Nikolas Gelavis (born 15 June 1929) is a former

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 with

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 t ...

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).

Family

The son of Johannes "John" Gelavis (1898-1947), and Stavroula Gelavis (1908-2005), née Sarinas, Nikolas Gelavis was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

on 15 June 1929.

Football

Subiaco (WAFL)

Gelavis began his senior career with Subiaco in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and played from 1949 to 1951.

South Melbourne (VFL)

He was cleared from Subiaco to South Melbourne in 1952, and made his senior VFL debut in 1953.

Footscray (VFL)

Having not played a senior game for South Melbourne that season, Gelavis was cleared to Footscray on 12 June 1954. He played his first match for the Footscray First XVIII, against St Kilda, on 10 July 1954.

Sandringham (VFA)

In 1955 Gelavis moved to Sandringham 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 ...

Devonport (NWFU)

A mid-season job as a radio announcer in Tasmania led to Gelavis being given a clearance from Sandringham to Devonport in the

North West Football Union The North West Football Union (NWFU) was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football Asso ...

(NWFU) competition. On 12 May 1956 Gelavis represented the NWFU in an intrastate match against the Northern Tasmanian Football Association and was named among the best players.NWFU Record, 12 May 1956. annotated copy in QVMAG collection CHS 4 (Jack Donnelly)

Notes

References

*
Gordon, Harry, "Migrant Sports Stars Among Our Top-Liners", ''The Good Neighbour'', No.45, (October 1957), Department of Immigration, (Canberra), pp.4-5
the article includes a photograph of Nick Gelavis, the captain of a team from Perth's Hellenic Club, that played an Australian Rules Football match, in Melbourne, against a team from Melbourne's Olympic Club (alongside the Olympic Club's captain,

Peter Kanis Peter Nicholas Kanis (13 April 1931 – 25 November 2021) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Norwood in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Family The son ...

).]

External links

Nick Gelavis's playing statistics from WAFL FootyFacts.
* *
Nick Gelavis, ''The VFA Project''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelavis, Nick Living people 1929 births Australian people of Greek descent Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Sydney Swans players Western Bulldogs players Subiaco Football Club players People from Kalgoorlie