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Ron "Smokey" Clegg (17 November 1927 – 23 August 1990) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League.

Ron Clegg
Personal information
Date of birth	17 November 1927
Date of death	23 August 1990(1990-08-23) (aged 62)
Original team(s)	South Melbourne Under 19's
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	84 kg (185 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1945-1954, 1956-1960	South Melbourne	231 (156)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1958–1959	South Melbourne	36 (15–21–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1960.
Career highlights
Brownlow Medal 1949 Runner Up Brownlow Medal 1951 South Melbourne Best & Fairest 1948, 1949, 1951 South Melbourne captain 1953-1954, 1957-1960 South Melbourne/Sydney Swans Team of the Century Victorian representative (15 games, 7 goals)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Clegg was recruited from the South Melbourne Under 19's after winning the 1944 Melbourne Boys Football League's best and fairest award[1] and was best on ground in the 1944 grand final for South Melbourne.[2]

Richmond were very keen to secure Clegg's signature in 1944, before he settled on South Melbourne.[3][4][5]

Clegg debuted in 1945 and from early on South Melbourne knew they had a star in the making[6] and he played in South Melbourne's losing 1945 VFL grand final.[7]

By the time Clegg was 18 years old he had established himself as a gifted senior player in the VFL in 1946.[8]

A brilliant key position player at either centre half-forward or centre half-back, he was awarded the Brownlow Medal in 1949[9] while playing with the then South Melbourne Football Club and was runner up in the Brownlow in 1951.[10]

He won the club's Best and Fairest award three times, in 1948,[11] 1949[12] and 1951[13] and was runner in the 1953 award to follower, Jim Taylor[14] and again in 1954 to Eddie Lane.[15]

Clegg sought a clearance to New Norfolk in early 1951 and was refused a clearance,[16] then was later appointed as vice captain of South Melbourne FC in 1951.[17] Clegg won the 1951 London Stores Best Player Award in the VFL.[18]

In 1951, Clegg took an incredible 32 marks against Fitzroy at the Lakeside Oval.[19]

Clegg was appointed as club captain in 1953 and also lead the club in 1954 too.[20]

In 1955, Clegg was captain-coach of the North Wagga Football Club in the Albury & District Football League,[21] winning the £50 - Border Mail Newspaper / Albury & DFL Footballer of the Year Award, before returning to South Melbourne in 1956.[22]

Clegg represented Victoria on 15 occasions in the key positions at either half forward or half back.

In 1961 and 1962, Clegg was captain-coach of the Brunswick Football Club.

Clegg played 42 first eleven games of Victorian Premier Cricket for South Melbourne between 1942 and 1947[23] before giving it away to concentrate on VFL football. Clegg made his debut in round one, 1942 as a 14 year old left hand bat.[24]

In 1996, Clegg was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.[25]

In 2003, Clegg was named at centre half back in South Melbourne's Team of the Century.[26]

References

• Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 50. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.

External links

• AFL Hall of Fame
• Ron Clegg's AFL Statistics
• Ron Clegg's profile at Australian Football.com
• Ron Clegg's profile at Boyles Football photos
• 1951 - South Melbourne FC team photo
• North Wagga FC website
• Victorian Representative Football Teams

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