Brian James Dixon (born 20 May 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer and Victorian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. Dixon played 252 VFL games for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

between 1954 and 1968, playing mostly on the wing. He played in five premierships, winning Melbourne's best and fairest in 1960, while in 1961 he was selected in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

and he also won the

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate Carnival or Australian interstate championship series held between 1937 and 1988 with the exception of the 1975 knock-out series. The medal is ...

for his performances at the

1961 Brisbane Carnival The 1961 Brisbane Carnival was the 15th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was the last carnival to be held in Queensland. It was one of the most competitive carnivals to ...

. In 2000 he was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century. Despite still playing football for Melbourne, he entered parliament in 1964, as the member for the now abolished seat of St Kilda, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Being from the

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

wing of the party he clashed with then Premier

Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG (20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years. ...

, especially over the

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

Ronald Ryan Ronald Joseph Ryan (21 February 1925 – 3 February 1967) was the last person to be legally executed in Australia. Ryan was found guilty of shooting and killing warder George Hodson during an escape from Pentridge Prison, Victoria, in 1965. ...

which Dixon strongly opposed. After

Rupert Hamer Sir Rupert James Hamer, (29 July 1916 – 23 March 2004), generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, was an Australian Liberal Party politician who served as the 39th Premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981. Early years Hamer ...

took over as Liberal Party leader and Premier, Dixon was promoted to the ministry. He variously served in several portfolios including Youth, Sport and Recreation, Housing and Aboriginal affairs. His best-remembered achievement was introducing the iconic Life. Be in it. program. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, Dixon won St Kilda by an extremely narrow margin, which crucially gave the Hamer Liberal government a majority of one seat in the Legislative Assembly, and meant that the Liberal Party did not need to form a Coalition, with the National Party, with which relations were traditionally poor in Victoria. However, in 1982 Dixon was defeated when the Liberal Party lost government after 27 years in office. After his defeat, Dixon worked predominantly in sports administration and he ran public speaking seminars. He travelled the world representing the Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA) and the Asiania Sport For All Association (ASFAA). He was also president of

AFL South Africa AFL South Africa (formed as "Footy South Africa" in 1997) is the governing body and federation for Australian rules football in South Africa. Its name is due to its formal affiliation in 2004 to the AFL Commission the game's world governing body ...

, taking a keen interest in other

countries playing Australian rules football Note: In order to be recognised as a true national team and not simply expatriates (for the purposes of this entry), the list is subject to International Cup eligibility rules. Australian Football League has official affiliation agreements wit ...

Playing statistics

:Brian Dixon's Player Profile at AFL Tables
/ref> , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1954 , style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 8 , , 2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.3 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1955 , style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 16 , , 7 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.4 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

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1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

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1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9,16 , , 20 , , 2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 20 , , 2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 20 , , 4 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 16 , , 2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 18 , , 2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 18 , , 3 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 17 , , 1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1965 , style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 13 , , 1 , , 2 , , 260 , , 23 , , 283 , , 78 , , , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 20.0 , , 1.8 , , 21.8 , , 6.0 , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1966 , style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 11 , , 0 , , 3 , , 222 , , 20 , , 242 , , 48 , , , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 20.2 , , 1.8 , , 22.0 , , 4.4 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 18 , , 6 , , 6 , , 357 , , 56 , , 413 , , 77 , , , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 19.8 , , 3.1 , , 22.9 , , 4.3 , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 19 , , 2 , , 1 , , 395 , , 51 , , 446 , , 123 , , , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 20.8 , , 2.7 , , 23.5 , , 6.5 , , , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 252 ! 41 ! 12 ! 1234 ! 150 ! 1384 ! 326 ! ! 0.2 ! 0.2 ! 20.2 ! 2.5 ! 22.7 ! 5.3 !

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Brian 1936 births All-Australians (1953–1988) North Melbourne Football Club coaches Living people Melbourne Football Club players Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees People educated at Melbourne High School Australian sportsperson-politicians Five-time VFL/AFL Premiership players Melbourne Football Club Premiership players Politicians from Melbourne 20th-century Australian politicians