Leonard Victor Smith (9 February 1912 – 23 July 1967) 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 for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

and

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 ...

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). The older brother of champion full-forward and coach

Norm Smith Norman Walter Smith (21 November 1915 – 29 July 1973) was an Australian rules football player and coach in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After more than 200 games as a player with and , Smith began a twenty-year coaching career, inc ...

, Len Smith was considered one of the pioneers of modern Australian rules football. Although his actual coaching career was short-lived due to struggles with ill health, his emphasis on speed, constructive handpassing and play-on had particular influence on

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

and

Tom Hafey Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. Smith was also a noted

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 striki ...

er who played for the Dennis Cricket Club.

Early Years

Leonard Victor Smith was the eldest son of Victor Smith and Ethel May and grew up in

Northcote, Victoria Northcote () is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Darebin Local government areas of Victoria, lo ...

Playing career

In 1930 he was playing with Croxton in the Band of Hope competition, and in the following year trained with the Northcote but spent the year playing in the seconds in the VJFA. He was awarded trophy for the best and fairest player the V.J.F.A. In his first year in the senior side, his form was good enough to play in the representative VFA team that played the VFL. Smith would wow the crowds with his spectacular high marks at centre half forward. In 1933 he was second in the

Recorder Cup The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football Association). It is named after J.J. Liston, a businessman, civic leader and sports administrato ...

losing to Charlie Stanbridge by one vote. Smith left Northcote and the VFA for in the

(VFL)in 1934. He spent two seasons with the club before he returned to Northcote for the 1936 season.

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

was interested in him and he played there from 1937 to 1943. Due to service during World War II with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) he missed the 1944 season altogether but returned for a final year in 1945.

Coaching

Like his younger brother, the legendary

, it is as a coach that Len is best remembered. During his first stint as a coach, of the

Under 19s (1948–1957), he guided the side to the 1955 Premiership. His first senior coaching role was with

, taking them to the finals in 1958 and 1960. He was appointed the Victoria State coach for 1961. He then coached

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

in the

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) for the 1963 season before heading to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1964 and further health concerns saw him relinquish the coaching reins at the Tigers early in 1965. Smith died of a second heart attack in 1967. Coach

described Smith as the "father of modern football", noting that he was the first coach in Victoria to encourage and popularise the attacking use of

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

in an era when stop-start play and long kicking were more common.

References

Bibliography

* Hogan P: ''The Tigers of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996

External links

* * *
Demonwiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Len Melbourne Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club coaches Richmond Football Club coaches Northcote Football Club players Coburg Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Melbourne 1912 births 1967 deaths Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II People from Northcote, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne