Career
A highly talented ruckman with a strong overhead mark, and a delightfully graceful and accurate "palm", he walked straight into the Essendon senior team at 19 years of age. Recruited from the Longerenong Agricultural College, in Horsham, Victoria, he made his debut, two days after his nineteenth birthday, for Essendon"s seniors in the first home-and-away match of the 1951 season, on 21 April 1951, when Essendon defeated Melbourne 13.8 (86) to 10.16 (76) at Windy Hill. He represented Victoria in 1955 and 1957.
Having missed the 1951 Grand Final due to illness, he played in his first grand final in 1957 but was on the losing side.
lieutenant turned out to be his last game of football as he retired at the age of just 25 to concentrate on his business career. His retirement created the space for the (then) second-string ruckman Geoff Leek"s career to blossom.
