George Stafford (footballer)

George Stafford
Personal information
Full name George Stafford
Date of birth (1930-10-21)21 October 1930
Date of death 30 July 2010(2010-07-30) (aged 79)
Original team(s) Northcote
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 76 kg (168 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1951–1954 Carlton 23 (0)
1955 Brighton (VFA)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1954.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

George Stafford (21 October 1930 – 30 July 2010), the younger brother of Fred Stafford, was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1][2]

On Tuesday, 21 September 1954, Carlton First XVIII half-back flanker Stafford, a spectator at the match, was convicted at Carlton Court of jumping the fence and assaulting both of the boundary umpires (John Joseph McNiff, and Desmond Nicholas Fitzgerald) who had officiated at the VFL Third XVIII Grand Final between Carlton and Footscray at Princes Park, on 4 September 1954, at the end of the match.[3][4][5][6]

He was found guilty on both charges and was fined ₤5 on each charge, with ₤4/15/- costs (in default 10 days jail).[7][8][9][10][11]

On Wednesday, 10 November 1954, a VFL Investigation Committee, after considering the evidence, found Stafford guilty of striking both boundary umpires, and suspended him for the first four games of the 1955 season.[12]

Although his name appears in Carlton's Final 1955 Training List as "to be considered when available",[13] Stafford did not play for Carlton ever again.

Once his suspension had been served, he started playing for the VFA club, Brighton, where he had been training whilst suspended.[14] He played his first match for Brighton in round 6 of the 1955 season, on Saturday, 20 May 1955.[15][16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 790. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
  2. ↑ Heat at North Melbourne, The Age, (Monday, 28 June 1954), p.16.
  3. ↑ "Fracas at Third Eighteens' Match", The Age, (Monday, 6 September 1954), p.16.
  4. ↑ "Umpires Struck: Senior Player Accused', The Argus, (Monday, 6 September 1954), p.14.
  5. ↑ "A Winning Goal Irks Spectators", The West Australian, (Monday, 6 September 1954), p.4.
  6. ↑ "Umpires sue player", The Argus, (Saturday, 18 September 1954), p.46.
  7. ↑ "Carlton Player Fined for Hitting Umpires", The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 22 September 1954), p.3.
  8. ↑ "Footballer hit umpires: fined", The Age, (Wednesday, 22 September 1954), p.7.
  9. ↑ "Footballer Fined—Struck Umpires", The Age, (Wednesday, 22 September 1954), p.8.
  10. ↑ "Footballer Fined", The West Australian, (Wednesday, 22 September 1954), p.27.
  11. ↑ "Carlton Footballer Fined For Striking Umpires", The (Burnie) Advocate, (Wednesday, 22 September 1954), p.10.
  12. ↑ Banfield, P., "Stafford 'out' for a month", The Argus, (Thursday, 11 November 1954), p.22.
  13. ↑ "These players reached the final lists", The Argus, (Monday, 11 April 1955), p.19.
  14. ↑ "V.F.A. Final Lists For This Season: Brighton: Subject to Clearances", The Argus, (Monday, 11 April 1955), p.11.
  15. ↑ Welch, B., "Forward Changes in Leading V.F.A. Sides", The Age, (Friday, 20 May 1955), p.11.
  16. ↑ Welch, B., "Teams for Association", The Age, (Friday, 20 May 1955), p.11.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.