Les Foote
Encyclopedia
Leslie Roy Foote was an Australian rules football
er in the Victorian Football League.
in 1941 at just 16 years of age.
He was able to kick equally well with both feet, and his ability to play close to the ground meant that he was not only a brilliant ball player, but was also had an outstanding ability to control the ball in packs. He was an excellent mark.
He was famous for his baulking and dodging skills (skills which he claimed to have honed "by walking through the crowded city footpaths, dodging and weaving through the oncoming people") and his courageous style of play.
He would torment his opponents by running straight towards them, holding the ball out to them — and, then, doing a blind turn around them, and continuing on his way.
His favourite ploy was, having taken a mark, to walk back and pretend to be preparing to do a drop kick, the man on the mark would jump into the air as Foote approached and, he would continue running towards the man on the mark, bounce the ball, and run straight past him, giving him the opportunity to deliver the ball much further up the ground.
Considered by many to be the most handsome footballer of his era, Foote had a propensity for ostentatiously displaying his extensive range of gracious football talents; and he was renowned for his habit of, regardless of where he had received the ball, running and bouncing the ball
(often across the entire width of the Arden Street ground), so that he could run goalwards in full display along the boundary closest to the Ladies' Stand!
In the sixth round of the home-and-home season (24 May 1947), playing at the Arden Street Oval
against Essendon, North Melbourne was seven goals behind at three-quarter time.
In the two preceding matches, North Melbourne had lost badly:
Foote placed himself into the ruck at three quarter time.
He dominated the ruck, and North Melbourne scored 8.4 to Essendon's nil. North Melbourne were so dominant that the ball was at Essendon's end of the ground only once during the last quarter.
So, from being seven goals behind at three quarter time, North Melbourne went on to win the match by 8 points: North 15.12 (102) d. Essendon 14.10 (94).
To put the magnitude of this astounding win into some sort of perspective, the team that North Melbourne thrashed in the last quarter, went on to play in the Grand Final that year, losing by a single point when Carlton's Fred Stafford
goaled in the last seconds of play.
Further, to get some perspective of Foote's astonishing performance as a ruckman on that day, at 182 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/L/Les_Foote.html he was dominating the four ruckmen Essendon had selected to play that day; namely, Ivan Goodingham
(191 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/I/Ivan_Goodingham.html), Perc Bushby
(189 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/P/Percy_Bushby.html), Bob McClure
(188 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/B/Bob_McClure.html), and Jack Cassin
(183 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jack_Cassin.html).
This record stood unbeaten for more than 40 years.
into a VFL Grand Final in 1950
, having played a career-best game against Geelong in the previous week's Preliminary Final, in which he almost single-handedly converted a seven goal (42 point) deficit into a 17 point win for North Melbourne.
Essendon had already beaten North Melbourne in the Second Semi-Final 11.14 (80) to 11.11 (77) when, in driving rain, and with 30 seconds remaining, and with North Melbourne three points in front, North Melbourne's Jock McCorkell
unexpectedly punched a ball that was already rolling out over the boundary line back into play just before it crossed the line, Essendon's John Coleman pounced on the ball, and passed it to Ron McEwin
in the goal square. McEwin kicked the goal, and Essendon won by three points.http://www.aflua.com.au/index.asp?d=5A4C5A717251477C7008060A000900
North Melbourne's disappointment with such a narrow and unexpected loss was compounded by the fact that North Melbourne's champion full-forward Jock Spencer
had earlier had what had seemed to be a legitimate spectacular aerial mark (i.e., a "speckie
") disallowed in controversial circumstances.
Although Essendon had only lost one match during the season, many thought that North Melbourne, having lost such a close match two weeks before, and having played so well against Geelong, really had a good chance of winning the Grand Final against Essendon.
However, in an unexpectedly one-sided match, with a rain lashed third quarter, North Melbourne "went the knuckle", rather than playing football, and they specifically targeted the Essendon star players Dick Reynolds
, Ron McEwin
, Bill Snell
, Bert Harper
, Ted Leehane
, and John Coleman. Essendon won the 1950 Grand Final 13.14 (92) to 7.12 (54) in front of a crowd of 87,601.
in New South Wales. He coached them for two years before returning to the VFL in 1954 as captain-coach St Kilda.
In 1954, having returned to the highest, toughest, and fastest level of Australian Rules football, and at the (in those days) advanced age of 30, Foote won St Kilda's best and fairest in front of the 1958 Brownlow Medalist Neil Roberts, the 8 times Victorian representative Keith Drinan
, and 4 times Victorian representative and 1958 All-Australian player Jim Ross
(the three won seven bests and fairests between them).
In 1976 he was non-playing coach of VFA Club Box Hill
.
He won the St Kilda best and fairest
award in 1954.
Les Foote was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er in the Victorian Football League.
Football career
A local lad, and recruited from the North Melbourne Colts, Foote played his first match with the North Melbourne Football ClubNorth Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
in 1941 at just 16 years of age.
He was able to kick equally well with both feet, and his ability to play close to the ground meant that he was not only a brilliant ball player, but was also had an outstanding ability to control the ball in packs. He was an excellent mark.
He was famous for his baulking and dodging skills (skills which he claimed to have honed "by walking through the crowded city footpaths, dodging and weaving through the oncoming people") and his courageous style of play.
He would torment his opponents by running straight towards them, holding the ball out to them — and, then, doing a blind turn around them, and continuing on his way.
His favourite ploy was, having taken a mark, to walk back and pretend to be preparing to do a drop kick, the man on the mark would jump into the air as Foote approached and, he would continue running towards the man on the mark, bounce the ball, and run straight past him, giving him the opportunity to deliver the ball much further up the ground.
Considered by many to be the most handsome footballer of his era, Foote had a propensity for ostentatiously displaying his extensive range of gracious football talents; and he was renowned for his habit of, regardless of where he had received the ball, running and bouncing the ball
Running bounce
A running bounce, or simply bounce, is a skill in the sport of Australian rules football when a player, while running, bounces the ball on the ground and back to himself.-The Skill:...
(often across the entire width of the Arden Street ground), so that he could run goalwards in full display along the boundary closest to the Ladies' Stand!
Sixth round 1947
Les Foote was responsible for one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in the last quarter of a VFL football match.In the sixth round of the home-and-home season (24 May 1947), playing at the Arden Street Oval
Arden Street Oval
Arden Street Oval is a sports oval based in Arden Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is currently the training base of Australian rules team North Melbourne Football Club and up to the end of the 1985 season it was used for elite-level VFL/AFL matches.-History:The North Melbourne...
against Essendon, North Melbourne was seven goals behind at three-quarter time.
In the two preceding matches, North Melbourne had lost badly:
- In the fourth round (10 May 1947), North Melbourne had been thrashed by FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
by 101 points. North Melbourne did not kick a goal until the last quarter. - In the fifth round (17 May 1947), North Melbourne had been beaten Footscray by 41 points. North Melbourne did not kick a goal until the last quarter.
Foote placed himself into the ruck at three quarter time.
He dominated the ruck, and North Melbourne scored 8.4 to Essendon's nil. North Melbourne were so dominant that the ball was at Essendon's end of the ground only once during the last quarter.
So, from being seven goals behind at three quarter time, North Melbourne went on to win the match by 8 points: North 15.12 (102) d. Essendon 14.10 (94).
To put the magnitude of this astounding win into some sort of perspective, the team that North Melbourne thrashed in the last quarter, went on to play in the Grand Final that year, losing by a single point when Carlton's Fred Stafford
Fred Stafford
Fred Stafford is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .It is known that he kicked a winning goal in the dying seconds of the 1947 VFL Grand Final.-External links:* -References:* at...
goaled in the last seconds of play.
Further, to get some perspective of Foote's astonishing performance as a ruckman on that day, at 182 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/L/Les_Foote.html he was dominating the four ruckmen Essendon had selected to play that day; namely, Ivan Goodingham
Ivan Goodingham
Ivan Goodingham was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League during the late 1940s....
(191 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/I/Ivan_Goodingham.html), Perc Bushby
Perc Bushby
Percy "Perc" Bushby was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .He played in the Essendon premiership teams in 1942 and 1946...
(189 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/P/Percy_Bushby.html), Bob McClure
Bob McClure (footballer)
Robert J. "Bluey" McClure was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL.A ruckman, McClure served in the navy prior to joining Essendon. He became a key component in a successful Essendon side, winning premierships in 1946, 1949 and 1950. A knee injury forced him to retire...
(188 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/B/Bob_McClure.html), and Jack Cassin
Jack Cassin
Jack Cassin is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the VFL.His son John later played for Essendon from 1971 to 1974.-Recruit:...
(183 cm http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jack_Cassin.html).
This record stood unbeaten for more than 40 years.
First Grand Final
Foote was the first man to captain North MelbourneNorth Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
into a VFL Grand Final in 1950
1950 VFL Grand Final
The 1950 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 September 1950. It was the 54th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the...
, having played a career-best game against Geelong in the previous week's Preliminary Final, in which he almost single-handedly converted a seven goal (42 point) deficit into a 17 point win for North Melbourne.
Essendon had already beaten North Melbourne in the Second Semi-Final 11.14 (80) to 11.11 (77) when, in driving rain, and with 30 seconds remaining, and with North Melbourne three points in front, North Melbourne's Jock McCorkell
Jock McCorkell
Jock McCorkell is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League, ..-External links:* -References:* *...
unexpectedly punched a ball that was already rolling out over the boundary line back into play just before it crossed the line, Essendon's John Coleman pounced on the ball, and passed it to Ron McEwin
Ron McEwin
Ron McEwin was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .Ron McEwin was a member of the Essendon premiership teams in 1949 and 1950.-External links:*-References:**...
in the goal square. McEwin kicked the goal, and Essendon won by three points.http://www.aflua.com.au/index.asp?d=5A4C5A717251477C7008060A000900
North Melbourne's disappointment with such a narrow and unexpected loss was compounded by the fact that North Melbourne's champion full-forward Jock Spencer
Jock Spencer
Thomas 'Jock' Spencer was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. He was named at full-forward in North Melbourne's official 'Team of the Century'....
had earlier had what had seemed to be a legitimate spectacular aerial mark (i.e., a "speckie
Specky
A spectacular mark is a term for a type of mark in Australian rules football...
") disallowed in controversial circumstances.
Although Essendon had only lost one match during the season, many thought that North Melbourne, having lost such a close match two weeks before, and having played so well against Geelong, really had a good chance of winning the Grand Final against Essendon.
However, in an unexpectedly one-sided match, with a rain lashed third quarter, North Melbourne "went the knuckle", rather than playing football, and they specifically targeted the Essendon star players Dick Reynolds
Dick Reynolds
Richard Sylvannus 'Dick' Reynolds was an Australian rules footballer and coach who represented Essendon and Victoria with great distinction....
, Ron McEwin
Ron McEwin
Ron McEwin was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .Ron McEwin was a member of the Essendon premiership teams in 1949 and 1950.-External links:*-References:**...
, Bill Snell
Bill Snell
William 'Bill' Snell was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL during the early 1950s.A centre half forward, Snell made his debut in Dick Reynolds's 300th game. He was a member of Essendon's 1950 premiership team and also played in the side which lost the decider the...
, Bert Harper
Albert Harper
Albert Harper was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .He played in the Essendon premiership teams in 1946 and 1950.-External links:*-References:*...
, Ted Leehane
Ted Leehane
Ted Leehane is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .He was a member of the great Essendon premiership teams in 1942, 1949 and 1950.Leehane captain-coached Mansfield from 1951 to 1956....
, and John Coleman. Essendon won the 1950 Grand Final 13.14 (92) to 7.12 (54) in front of a crowd of 87,601.
Coaching
Foote took up a captain-coach position with the Berrigan Football ClubBerrigan Football Club
The Berrigan Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Picola & District Football League. The club is based in the small town of Berrigan located in the Riverina district of New South Wales....
in New South Wales. He coached them for two years before returning to the VFL in 1954 as captain-coach St Kilda.
In 1954, having returned to the highest, toughest, and fastest level of Australian Rules football, and at the (in those days) advanced age of 30, Foote won St Kilda's best and fairest in front of the 1958 Brownlow Medalist Neil Roberts, the 8 times Victorian representative Keith Drinan
Keith Drinan
Keith Francis James Drinan was a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL.Drinan, who served with the Royal Australian Navy during the war, played for St Kilda initially as Half-back flank then Centre Half-Back before establishing himself as a great full back...
, and 4 times Victorian representative and 1958 All-Australian player Jim Ross
Jim A. Ross
James A. "Jim" Ross is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL. He was a star ruckman and centre half-forward.Ross won three club Best and Fairest awards. He left St Kilda and coached in Tasmania when only 26 years old, winning All-Australian selection in 1958.He was the fifth Tasmanian...
(the three won seven bests and fairests between them).
In 1976 he was non-playing coach of VFA Club Box Hill
Box Hill Hawks
Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Victorian Football League. It has an alliance with the Hawthorn Football Club which plays in the Australian Football League....
.
Awards
He won three best and fairest awards with North Melbourne (1945, 1949, and 1950).He won the St Kilda best and fairest
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
award in 1954.
Les Foote was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996.