Alan Charles Olle (23 July 1924 – 12 October 2004)Alan Charles Olle's obituary in the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'', 14 October 2004 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL).

Early life

Olle was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1924. In 1942 he enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF), serving as a sergeant until he was discharged in 1946.

Football career

He made his debut in the final round of the 1946 VFL season against at the Junction Oval. Between 1946 and 1951 he played 51 matches for the Saints. In 1952 Olle accepted a coaching role in Sorrento when the Coulter Law restricted payments to VFL players to £3 per week, £7 less than Sorrento's offer. His employer, the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

(PMG) obliged with a transfer to Sorrento's telephone exchange. Only a year passed before Sorrento was celebrating its first premiership in 18 years, defeating Frankston by 3 points 12-6-78 to 11-9-75 in a thriller.Club History
Sorrento Sharks FNC. Retrieved 21 December 2022 Olle and president Jim Thoms (ex-Footscray) were instrumental in attracting numerous talented VFL/VFA players to the club to mount the 1953 premiership assault including Mike Fitchett (Hawthorn), Dick Kennedy (Melbourne and Fitzroy), Alby Morrison (Footscray), Fred Stafford (1947 Carlton premiers), Ron Wilson (St.Kilda) and Norm Spencer (Brunswick). Olle had a record-breaking 3-stint association with Sorrento over nine seasons, the first and second as playing coach (1952-1956 and 1959–1961) the third and final as non-playing coach (1982).

References

1924 births 2004 deaths St Kilda Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Military personnel from Melbourne Australian rules football coaches {{AFL-bio-1920s-stub