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CLAREMONT
Affiliated: Various junior competitions from 1925 to 1948; Tasmanian Amateur Football League Southern Division (TAFLSD) 1949 to 1995; Southern Tasmanian Football League (SthFL) from 1996
Formed: Circa 1924
Home
Ground:
Colours: Black and white (originally green and yellow)
Emblem: Magpies
Senior Premierships: Tasmanian Amateur Football League Southern Division (TAFLSD) - 1965, 1968, 1974-5-6, 1978-9-80-1, 1984, 1986-7-8, 1992-3-4-5 (17 total); TAFL State Championship (Conder Shield) - 1968, 1974, 1978-9, 1981, 1984, 1986-7, 1992-3 (10 total - record); TAFLSD Districts - 1981, 1984, 1986 (3 total)
Senior Competition Best and Fairest Player Awards: Walter Howard Medal - Keith Brassington 1948; John Leask 1959*; Eddie Mitchell 1959* & 1960; Norman Hanley 1966; Mick Mason 1980 & 1985; John Moles 1984; J.Salter 1992 (7 Medallists/9 Medals); Peter Hodgman Medal - J.Gulliver 1996 (1 total)
Most Games: 334 by Richard Blackwell
* indicates Medal won jointly.
Action from a Claremont-Huonville clash in 2005. (Photo courtesy of Dan Garlick of OzVox Media.)
Details of Claremont's early history are patchy, but the picture becomes clearer after the club commenced in the Tasmanian Amateur Football League's Southern Division in 1949. That was also the year the club replaced its original colours of green and yellow with the black and white still worn to this day.
After reaching consecutive grand finals in 1950 and 1951, both of which were lost, Claremont's fortunes underwent a prolonged decline. Finally, in 1965, the Magpies again contested a grand final, and this time they were successful, downing University by 27 points, 13.16 (94) to 8.19 (67). Three years later, they added a second flag with another grand final win over Uni, this time by the much closer margin of just 2 points. Shortly afterwards, they procured their first state title thanks to an 11.14 (80) to 10.13 (73) defeat of Northern Division premier Mowbray.
It was during the 1970s that Claremont really arrived as a competition power, winning five premierships from five grand finals. In 1974, 1978 and 1979 the side also won the state title.
Impressive though this was, things would get even better: in the sixteen seasons between 1980 and 1995 the Magpies contested every grand final except one, winning ten of them. The state championship was no longer being contested every season by this time, but Claremont still managed to win it on 6 occasions, losing only once.
In 1996 the TAFL went into recess, and Claremont crossed to the Southern Football League. In 1997 the Magpies won all except one of their 19 roster matches only to put in a 'shocker' on grand final day and go under to Kingston by 25 points. This remains the closest they have come to winning a SthFL flag. Since 2002 the Magpies have competed in the SthFL's regional league, getting within one game of the grand final in 2007.
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