George Allen (footballer, born 1948)
| George Allen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | George Leslie Allen | ||
| Date of birth | 13 May 1948 | ||
| Date of death | 21 March 1971 (aged 22) | ||
| Place of death | Benalla, Victoria | ||
| Original team(s) | Sunshine YCW | ||
| Position(s) | Full forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1967–1970 | Sunshine | 49 (214) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1970. | |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
George Leslie Allen[1] (13 May 1948 – 21 March 1971) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Sunshine in the Victorian Football Association. He was a prolific goalkicker during his brief career, but he died suddenly during a preseason game at the age of 22.
Allen played his entire career with the Sunshine Football Club in the VFA. After playing some Under-16s football with the club from as early as 1961, he became a permanent member of the club's Thirds (Under-19s) team in 1966, where he kicked 98 goals to be the VFA Thirds Division 2 leading goalkicker. The following year, aged 18, he played for the Seconds, and was again the VFA's Division 2 leading goalkicker.[2]
He played his first two senior games for Sunshine in 1967, and another eight games in 1968, before becoming a permanent member of the senior team in 1969. He immediately established himself as one of the Association's best full forwards, and he was the VFA's Division 2 leading goalkicker in each of 1969 and 1970, kicking 99 and 80 goals respectively – to give him a total of four leading goalkicker awards, across different grades, in just five seasons. In his senior career, he played 49 games and kicked 214 goals.[2]
On Sunday 21 March, late in the first quarter of a pre-season practice match between Sunshine and Benalla in Benalla, Allen suddenly collapsed and died on the field. He had crashed heavily to the ground on his side in a marking contest a few minutes earlier, but had returned to full forward and shown no ill-effects from the contest until his collapse. He was 22 years old.[3][4]
Outside football, Allen worked in the Newport Workshops.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Classified advertisements". The Sun News-Pictorial. 23 March 1971. p. 43.
- ^ a b "Vale George Allen". The Sunshine–St. Albans Advocate. 24 March 1971. p. 38.
- ^ Jack Chigwidden (24 March 1971). "Trip ended in tragedy". The Sunshine–St. Albans Advocate. p. 38.
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r9xUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ppADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2265%2C4681282 The Age, 22 March 1971 "Sunshine forward dies at practice"
- ^ Scot Palmer (22 March 1971). "Full forward dies on field". The Sun News-Pictorial. p. 3.