Len Fitzgerald was an Australian rules footballer of exceptional talent in the Victorian Football League and South Australian National Football League.
10 Facts About Len Fitzgerald
1.
2.
Len Fitzgerald was clearly attracted to the offer of better paying employment proffered by Sturt.
3.
In 1952 Len Fitzgerald dominated the League, winning his first Magarey Medal as the "fairest and most brilliant" player in the League.
4.
Len Fitzgerald was to win two more in 1954 and 1959.
5.
In 1955 Len Fitzgerald got Sturt to the preliminary final, but the club failed to honour a promise of a bonus.
6.
Len Fitzgerald took himself to the Ovens and Murray League for the next three seasons, coaching and playing for Benalla.
7.
When Len Fitzgerald returned to Sturt in 1959, he helped them to make the finals that year, the first time since his departure.
8.
Injuries began to take their toll on his playing and Len Fitzgerald finished his playing career in 1962 after playing 127 games for Sturt, kicking 201 goals and winning the club's best and fairest award three times.
9.
Len Fitzgerald represented his adopted State of South Australia 20 times and was named an All Australian in the 1953 Adelaide Carnival.
10.
Len Fitzgerald was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the SANFL Hall of Fame in 2002, as one of the inaugural inductees in each.