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Full name
Clive William Lewington
Known as
Clive Lewington
Born
28 February 1920
Place of birth
South Fremantle, WA (6162)
Died
23 October 1989 (aged 69)
Place of death
Subiaco, WA (6008)
Occupation
Insurance company executive
Height and weight
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 66 kg
Senior clubs
South Fremantle
State of origin
WA
Hall of fame
Western Australian Football Hall Of Fame (2004)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Fremantle | WANFL | 1939-1941, 1946-1953 | 182 | 56 | 0.31 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total | 1939-1941, 1946-1953 | 182 | 56 | 0.31 | — | — | — | — | — |
During the first half a dozen or so seasons after World War II, South Fremantle’s 1947 Sandover Medallist Clive Lewington had few peers as a centreline player anywhere in the land. A triple club champion, Lewington also played in South’s winning Grand Final sides of 1947, 1948 and 1950, earning a Simpson Medal after the last of those matches against Perth. Lewington was the club’s captain-coach in 1950, having been captain for the previous three seasons, and he again served as captain-coach in 1951.
After retiring as a player he spent the period between 1952 and 1958 as the club’s non-playing coach, overseeing further premiership triumphs against West Perth in 1952 and 1953, and arch rivals East Fremantle in 1954. His overall success rate in nine seasons as coach of South Fremantle was a highly impressive 70.9%; only in his last two seasons did the club fail to contest the finals.
In a war-interrupted career, Lewington managed only five interstate appearances, but among these were the Hobart carnival matches of 1947, which included a famous victory over the VFL. For South Fremantle he played a total of 182 senior games in 1939-40 and between 1946 and 1952. He made a brief return to top level football in 1964 as non-playing coach of West Perth, but it was tacitly acknowledged that he was merely filling in for a season while the club awaited the arrival from Footscray of Bob Spargo.
Author - John Devaney