Denis "Dinny" Kelleher (22 July 1902 – 30 May 1963) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and

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 ...

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).

Early life

Born in the small rural town of Baddaginnie in 1902. He apparently captained his school's football team, then went on to play with Baddaginnie in the Euroa District Football Association in 1919, 1920 and 1921. Kelleher then played with

Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative cent ...

in the

Ovens and Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

in 1922 and 1923, gaining selection in the OMFL team against the VFL in 1923. He stood out of football in 1924 as Benalla refused to clear him to

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

. Standing out of football for a year gave him an automatic clearance. At Wangaratta he played as the team's centre half-forward in their 1925

premiership and 1926

grand final loss to St. Patrick's. Kelleher represented the O&MFL in a match against the VFL in 1926 at Albury.

VFL career

Carlton initially tried to recruit Kelleher in 1925, after he was spotted playing for

in the

. He later played well in a practice match with Carlton in April, 1926, before returning to Wangaratta, then played seven senior VFL games in 1927. They considered him a plodder so after six years he began to look elsewhere. Kelleher also played mid-week with the Railways team which may have sapped his energy. Kelleher was the first big name Melbourne footballer to be recruited by a team in the Hampden League. Camperdown offered him the position as captain-coach and he accepted. Carlton took their time clearing him as he played the first four games of the 1932 season with the ''Blues''. Unfortunately for Kelleher and Camperdown they finished last in 1932. He Returned to Carlton in 1933 but only managed to play a few games in the seconds before South Melbourne recruited him. His first game was against Melbourne and that started an eleven game winning streak which culminated in the 1933 premiership. A solid 101 kg follower, Kelleher was a member of South's three unsuccessful VFL grand finals sides of

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

, 1935, and

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Post VFL

Leaving South Melbourne for

Murtoa Murtoa is a wheat district town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the , Murtoa had a popul ...

in the Wimmera, he was there for two years before moving on to Tasmania. Kelleher coached four different teams to premierships. He captain-coached

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

to NTFA premierships in 1939 and 1940 before retiring as a player in 1941.

References

External links

* * 1902 births 1963 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans premiership players Carlton Football Club players Wangaratta Football Club players City-South Football Club players City-South Football Club coaches North Hobart Football Club coaches VFL/AFL premiership players {{AFL-bio-1902-stub