John Leedham
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English John L. Leedham (20 May 1928 – 29 May 2020) was an Australian rules footballer who is the vice captain of and ruck-rover in the official Tasmanian Football Team of the Century. He is a 'legend' in the state's Football Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2025.[1]
Leedham, nicknamed 'John L', always played with his socks down and was known to be a colourful character on the field. He was brought up in Campbell Town and started his football career at North Launceston in 1946, aged 17. Playing as a centre half forward, Leedham was a member of NTFA premiership teams in 1946, 1948, 1949 and 1950 as well as three Tasmanian State Premierships. He was almost poached by the Melbourne Football Club in 1948 but a knee injury stopped him from making his debut in the VFL.[2]
After 124 games with North Launceston, including a stint as captain-coach, Leedham crossed to TFL club North Hobart. He coached North Hobart from 1954 to 1959 and steered them to a premiership in 1957.
Leedham represented Tasmania at the 1947, 1953 and 1958 interstate carnivals. In 1953 he was the only Tasmanian named in the inaugural All-Australian side[3] and in 1958 he captain-coached the state to famous wins against South Australia and Western Australia.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
Template:Tasmanian Team Of The Century Template:1953 'Sporting Life' Team of the Year Template:1954 'Sporting Life' Team of the Year Template:1953 All-Australian team
- Pages with script errors
- 1928 births
- 2020 deaths
- Australian rules footballers from Tasmania
- North Hobart Football Club players
- North Hobart Football Club coaches
- North Launceston Football Club players
- North Launceston Football Club coaches
- All-Australians (1953–1988)
- Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees