered the club to their first premiership in the league, with a six-point grand final win over Hamilton, which were led by former Melbourne player Fred Fanning.[13] Portland were losing preliminary finalists under Condon in 1953 and 1954.[14][15]

References
  1. "Obituaries 2015". AFL Record Season 2016: 1134.
  2. "World War Two Nominal Roll". Government of Australia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  3. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  4. "Football". Portland Guardian (Midday ed.). Victoria. 15 March 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Reserves". geelongcats.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  6. "League footballers of 1950 — Ruckmen". The Argus. Melbourne. 22 April 1950. p. 2 Supplement: The Argus Weekend Magazine. Retrieved 24 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Gossip from VFL clubs Jack Dyer says farewell". The Argus. Melbourne. 29 August 1949. p. 13. Retrieved 24 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Jack Condon – Games Played". AFL Tables. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  9. "Geelong man out for four games". The Argus. Melbourne. 20 July 1949. p. 27. Retrieved 24 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Football statistics". The Argus. Melbourne. 1 May 1950. p. 17. Retrieved 24 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Fortunes change in final North triumph after great recovery". The Argus. Melbourne. 18 September 1950. p. 11. Retrieved 24 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Football". Portland Guardian (Midday ed.). Victoria. 19 March 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Tigers' First Premiership". Portland Guardian (Midday ed.). Victoria. 6 October 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "Football". Portland Guardian (Midday ed.). Victoria. 1 October 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 25 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "Hamilton fancied". The Argus. Melbourne. 1 October 1954. p. 28. Retrieved 25 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.