William Geoffrey McGivern (27 December 1930 – 15 August 2015) 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 who played 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). In 1950, McGivern began his seven-year career with

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 ...

, originally as a half-forward. McGivern won the club's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award in 1952, and played as a defender when the Demons overcame Collingwood by 28 points in the close 1955 Grand Final. But McGivern missed the 1956 Grand Final after he was injured in the second semi final. He played a total of 105 VFL games and kicked 53 goals, retiring at the end of the 1956 season due to chronic knee injuries. McGivern died on 15 August 2015 at the age of 84."Premiership player McGivern passes away"
melbournefc.com.au, 15 August 2015; Retrieved 15 August 2015.

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* * Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Melbourne Football Club players 1930 births 2015 deaths Australian rules footballers from Geelong Melbourne Football Club premiership players VFL/AFL premiership players {{AFL-bio-1930s-stub