William Leslie Stillman (born 5 October 1949) is a former Australian

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er who represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He also played

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 ...

for

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

and Footscray 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).

Football career

During his time as a footballer Les Stillman played as a half forward. After making his league debut in 1968, Stillman was a semi regular in the Essendon team in 1969 and 1970. His best performance in a game came against

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

in the opening round of the

1970 VFL season The 1970 VFL season was the 74th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, and ran from 4 April until 26 September. It was the fi ...

when he kicked six goals. Stillman crossed to Footscray in 1971 and played three senior games there. He then captained Williamstown 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) until 1975, twice placing in the

J. J. Liston Trophy 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 ...

count (third in 1973 and second in 1974), and winning the club best and fairest in 1972 and 1973. He resigned the captaincy during 1975 after a disagreement with club hierarchy over the ongoing tenure of coach

Ted Whitten Edward James Whitten Sr. OAM (27 July 1933 – 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Born and raised into a working-class family in Footscray, Whit ...

, and was cleared to

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 ...

, where he played the rest of his VFA career.

Cricket career

His cricket career had begun with a solitary first-class match in 1970/71 but it was not until after leaving the VFL that he established a place in the Victorian

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

team. A right-handed middle order batsman, he broke into the side again in 1974/75 and had a solid season with 451 runs at 30.06. He remained with Victoria for a further two Shield seasons but failed to register his maiden first-class hundred, although he managed a half century against a strong West Indian pace attack in a tour game. Stillman did not play any top level cricket from February 1976 to November 1977 and when he came back it was with South Australia, who he represented in the 1977/78 Sheffield Shield season. He would later return to Victoria as coach and also coached at English club

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stillman, Les 1949 births Living people Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers South Australia cricketers Australian cricket coaches Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Coburg Football Club players Essendon Football Club players Western Bulldogs players Williamstown Football Club players People from Alexandra, Victoria Cricketers from Victoria (state)