Donald Lindner (16 February 1935 – 31 December 2008) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL). He is the centre half-forward in North Adelaide's official Team of the Century and Hall of Fame, and in 2002 was inducted into the SANFL Hall of Fame. Lindner was renowned for his high marking and by the time he retired in 1970 had played 280 games, kicking 267 goals for North Adelaide. This games total remained a club record until broken by Mike Redden in 1990, while Lindner also played 10 pre-season/night series matches. His greatest achievement was winning the 1967

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

, originally losing on a countback, but was awarded it retrospectively when the league decided to give the award to those who had lost on countback in previous years. He had played that season in both defence and in the ruck and was also North Adelaide's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

winner for the third time, having previously won the award in 1958 and 1962. Other honours during his career include topping North Adelaide's goal kicking in 1955 with 36 goals, being a member of their 1960 premiership side, and representing

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

16 times at interstate football. His best performance in South Australian colours came in the 1961 Brisbane Carnival where he was selected in the

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

side. He polled Tassie Medal votes in both matches he played in the Carnival. He also played a pivotal role in South Australia's famous win against Victoria in 1963, having come off the Reserves bench early in the game and scoring three goals and setting up

Lindsay Head Lindsay Hudson Head MBE (born 16 September 1935 in North Adelaide, South Australia) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with West Torrens in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He was awarded three Magarey M ...

for the winning goals. He captained and coached North Adelaide from 1963 to 1966, leading them to the Grand Final in his first year in charge. In 1967 he relinquished the coaching role to

Geof Motley Geof Motley OAM (born 3 January 1935) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who played for South Australian National Football League (SANFL) side Port Adelaide. Motley was born near Alberton Oval, the home ground of the Port Adel ...

but remained captain until 1969. Don Lindner died celebrating

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

2008 at the Hampstead Hotel in Collinswood. He is a member of the SANFL Hall of Fame, but like his first captain, Ian McKay, he is not a member of the AFL Hall of Fame.

Don Lindner Walk

The Council of the City of Prospect commemorated Lindner's achievements by naming a short pedestrian walkway beside Prospect Oval after him. The walkway connects his former family home in Kintore Avenue with his football home in Menzies Crescent. On 29 August 2010, Mayor David O’Loughlin formally opened the Don Lindner Walk at an unveiling of a plaque at the Council Room within the North Adelaide Football Club, attended by over seventy guests and Lindner's family. The plaque has been placed on short bollards at each end of the walkway.

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* Australian rules footballers from South Australia North Adelaide Football Club players North Adelaide Football Club coaches Magarey Medal winners All-Australians (1953–1988) South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees 1935 births 2008 deaths People educated at Immanuel College, Adelaide {{AFL-bio-1930s-stub