Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
John Francis Murray Bannigan

Known as
Murray Bannigan

Nickname
Pug

Born
6 December 1890

Place of birth
Murray Bridge, SA (5253)

Died
26 October 1947 (aged 56)

Place of death
Kensington Park, SA (5068)

Occupation
Fitter and Turner

Height and weight
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 70 kg

Senior clubs
Sturt

State of origin
SA

Murray Bannigan


Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
SturtSAFL1908-1914, 192082220.27—————
Total1908-1914, 192082220.27—————

Sturt’s Murray Bannigan has been described as “the first great rover of the club”.¹ Pacy, highly skilled and ultra- courageous, he was singularly unfortunate in that his playing career, which began in 1908 and finished in 1920, did not include the premiership years of 1915 and 1919 as he was serving in the AIF at those times. The sort of player who revelled in the physical aspects of football, he played 82 SAFL games and scored 22 goals for the Double Blues from 1908 to 1914 and in 1920. Although he missed his team’s grand final victories he was heavily instrumental in Sturt’s transformation from easy-beats to competition force.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. True Blue: The History of the Sturt Football Club by John Lysikatos, page 26.

Sources

Crème de la Crème

Footnotes

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