Career
Football player
A talented wingman, Mann was recruited from the Albury Football Club. He played his first senior match for the Essendon Football Club against Fitzroy at the Brunswick Street Oval on 2 June 1951 (round 6). He played in every match for the rest of the season.
He played in Essendon"s Grand Final 10.10 (70) loss to Geelong 11.15 (81), and was one of Essendon"s best players.
His trainer was Pat Kennedy. He started the final as 5-to-4-on favourite, having been a 20/1 outsider before the first heat.
On Monday, 10 March 1958, and running off 4½ yards, he ran second in the Bendigo Thousand (130 yds). The feat was all the more remarkable as Mann had broken down during his heat the year before (1957) with a thigh injury so severe that he had to be stretchered from the ground.