Bill Stephen - Misplaced Pages

Australian rules footballer and coach (1928–2020) For the politician, see Bill Stephen (politician).

Australian rules footballer

Bill Stephen
Personal information
Full name	William Stephen
Date of birth	(1928-04-01)1 April 1928
Place of birth	Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Date of death	23 August 2020(2020-08-23) (aged 92)
Original team(s)	Thornbury CYMS
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1947–1957	Fitzroy	162 (4)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1955–57, 1965–70, 1979–80	Fitzroy	212 (67–144–1)
1976–1977	Essendon	044 0(16–27–1)
Total		256 (83–171–2)
Playing statistics correct to the end of 1980.
Career highlights
Fitzroy captain: 1955–1957 Fitzroy Club Champion: 1950, 1954 Sporting Life team of the year: 1952
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

William Stephen (1 April 1928 – 23 August 2020) was an Australian rules footballer with Fitzroy Football Club. He also coached Fitzroy and Essendon. Stephen is second all time for most VFL/AFL games coached without a grand final appearance, with Port Adelaide Football Club's coach Ken Hinkley surpassing him in 2024.

Playing career

Fitzroy Football Club

Recruited from Thornbury CYMS and making his debut with the Fitzroy Football Club in the VFL in 1947, Stephen was one of the best defenders in the league. He won the Fitzroy Football Club best and fairest in 1950 and 1954 and played for Victoria 14 times. He went on to play 162 games and kicked 4 goals for the club, playing prominently from the back pocket position.

Coaching career

Fitzroy Football Club

Bill Stephen coached Fitzroy as senior coach on three separate occasions from 1955 to 1957, 1965 to 1970 and 1979 to 1980. His overall VFL coaching record stands at 258 matches, 84 wins, 172 losses and 2 draws. He was sacked from Fitzroy in 1970 as he was recovering in hospital from pneumonia, and resigned from his final VFL coaching appointment at the end of the 1980 season, after coaching the Lions into the finals in 1979 for the first time since 1960. Stephen was replaced by Robert Walls as Fitzroy Football Club senior coach at the end of the 1980 season.

Yarrawonga Football Club

Stephen was captain / coach of Yarrawonga in the Ovens & Murray Football League from 1958 to 1963, then was their non playing coach in 1964. Stephen led Yarrawonga to their first O&MFL premiership against Bob Rose's Wangaratta Rovers in 1959.

Stephen was also the non playing coach of the Ovens & Murray Football League inter-league side in 1964.

Essendon Football Club

Stephen also coached Essendon as senior coach from 1976 to 1977, with a 16 win, 27 losses and 1 draw record. Stephen was sacked as Essendon Football Club senior coach at the end of the 1977 season. Stephen was then replaced by Barry Davis as Essendon Football Club senior coach.

Other coaching roles

He was also an assistant coach for South Melbourne and North Melbourne in between his stints at Fitzroy, Essendon, and St Kilda.

References

"AFL Tables - Coaches".
Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2002). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 617. ISBN 1-74095-001-1.
Full Points Footy biography
^ "Bill Stephen was Fitzroy through and through". 25 August 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
Slattery, Geoff & Comerford, Damien (9 July 1980) Stephen to quit as Lions coach; The Age
"Back in Red and Black". 20 July 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
Stone, Peter (25 June 1976) Stephen, the (not so) quiet nomad

External links

Bill Stephen's playing statistics from AFL Tables
Bill Stephen at AustralianFootball.com
Coaching statistics

v t e Captains of the Fitzroy Football Club
1897: Cleary 1898–1900: Sloan 1901–1902: McSpeerin 1903–1905: Brosnan 1906–1907: Jenkins 1908–1910: Sharp 1911: McLennan 1912: Cooper 1913: Walker 1914–1915: Parratt 1916: Johnson 1917–1918: Holden 1919: Johnson 1920–1921: Parratt 1921–1922: Lethbridge 1923: Rattray 1924–1925: Atkinson 1926: Adams 1927: Wigraft 1928: Rattray 1929: Chapman 1930–1931: Niven 1932: Bunton 1932–1933: Sexton 1933: Moriarty 1934: Cashman 1934: Davies 1935: Cameron 1936–1937: Bunton 1938–1941: Curcio 1942: Hearn 1943–1947: Hughson 1948: Ruthven 1949–1950: Smith 1950–1954: Ruthven 1955–1957: Stephen 1958–1961: Gale 1962: Abrahams 1963–1964: Murray 1965–1966: Rogerson 1966: Hayes 1967–1972: Murray 1973–1977: Murphy 1978: Merrigan 1979–1980: Alexander 1981–1984: Wilson 1985–1987: Rendell 1988–1990: Roos 1991: Osborne 1992–1994: Roos 1995–1996: Boyd

Captains of the Fitzroy Football Club

1897: Cleary
1898–1900: Sloan
1901–1902: McSpeerin
1903–1905: Brosnan
1906–1907: Jenkins
1908–1910: Sharp
1911: McLennan
1912: Cooper
1913: Walker
1914–1915: Parratt
1916: Johnson
1917–1918: Holden
1919: Johnson
1920–1921: Parratt
1921–1922: Lethbridge
1923: Rattray
1924–1925: Atkinson
1926: Adams
1927: Wigraft
1928: Rattray
1929: Chapman
1930–1931: Niven
1932: Bunton
1932–1933: Sexton
1933: Moriarty
1934: Cashman
1934: Davies
1935: Cameron
1936–1937: Bunton
1938–1941: Curcio
1942: Hearn
1943–1947: Hughson
1948: Ruthven
1949–1950: Smith
1950–1954: Ruthven
1955–1957: Stephen
1958–1961: Gale
1962: Abrahams
1963–1964: Murray
1965–1966: Rogerson
1966: Hayes
1967–1972: Murray
1973–1977: Murphy
1978: Merrigan
1979–1980: Alexander
1981–1984: Wilson
1985–1987: Rendell
1988–1990: Roos
1991: Osborne
1992–1994: Roos
1995–1996: Boyd

v t e Coaches of the Fitzroy Football Club
1911–1912: Moriarty 1913–1915: Parratt 1916–1919: Holden 1919: Melling 1920–1921: Parratt 1922–1924: Belcher 1925: Lethbridge 1926–1927: Belcher 1928: Rattray 1929: Ringrose 1929: Freake 1930–1931: Niven 1932–1933: Maher 1934: Wigraft 1934: Cashman 1935: Rowe 1936: Bunton 1937–1939: Rattray 1940–1942: Minogue 1943–1947: Hughson 1945: Hillard 1948: Cameron 1949–1951: N. Smith 1952–1954: Ruthven 1955–1957: Stephen 1956: Curcio 1958–1962: L. Smith 1961: Edwards 1963–1964: Murray 1963: Clark 1964: Williams 1965–1970: Stephen 1968: Slocum 1971–1974: Donaldson 1974: Campbell 1975–1977: Rose 1978: Campbell 1979–1980: Stephen 1981–1985: Walls 1986–1988: Parkin 1989–1990: Austin 1991–1994: Shaw 1995: Quinlan 1995: McConnell 1996: Nunan 1996: McConnell
Italics denote caretaker coach

Coaches of the Fitzroy Football Club

1911–1912: Moriarty
1913–1915: Parratt
1916–1919: Holden
1919: Melling
1920–1921: Parratt
1922–1924: Belcher
1925: Lethbridge
1926–1927: Belcher
1928: Rattray
1929: Ringrose
1929: Freake
1930–1931: Niven
1932–1933: Maher
1934: Wigraft
1934: Cashman
1935: Rowe
1936: Bunton
1937–1939: Rattray
1940–1942: Minogue
1943–1947: Hughson
1945: Hillard
1948: Cameron
1949–1951: N. Smith
1952–1954: Ruthven
1955–1957: Stephen
1956: Curcio
1958–1962: L. Smith
1961: Edwards
1963–1964: Murray
1963: Clark
1964: Williams
1965–1970: Stephen
1968: Slocum
1971–1974: Donaldson
1974: Campbell
1975–1977: Rose
1978: Campbell
1979–1980: Stephen
1981–1985: Walls
1986–1988: Parkin
1989–1990: Austin
1991–1994: Shaw
1995: Quinlan
1995: McConnell
1996: Nunan
1996: McConnell

Italics denote caretaker coach

v t e Coaches of the Essendon Football Club
VFL/AFL	1908–1909: Smith 1910: Belcher 1911–1915; 1918–1920: Worrall 1920–1921: Ogden 1922: Gravenall 1922–1924: Barker 1925–1927: Maher 1928–1930: Hardy 1931–1933: Campbell 1934–1935: May 1936–1939: Baggott 1939: Reynolds/Hunter 1939–1960: Reynolds 1961–1967: Coleman 1968–1970: Clarke 1971: Birt 1972–1975: Tuddenham 1976–1977: Stephen 1978–1980: Davis 1981–2007: Sheedy 2006: O'Donnell 2008–2010: Knights 2011–2013: Hird 2013: Goodwin 2014: Thompson 2015: Hird 2015: Egan 2016–2020: Worsfold 2021–2022: Rutten 2022: Caracella 2023–: Scott
AFL Women's	2022 (S7)–: Wood
Essendon did not participate in the VFL from 1916–1917 due to World War I Italics* denote caretaker coach

v t e Mitchell Medal · Fitzroy Football Club best and fairest winners
1897: N/A 1898: Grace 1899: Hickey 1900: Grace 1901: N/A 1902: N/A 1903: Trotter 1904: Sharp 1905: Millis 1906: Millis 1907: Bailes/Johnson 1908: Holden/Milne 1909: Lambert/Walker 1910: Milne 1911: Cooper 1912: McLennan 1913: McLennan 1914: Cooper 1915: Holden 1916: N/A 1917: N/A 1918: Freake 1919: Rattray 1920: Wigraft 1921: Rattray 1922: Atkinson 1923: Collins 1924: Wigraft 1925: Wigraft 1926: Jenkin 1927: Moriarty 1928: N/A 1929: Batchelor 1930: N/A 1931: N/A 1932: N/A 1933: N/A 1934: Bunton 1935: Bunton 1936: N/A 1937: N/A 1938: N/A 1939: N/A 1940: N/A 1941: N/A 1942: N/A 1943: Hughson 1944: Ruthven 1945: Ruthven 1946: Ruthven 1947: Johnstone 1948: Ruthven 1949: Ruthven 1950: Stephen 1951: Chanter 1952: Broderick 1953: Furness 1954: Stephen 1955: Furness 1956: Murray 1957: Campbell 1958: Murray 1959: Harvey 1960: Murray 1961: Murray 1962: Murray 1963: Murray 1964: Murray 1965: Brown 1966: Brown 1967: Brown 1968: Murphy/Murray 1969: Murray 1970: Murphy 1971: Murphy 1972: Wilson 1973: Murphy 1974: Merrigan 1975: Irwin 1976: Wilson 1977: Murphy 1978: Wilson 1979: Wilson 1980: Wilson 1981: Alexander 1982: Rendell 1983: Rendell 1984: Thornton 1985: Roos 1986: Roos 1987: McIvor 1988: Kappler 1989: Pert 1990: Clayton 1991: Roos 1992: Roos 1993: Lynch 1994: Roos 1995: Boyd 1996: Pike

Mitchell Medal · Fitzroy Football Club best and fairest winners

1897: N/A
1898: Grace
1899: Hickey
1900: Grace
1901: N/A
1902: N/A
1903: Trotter
1904: Sharp
1905: Millis
1906: Millis
1907: Bailes/Johnson
1908: Holden/Milne
1909: Lambert/Walker
1910: Milne
1911: Cooper
1912: McLennan
1913: McLennan
1914: Cooper
1915: Holden
1916: N/A
1917: N/A
1918: Freake
1919: Rattray
1920: Wigraft
1921: Rattray
1922: Atkinson
1923: Collins
1924: Wigraft
1925: Wigraft
1926: Jenkin
1927: Moriarty
1928: N/A
1929: Batchelor
1930: N/A
1931: N/A
1932: N/A
1933: N/A
1934: Bunton
1935: Bunton
1936: N/A
1937: N/A
1938: N/A
1939: N/A
1940: N/A
1941: N/A
1942: N/A
1943: Hughson
1944: Ruthven
1945: Ruthven
1946: Ruthven
1947: Johnstone
1948: Ruthven
1949: Ruthven
1950: Stephen
1951: Chanter
1952: Broderick
1953: Furness
1954: Stephen
1955: Furness
1956: Murray
1957: Campbell
1958: Murray
1959: Harvey
1960: Murray
1961: Murray
1962: Murray
1963: Murray
1964: Murray
1965: Brown
1966: Brown
1967: Brown
1968: Murphy/Murray
1969: Murray
1970: Murphy
1971: Murphy
1972: Wilson
1973: Murphy
1974: Merrigan
1975: Irwin
1976: Wilson
1977: Murphy
1978: Wilson
1979: Wilson
1980: Wilson
1981: Alexander
1982: Rendell
1983: Rendell
1984: Thornton
1985: Roos
1986: Roos
1987: McIvor
1988: Kappler
1989: Pert
1990: Clayton
1991: Roos
1992: Roos
1993: Lynch
1994: Roos
1995: Boyd
1996: Pike

v t e 1952 Sporting Life Team of the Year
Defenders Wally May (Essendon) Ian McKay (North Adelaide) Bill Stephen (Fitzroy) Frank Sparrow (East Perth) Denis Cordner (Melbourne) Don Taylor (Glenelg)
Midfielders Thorold Merrett (Collingwood) Bob Hank (West Torrens) (captain) Lyle Griffin (North Adelaide)
Forwards Bob Rose (Collingwood) Len Fitzgerald (Sturt) Jim Deane (South Adelaide) Roy Wright (Richmond) John Coleman (Essendon) Bill Hutchison (Essendon)
Followers John Marriott (Norwood) Frank Johnson (Port Melbourne) Steve Marsh (South Fremantle)

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