Clarence Alexander Lonsdale (13 September 1906 – 6 December 1971) 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 with 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
The seventh of eleven children born to George Lonsdale (1866–1962) and Elizabeth Lonsdale (1868–1951), nee Moncrieff, Clarence Alexander Lonsdale was born in
Berrigan, New South Wales
Berrigan is a town on the Riverina Highway in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Berrigan is in the Berrigan Shire local government area and contains the Berrigan Shire Council offices. At the , Berrigan had a population of 1 ...
on 13 September 1906.
Lonsdale was schooled in
Henty, New South Wales
Henty is a town in southwestern New South Wales close to the boundaries of the South West Slopes and the Riverina districts, almost midway between the regional cities of Albury and Wagga Wagga. At the 2006 census, Henty had a population of 863 ...
and moved with his family to Cheltenham in Victoria when he was a teenager.
Football
Lonsdale played for
Cheltenham
Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
in the
Federal Association for four years before getting recruited by Hawthorn. While at Cheltenham he played mainly as a full forward and on one occasion kicked 100 goals in the season. He played in their 1925 premiership.
Moving to in 1927, Lonsdale made his debut in round three against Footscray at the Western Oval. At Hawthorn Lonsdale mainly played on the half back line, his ability to take strong overhead marks was a feature of his game.
Lonsdale hurt his knee against Essendon in 1929 and subsequently returned to Cheltenham. He also played for Cheltenham in 1930 and 1931. He had two games on permit with the Mayblooms in 1931, before returning to Hawthorn in 1932. Lonsdale was the fifth Hawthorn player to play one hundred VFL games.
After playing in the first 3 rounds of 1937, Lonsdale requested and received a clearance to Darling in the Federal League and he helped Darling win a premiership that year.
War service
In October 1942, Clarrie Lonsdale enlisted in the Australian Army and at the time of his discharge in November 1945 was a member of the 14/32 Australian Infantry Battalion.
Later life
Returning to civilian life after World War II, Lonsdale moved to Moe where he worked as a plasterer.
Clarrie Lonsdale died in Moe on 6 December 1971.
Honours and achievements
*
Hawthorn life member
Notes
External links
*
*
Clarrie Lonsdale - Boyles Photos
1971 deaths
1906 births
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Hawthorn Football Club players
20th-century Australian sportsmen
{{AFL-bio-1906-stub