Paul Sproule
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Paul Sproule (born 16 December 1944) 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 for the
Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...
and
Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...
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), as well as for the
Hobart Football Club Hobart Football Club (nicknamed The Tigers) is an Australian rules football club based in Hobart, Tasmania. They play their home fixtures at the TCA Ground on the Queens Domain, in Hobart and from 2014, the club has been a member of the Southe ...
and
Sandy Bay Football Club The Sandy Bay Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Sandy Bay, Tasmania. The team participated in the Tasmanian Football League from 1945 to 1997. Club history The club was founded in November 1944 as a result of a mee ...
in the
Tasmanian Australian National Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the "Tasmanian Football League (TFL)" (formerly known as the "Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL)" and several other short-term names) is the highest ranked Australian ru ...
(TANFL). He also served brief stints as senior coach of Richmond, Hobart and Sandy Bay. An intelligent and skilled midfielder who could also kick the occasional bag of goals, Sproule is a member of what could be described as Tasmania's Golden Generation – a period where AFL Hall of Fame Legends
Darrel Baldock Darrel John Baldock AM (29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011) was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Devonport Footba ...
,
Peter Hudson Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the Ta ...
, Ian Stewart and
Royce Hart Royce Desmond Hart (born 10 February 1948) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Regarded as one of the greatest centre half-forwards to ever play Australian r ...
cemented their reputations in Victoria. He was a key member of the Richmond team that dominated the VFL during the early 1970s and went back-to-back in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
and
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
; he was consistently among the team's best players in finals matches. He also won premierships in the TANFL, captain-coaching Sandy Bay to a hat-trick from 1976 to 1978 and then coaching Hobart to the flag in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
after the club had finished wooden spooners the previous season. Kevin Sheedy, who played with Sproule at Richmond, spoke highly of his quality and value within the team:
Paul was an excellent player. He had an extremely intelligent football brain. He read the play extremely well and had that ability to get where the ball was all the time. He might have been under-rated outside of Richmond, but I can assure you that among his teammates he was very, very highly regarded.


Career

Sproule began his senior football career with TANFL club Hobart Tigers in
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
alongside Ian Stewart. The pair would be reunited ten years later at Richmond, by which time Stewart had become a VFL superstar, having won the
Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
three times. After winning two premierships with Hobart in
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
and
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, Sproule moved to Victoria to play for , but missed the entire
1967 VFL season The 1967 VFL season was the 71st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 15 April until 23 September, and comprised an ...
after badly breaking his leg. Sproule made his Richmond debut in Round 4 against keen rivals at Princes Park. In a highly physical and entertaining game, the Tigers pulled away in the third quarter before holding out for a thrilling five-point win. Sproule was not named among Richmond's best, but still made a significant contribution with 19 disposals and three goals. He went on to play 21 games for the season. He was considered Richmond's best player in the shock
1972 VFL Grand Final The 1972 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Carlton Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 7 October 1972. It was the 75th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Footbal ...
loss to . In the team line-up for the
1974 VFL Grand Final The 1974 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1974. It was the 77th annual grand f ...
against , Sproule was named on the half-forward flank but was moved to the centre ten minutes in to the second quarter after the Kangaroos had worked their way to an 11-point lead. The Tigers would kick six unanswered goals in the next 15 minutes, going on to win by 41 points and becoming the first team since in 1959 and 1960 to defend the VFL premiership. Sproule was considered among Richmond's best, along with Kevin Sheedy (who was regarded as best on ground) and Royce Hart.


Recognition

Sproule was one of the inaugural inductees when the
Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame The Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame was established to help recognise outstanding services and overall contribution made to the sport of Australian rules football in Tasmania. Any participant of the sport, including players, umpires, media person ...
was launched in 2005. In 2016, he was elevated to Icon status, joining former Richmond teammates
Royce Hart Royce Desmond Hart (born 10 February 1948) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Regarded as one of the greatest centre half-forwards to ever play Australian r ...
and Ian Stewart. He also became a member of the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame that year, and was awarded Life Membership at Richmond in 2013.


References


External links

* (as player)
Paul Sproule's statistics
at AFL Tables (as coach) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sproule, Paul 1944 births Living people Essendon Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Richmond Football Club Premiership players Richmond Football Club coaches Hobart Football Club players Hobart Football Club coaches Sandy Bay Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sandy Bay Football Club players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players