Norm Smith (footballer, born 1946)

Norm Smith
Personal information
Full name Norman Smith
Date of birth (1946-10-01)1 October 1946
Date of death 21 February 2019(2019-02-21) (aged 72)
Place of death Canberra
Original team(s) Strathmerton
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s) Ruck-rover
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1967 Hawthorn 5 (1)
1970–1971 Strathmerton
1972–1974 Tatura
1975–1976 Lemnos
1977–1978 Corowa
1979 Belconnen
1980–1982 West Canberra
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1982.
Career highlights
  • O'Dwyer Medal – 1966
  • Morrison Medal – 1974, 1975
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Norman "Norm" Smith (1 October 1946 – 21 February 2019) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Early career and Hawthorn

Smith, a ruck-rover, played his early senior football at Strathmerton in the Murray Football League and won the league's best and fairest medal in 1966.[1][2] The following year he made five VFL appearances for Hawthorn, then spent time away from the game on national service, before returning to Strathmerton in 1970.[3][4]

Goulburn Valley Football League

In 1971, Smith started playing in the Goulburn Valley Football League, where he won back-to-back Morrison Medals, with Tatura in 1974 and Lemnos in 1975.[4][5]

Ovens & Murray Football League

His two-year stint coaching Corowa, in 1977 and 1978, was the final two seasons that the club played in the Ovens & Murray Football League, before merging with Rutherglen.[4]

Canberra

In 1979 he coached Belconnen to its first Australian Capital Territory Football League grand final, which they lost to Ainslie.[6][7] From 1980 to 1982, Smith played at West Canberra.[4] He was coach in the last of those years and again for the 1985 season, in a non-playing capacity.[8][9] In 1986 he was non-playing coach of the Belconnen Magpies, formed by a merger between Belconnen and West Canberra.[9]

Brent Smith, Norman's son, also played football in Canberra and in 1991 won the Mulrooney Medal.[10]

References

  1. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  2. ^ "Senior Best & Fairest". Fox Sports Pulse.
  3. ^ "Norman Smith". AFL Tables.
  4. ^ a b c d "Smith to hang up his boots after 20 years". The Canberra Times. 27 February 1983. p. 24. Retrieved 28 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Morrison Medallists". Fox Sports Pulse.
  6. ^ "Belconnen makes first grand final". The Canberra Times. 10 September 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 29 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Brock pilots Ainslie to first-class premiership". The Canberra Times. 24 September 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 29 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Smith to coach Wests". The Canberra Times. 24 December 1981. p. 15. Retrieved 29 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ a b "Belconnen needs a captain-coach". The Canberra Times. 8 October 1986. p. 40. Retrieved 29 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Smith keeps apace with Dad's feats". The Canberra Times. 19 September 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 28 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.