The 1953 Team

The 1953 'Sporting Life' Team of the Year

by Peter Argent

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Backs	Bernie Smith (Geelong)	Herb Henderson (Footscray)	Merv McIntosh (Perth)
Half Backs	Jack Collins (Footscray)	Len Fitzgerald (Sturt)	Des Rowe (Richmond)
Centres	Des Healey (Collingwood)	Jack Clarke (Essendon)	Jack Lynch (West Adelaide)
Half forwards	Bob Rose (Collingwood)	Jack Howell (Carlton)	Jim Deane (South Adelaide)
Forwards	Roy Wright (Richmond)	John Coleman (Essendon)	Peter Pianto (Geelong)
1st Ruck	Ken Hands (Carlton)	John Leedham (North Launceston)	Bill Hutchison (Essendon)

In this Adelaide carnival year during which the inaugural ANFC All Australian team was selected, the 'Sporting Life' publication panel continued to venture its own assessments.

Richmond's 'gentle giant', Roy Wright.

This year 13 of the 18 players came from the VFL competition, while South Australian had three, with the West and Tasmania securing a solitary player each.

Perennial selection Bill Hutchison was again rewarded, as was Bob Rose for the third time. John Coleman would achieve his fourth and last selection, before a knee injury during the next winter would rob the football public of his consummate skills. Ruckman Roy Wright, in a tough year injury wise, would retain his spot, and Carlton’s Jack Howell was picked for a fourth time after three consecutive selections between 1947 and 1949. Collingwood’s wingman Des Healey was also rewarded again after first being selected in 1949.

The VFL would supply seven new 'Sporting Life' All Australians in 1953. These included Geelong's 1951 and 1952 premiership back pocket player, a Brownlow Medallist in the first of those years and a former South Australian, who played in a premiership with West Adelaide, Bernie Smith. Footscray full back Herb Henderson, who did not kick a goal in his entire VFL football career, gained his first selection, as did team mate Jack Collins, who was rated among the best forwards of his time. Bulldogs coach Charlie Sutton used him as a centre half back early in his league career, where he won the club's best and fairest award in 1951 and 1952. In 1954, Collins, having been transformed into a formidable goalsneak, would boot 84 goals to finish as the VFL’s leading goal kicker for the year.

Carlton's 1953 best and fairest Ken Hands was selected in a year which also saw him begin a five year stint as club captain. Playing either as a centre half forward or ruckman he played 211 games over a 12 year career, which started in the 'Bloodbath' grand final year. Hands was a member of the 1949 premiership team as well.

Essendon had another star starting to make a huge impact on the Victorian competition, Jack Clarke. A skilful and highly organised footballer with a great football brain, he started league football as a seventeen year old in 1951 and would play until the end of the 1967 season. He was runner up in the club's top award six times besides collecting it twice, in 1958 and 1962. He represented the 'Big V' on twenty seven occasions, six times as captain.

Another debutant this year was Geelong premiership rover from 1951 and 1952, Peter Pianto. Although his team would miss out on a third flag in 1953, going down in the ultimate game, Pianto would collect his club's best and fairest player award. In the second half of the sixties he would coach the club for five consecutive years, but although the team never finished below fifth place, it failed to bring him that elusive flag.

Jack Clarke: "It is difficult to imagine anyone much better in all the football skills". (Jeff Pash)

The final VFL inductee for 1953 was Richmond half back Des Rowe. Noted for his judgement and anticipation, he was a close checking player who would skipper his club from 1952 to 1957, winning the team's best and fairest award in both 1951 and the last year of his captaincy. He would also captain his state.

Arguably the biggest VFL superstar of the immediate post-war period, Essendon's John Coleman.

From the West, big Merv McIntosh returned for the fifth and last time in the year he collected the second of his three Sandover Medals, while from Tasmania, equal runner up in the 1953 carnival Tassie Medal, John Leedham from North Launceston was the first and only player out of any competitions from the Apple Isle to collect this honour.

For the croweaters Len Fitzgerald and that year’s Magarey Medallist Jim Deane kept their spots. This league's only newcomer was West Adelaide and state wingman Jack Lynch. He was a renowned top class wet weather player, who had superb skills, and enjoyed a substantial playing career with the Blood 'n Tars for more than a decade.

It is interesting to note that nine players from the 'Sporting Life' All Australian side of 1953 were also included in the inaugural ANFC team, selected after that year's Adelaide carnival. They were Len Fitzgerald, Jack Lynch, John Leedham, Jack Clarke, John Coleman, Des Healey, Bill Hutchison and Rob Rose.

Where now?

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ The 1947 Team ] [ The 1948 Team ] [ The 1949 Team ] [ The 1950 Team ] [ The 1951 Team ] [ The 1952 Team ] [ The 1953 Team ] [ The 1954 Team ] [ The 1955 Team ] [ Source Material ]