Clen Charles Denning (28 February 1911 – 9 November 2009) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL).

Family

The son of Thomas Clen Denning (1879-1917), and Agnes Caroline Denning (1880-1974), née Gunther, Clen Charles Denning was born at

Collingwood, Victoria Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Collingwood recorded a population of 9,179 at the 2021 ce ...

on 28 February 1911. He married Winifred Adelaide Newman (1915-2002) in 1938.

Football

Soon after he turned 16, Denning played for

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFA) club Oakleigh. He got his start in the VFL after a long wait when Oakleigh coach Frank Maher moved to coach the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

. Denning debuted with Carlton in 1935. Early in his career, Denning made a name for himself as a promising goalkicker; he scored six goals from his first six kicks—all in his first match— a record that stands to this day. He only stayed with Carlton until the end of 1937, having played 18 games for 23 goals. In 1938, he crossed over to the

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...

, as he was said to be unhappy at Carlton. He scored 37 goals in 1939 to be their leading goalkicker. From then on he focused more on a defensive role, becoming a

back pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

. He represented Victoria at interstate football in 1941, and in 1944 he was back pocket in Fitzroy's premiership side. After leaving Fitzroy, Denning played for and coached Ararat. In 1958, he was the inaugural VFA coach of the

Dandenong Football Club Dandenong Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Based in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong, the Redlegs wore navy blue and red as their club colours. Club history From 1 ...

Death

From the October 2009 death of

Jimmy Bates Thomas James Edward Bates (25 June 1910 – 6 October 2009) was an Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club and a boundary umpire in the Victorian Football League. Playing career Bates played just one game in the VFL. R ...

until his own death, at

Keysborough, Victoria Keysborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Keysborough recorded a population of 30,018 at the . ...

on 9 November 2009, at 98 years old, he was the oldest living former VFL player.

References

External links

* *
Clen Denning, at ''The VFA Project''.

Clen Denning, at ''Blueseum''.Interview with Clen Denning in September 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denning, Clen 1911 births 2009 deaths Carlton Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club Premiership players Oakleigh Football Club players Dandenong Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Melbourne One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Collingwood, Victoria