Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Colin Thornton

Known as
Col Thornton

Born
8 May 1927

Died
12 September 2005 (aged 78)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 65d
Last game: 27y 35d

Height and weight
Height: 193 cm
Weight: 89 kg

Senior clubs
North Melbourne; St. Kilda

Jumper numbers
North Melbourne: 7, 32
St. Kilda: 35

Recruited from
North Melbourne (1954)

Col Thornton

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
North MelbourneV/AFL1947-195359190.3246%———0
St. KildaV/AFL1954630.5017%———0
V/AFL1947-195465220.3443%———0
Total1947-195465220.3443%———0

AFL: 5,732nd player to appear, 3,580th most games played, 3,512th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 394th player to appear, 238th most games played, 262nd most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 981st player to appear, 1,024th most games played, 736th most goals kicked

After joining North Melbourne from Coburg Amateurs in 1947 Col Thornton struggled at first to establish himself before becoming a regular senior player in 1950. This was opportune because it proved to be the season the shinboners broke through for their first grand final appearance. Thornton led North’s rucks that day, but his Essendon opponent Bob McLure had the better of their duel, and finished on the winning side.

After another solid campaign in 1951 Thornton dropped down the pecking order and the following couple of seasons saw him playing mostly reserves football. In 1954 he was cleared to join St Kilda, which was being coached by his former North Melbourne team mate Les Foote, but he managed just half a dozen senior appearances and three goals for the year to add to the 59 games and 19 goals registered with North.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Publications

Footnotes

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