Australian Football

John Leedham was the epitome of the socks down, no holds barred style of footballer whose every gesture seems to make a tangible contribution to the team effort. Known affectionately as ‘John L.’ Leedham represented Tasmania in the 1947, 1953 and 1958 carnivals, performing particularly creditably at Adelaide in 1953 when, despite a disastrous winless series, he was chosen as the sole Tasmanian representative in the inaugural All Australian team.

Throughout his career Leedham tended to save his best performances for games against top class opposition or when the pressure was at its highest. He captain-coached Tasmania to wins over both South Australia and Western Australia at the 1958 Melbourne carnival, and invariably outplayed his direct opponent whenever Tasmania clashed with the ‘Big V’. Too outspoken to attract many votes from umpires, his contribution to his team was arguably more telling than that of many so called ‘superstars’.

In the classic style of Ron Barassi, Mal Brown, Neil Kerley and Ted Whitten, Leedham was a ‘stirrer’, pre-eminently capable of unsettling an opponent by the use of psychological as much as physical methods of intimidation. Added to this he was a superbly gifted footballer who more than made up for what he lacked in grace and smoothness of movement with an innate, untutored knack of finding the ball and using it effectively.

In June 2004, John Leedham was named as vice-captain and first ruck-rover in the official Tasmanian ‘Team of the Century’. The following year saw his induction as an inaugural legend in Tasmanian Football’s official Hall of Fame.

Author - John Devaney