Clen Denning

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Clen Denning
Personal information
Full name Clen Charles Denning
Date of birth (1911-02-28)28 February 1911
Place of birth Collingwood, Victoria, Australia
Date of death 9 November 2009(2009-11-09) (aged 98)
Place of death Keysborough, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s)
VFA
)
Position(s) Wing
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1935–1937 Carlton 018 (23)
1938–1947 Fitzroy 159 (59)
Total 177 (82)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1947.
Career highlights

Player in the

1944 Fitzroy Premiership

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Clen Charles Denning (28 February 1911 – 9 November 2009) was an

Victorian Football League
(VFL).

Family

The son of Thomas Clen Denning (1879-1917),[1] and Agnes Caroline Denning (1880-1974), née Gunther, Clen Charles Denning was born at Collingwood, Victoria on 28 February 1911.

He married Winifred Adelaide Newman (1915-2002) in 1938.

Football

Soon after he turned 16, Denning played for

Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Oakleigh. He got his start in the VFL after a long wait when Oakleigh coach Frank Maher moved to coach the Carlton Football Club
. Denning debuted with Carlton in 1935.

Early in his career, Denning made a name for himself as a promising goalkicker; he scored six goals from his first six kicks—all in his first match—a record that stands to this day.[2][3][4]

He only stayed with Carlton until the end of 1937, having played 18 games for 23 goals.

In 1938, he crossed over to the

premiership side
.

After leaving Fitzroy, Denning played for and coached Ararat.[5] In 1958, he was the inaugural VFA coach of the Dandenong Football Club.[6]

Death

From the October 2009 death of Jimmy Bates until his own death, at Keysborough, Victoria on 9 November 2009, at 98 years old, he was the oldest living former VFL player.[7]

References

  1. ^ Deaths: Denning, The Age, (Saturday, 11 August 1917), p.4.
  2. ^ *Warne-Smith, Ivor, "Fine Football: South's Third Quarter: Carlton sets the Pace", The Argus, (Monday, 20 May 1935), p.12.
  3. ^ Mystery Man: Six Goals to Denning, The Argus, (Monday, 20 May 1935), p.12.
  4. .
  5. ^ "ARARAT SECURES FITZROY STAR". The Horsham Times. 17 February 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 6 August 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Fiddian, Marc (2004). The VFA: a history of the Victorian Football Association, 1877–1995. p. 173.
  7. ^ "Fitzroy great Clen Denning passes away". World News Australia. SBS. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.

External links