George Sparrow - Misplaced Pages

Australian rules footballer and coach For George Sparrow the coalmaster, see Thomas Savery.

Australian rules footballer

George Sparrow
George Sparrow, 1895
Personal information
Full name	George Stephen Sparrow
Date of birth	20 November 1869
Place of birth	St Kilda, Victoria
Date of death	6 April 1933(1933-04-06) (aged 63)
Place of death	Caulfield, Victoria
Original team(s)	St Kilda Esplanade
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1892–1896	Richmond (VFA)	86 (56)
1898	South Melbourne	14 (2)
1899	St Kilda	11 (0)
Total		111 (58)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1913, 1920, 1928–29	St Kilda	63 (37–26–0)
Playing statistics correct to the end of 1929.
Career highlights
Richmond leading goalkicker 1892 (19) and 1893 (23) Richmond captain 1894–1895
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

George Stephen Sparrow (20 November 1869 – 6 April 1933) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and both played for and coached St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Football

Nicknamed 'Sugar', Sparrow began his career in the Victorian Football Association playing for Richmond, where he was captain for two years.

He joined the VFL in its second season, and after having to sit out 1897 to gain a clearance, represented South Melbourne before switching to St Kilda the following year.

After retiring, Sparrow turned to coaching and was appointed senior coach of St Kilda in 1913. He coached the club to its first ever Grand Final: the Saints had defeated Minor Premiers Fitzroy in the Final, but under the rules at the time, Fitzroy had an automatic right of challenge, and they won the Grand Final the following week.

Sparrow quit as coach at the end of 1913, coaching five games as caretaker coach in 1920. He returned again in 1928, this time for a two-season stint, with the Saints finishing sixth, missing the finals on percentage. In 1929 he coached St Kilda to the finals again, with a Semi Final loss ending the club's season.

He finished with a winning percentage of 58.73% as a coach.

Notes

"FOOTBALL". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 10 April 1933. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
"Family Notices". The Argus. Melbourne. 7 April 1933. p. 1. Retrieved 16 September 2014.

References

Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
Football Favorites, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 18 May 1895), p.13
Football: Season 1895 Senior Captains, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 18 May 1895), p.10

External links

George Sparrow's playing statistics from AFL Tables

v t e Coaches of the St Kilda Football Club
VFL/AFL	1906: Hall 1908: Grace 1909: J. Smith 1911: Drohan 1913: Sparrow 1914: McNamara 1915; 1918:* J. Smith 1919: Eicke 1920: Sparrow 1920–1921: Ricketts 1922–1923: McNamara 1924: Eicke 1925–1926: Clark 1927: Heinz 1928–1929: Sparrow 1930: Cubbins 1931–1932: Hardy 1932: King 1933: Deane 1934: C. Watson 1935–1937: Minogue 1938–1940: Clarke 1941: Knight 1942–1943: Garvin 1944–1945: H. Thomas 1946–1947: Hird 1948–1950: Froude 1951: Green 1952–1953: Williamson 1954–1955: Foote 1956–1958: Killigrew 1959–1960: Francis 1961–1976: Jeans 1972, 1974: Guy 1977: R. Smith 1978–1980: M. Patterson 1980–1982: Jesaulenko 1983–1984: Jewell 1984–1986: Gellie 1987–1989: Baldock 1987: Davis 1990–1993: Sheldon 1994–1998: Alves 1999–2000: T. Watson 2001: Blight 2001–2006: G. Thomas 2007–2011: Lyon 2012–2013: Watters 2014–2019: Richardson 2019–2022: Ratten 2023–: Lyon
AFL Women's	2020–2021: Searle 2022 (S6)–: Dal Santo
St Kilda did not participate in the VFL from 1916–1917 due to World War I Italics* denote caretaker coach

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