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Key Facts

Full name
Douglas Bigelow

Known as
Doug Bigelow

Born
17 July 1928

Died
21 June 1996 (aged 67)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 346d
Last game: 28y 32d

Height and weight
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 96 kg

Senior clubs
Essendon; Coburg

Jumper numbers
Essendon: 19

Recruited from
Bentleigh (1947); Essendon (1957)

Doug Bigelow

Advanced stats
Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
EssendonV/AFL1947-1956148270.1869%——4.009
CoburgVFA1957-196190———————
Total1947-1961238270.11—————

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 5,713th player to appear, 1,382nd most games played, 3,186th most goals kickedEssendon: 612th player to appear, 79th most games played, 271st most goals kicked

Every fan likes to see the ‘battler’ come good. That’s why Essendon are so happy about the form of ruckman Doug Bigelow. Just a plodder in the past, Bigelow is moving faster, getting up for his marks, shepherding effectively, and kicking consistently well. Doug, invariably first out at training, took off a stone last summer, and his greater mobility has softened considerably the blow to Essendon of big Bob McClure’s injury.¹

Essendon recruited Doug Bigelow from Bentleigh, and handed him his senior debut in 1947. He developed into a handy player for the Dons, for whom he ended up playing 148 VFL games and kicking 27 goals in ten seasons. Extremely tenacious and hard-hitting, he played most of his football in defence, but could also do a job on the ball. Bigelow was not selected in the Bombers' 1950 premiership-winning side but was arguably their most consistent player during the following season's finals campaign, which ended with defeat at the hands of Geelong in the Grand Final. Bigelow later coached VFA club Coburg from 1957 until early in the 1961 season. He spent the 1963 season coaching his original club Bentleigh.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. “Sporting Globe”, 11/7/51, page 12.

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications, Crème de la Crème

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.