Darrel John Baldock AM (29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011) was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club 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),

East Devonport Football Club The East Devonport Football Club is an Australian rules football club based on Devonport, Tasmania. The club competed in the North West Football League since 1987 until going into recess in 2021. The club currently has a full junior program i ...

and

Latrobe Football Club The Latrobe Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the town of Latrobe in northern Tasmania. The club competed in the North West Football Union throughout the competition's entire existence from 1910 until 1986, and has ...

in the

North West Football Union The North West Football Union (NWFU) was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football As ...

(NWFU), and

New Norfolk Football Club The New Norfolk District Football Club, nicknamed ''The Eagles'', is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Southern Football League, in Tasmania, Australia. History Origins The club was founded in 1878 with the first p ...

in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL). He was also a handy

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, successful racehorse trainer and served in the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

. Nicknamed "The Doc" and "Mr Magic", Baldock is a legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. He represented both Victoria and Tasmania in interstate matches, and captained St Kilda to its first premiership. He also served as senior coach of Latrobe and St Kilda.

Early life

Darrell Baldock representing Tasmanian underage side in Brisbane from The Examiner 30 June 1953 pg 15

Born to Reginald Cecil Baldock and Jean Robertson Purdie, Baldock made his junior football debut for East Devonport in Tasmania's now defunct North-West Football Union in 1955 at the age of 16. He was selected in the NWFU team for intrastate matches and won the club best and fairest award that year. Even then, Baldock was already famous for his ball handling skills and balance. Baldock played 71 games for East Devonport before he switched to Latrobe in 1959. At the age of 20, Baldock became the youngest player ever to captain Tasmania.

VFL career

A ready-made player, Baldock ventured across Bass Strait in

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 ...

to play for St Kilda in the

(VFL), where he had an instant impact. Baldock played at

centre half-forward In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the North Melbourne ...

and was made captain of St Kilda's "

Team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

" in 2002 and also named as the initial "legend" in the St Kilda Football Club Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1969, Baldock returned to Tasmania and captain-coached Latrobe to four consecutive NWFU premierships from 1969 to 1972. Baldock played 158 games for Latrobe before finishing in 1974. He then played four games for

New Norfolk New Norfolk is a town on the River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Highway, New Norfolk is a modern Australian region ...

in 1975 before beginning his parliamentary career. In state representative matches, Baldock represented Victoria 10 times, Tasmania 15 times and the North-West Football Union 20 times.

Political career

Baldock was one of four

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

candidates elected to the

on 22 April 1972 to represent the

Division of Wilmot The Division of Wilmot was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Tasmania. It was located in central Tasmania, and was named after Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, the sixth Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania. At various times it included th ...

. Under Premier Bill Neilson, he was first appointed Minister for Housing and Social Welfare on 31 March 1975. He also served as Minister for Municipal Planning, Main Roads and Transport. Baldock resigned on 30 June 1987 to become coach of St Kilda.

Coaching career

Prior to Baldock's return to Moorabbin in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, the Saints had finished the previous four VFL seasons at the bottom of the ladder. Just as during his playing days, Baldock's impact on the club was immediate. He set about improving the skill level of the playing group, appointed

Danny Frawley Daniel Patrick Frawley (8 September 1963 – 9 September 2019) was an Australian rules football player, coach, administrator, commentator and media personality. He played 240 games for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football Leag ...

as captain and guided the talented but wayward full-forward

Tony Lockett Anthony Howard Lockett (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Plugger", he is considered one of the greatest fu ...

to become the first footballer to win the

Coleman Medal The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer ...

and the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

in the same year. But just when it looked like St Kilda might reach the finals, Baldock suffered a minor stroke. He continued to coach for a further two years.

Family and later life

Baldock married Margaret Elizabeth Williams on 26 March 1960. Together they had three children - one son (who was killed in a car accident in 1981) and two daughters. After retiring, Baldock returned to Tasmania where he raced horses. His biography, ''Darrel Baldock – The Incomparable Mr Magic'', was written by his friend Peter Lyons and published in June 2010. Baldock suffered from illness in his final years. He died at the

Mersey Community Hospital The Mersey Hospital is a public hospital at Latrobe near Devonport in Tasmania. Like the North West Regional Hospital, it is operated by the Tasmanian Health Service - North West Region, which is part of the Tasmanian government's Department of ...

in the early evening of 2 February 2011 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

following a fourth stroke. A state funeral was held at

Latrobe, Tasmania Latrobe is a town in northern Tasmania, Australia on the Mersey River. It is 8 km south-east of Devonport on the Bass Highway. It is the main centre of the Latrobe Council. At the 2006 census, Latrobe had a population of 2,843. By t ...

, on 11 February 2011. Those present included the St Kilda captain

Nick Riewoldt Nicholas Fredrick Riewoldt ( ; born 17 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL draft. He was the ...

, vice-captain

Lenny Hayes Lenny Hayes (born 14 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1999 to 2014. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Fo ...

, coach

Ross Lyon Ross Lyon (born 8 November 1966) is a former Australian rules football player and the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously coached St Kilda from 2007 to 2011 and the Fremantle Footbal ...

, club president Greg Westaway, chief executive Michael Nettlefold and premiership teammate

Kevin Neale Kevin "Cowboy" Neale (born 18 July 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). St Kilda Recruited from South Warrnambool, and nicknamed "''Cowboy''" for his bow-legs and his rolling gait ...

. The AFL was represented by commissioner Graeme John, who had played against Baldock for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

Honours

Baldock was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in its inception in 1996 (as a player) and was upgraded to

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

in 2006. In 2004, he was named on the half forward flank and as captain in the Tasmanian Team of The Century. Baldock was also honoured by having the Northern Tasmania Football League Best and Fairest medal named after him. To this day, the Darrel Baldock Medal is presented to the best and fairest senior player in the

North West Football League The North West Football League is an Australian rules football competition in North West Tasmania. The league was previously known as the "Northern Tasmanian Football League" from its inception in 1987 until the end of the 2014 season. History ...

. On 26 January 1991, Baldock was named a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

in recognition of service to the Tasmanian parliament and to Australian rules football. On 24 October 2000, he was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

for his contribution to Australian Football. In April 2014, at the entrance of the Latrobe Recreation Ground, the Darrel Baldock Memorial, which included a larger-than-life statue of Baldock and a garden, was unveiled at a public ceremony with friends and family in attendance. The project was completed over three years and cost $400,000, drawn from both state and federal funding as well as corporate and community donations to a memorial fund.

References

Sources

* Atkinson, G. (1982) ''Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking'', The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. .

External links

* * *
St Kilda honour roll
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldock, Darrel 1938 births 2011 deaths All-Australians (1953–1988) Australian sportsperson-politicians Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Deaths from pneumonia in Tasmania Deaths from kidney failure Infectious disease deaths in Tasmania East Devonport Football Club players Latrobe Football Club players Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly New Norfolk Football Club players People from Devonport, Tasmania St Kilda Football Club coaches St Kilda Football Club players St Kilda Football Club Premiership players Tasmania cricketers Trevor Barker Award winners Australian cricketers Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Cricketers from Tasmania Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players