John L. Leedham (20 May 1928 – 30 May 2020) was an
Australian rules footballer who is the vice captain of and ruck-rover in the official Tasmanian Football Team of the Century. He is also a 'legend' in the state's
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Leedham, nicknamed 'John L', always played with his socks down and was known to be a colourful character on the field. He was brought up in Campbell Town and started his football career at
North Launceston in 1946, aged 17. Playing as a centre half forward, Leedham was a member of
NTFA premiership teams in 1946, 1948, 1949 and 1950 as well as three
Tasmanian State Premiership
The Tasmanian State Premiership was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested at the conclusion of the season, initially between the reigning Tasmanian Football League (TFL/TANFL) and Northern Tasmanian Football Association (N ...
s. He was almost poached by the
Melbourne Football Club in 1948 but a knee injury stopped him from making his debut in the VFL.
After 124 games with North Launceston, including a stint as captain-coach, Leedham crossed to TFL club
North Hobart. He coached North Hobart from 1954 to 1959 and steered them to a premiership in 1957.
Leedham represented Tasmania at the 1947, 1953 and 1958 interstate carnivals. In 1953 he was named in the inaugural
All-Australian
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 ...
side, the only Tasmanian, and in the
1958 Melbourne Carnival
The 1958 Melbourne Carnival was the 14th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It was the last carnival to be hosted by the state of Victoria and was also known as the Centenary ...
he captain-coached the state to famous wins against South Australia and Western Australia.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Leedham, John
1928 births
2020 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Tasmania
North Hobart Football Club players
North Hobart Football Club coaches
North Launceston Football Club players
North Launceston Football Club coaches
All-Australians (1953–1988)
Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees