Clen Denning
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Clen Charles Denning (28 February 1911 – 9 November 2009) 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 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).


Family

The son of Thomas Clen Denning (1879-1917), and Agnes Caroline Denning (1880-1974), née Gunther, Clen Charles Denning was born at
Collingwood, Victoria Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3km north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Yarra Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. Collingwood recorded a ...
on 28 February 1911. He married Winifred Adelaide Newman (1915-2002) in 1938.


Football

Soon after he turned 16, Denning played for
Victorian Football Association 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 ...
(VFA) club Oakleigh. He got his start in the VFL after a long wait when Oakleigh coach Frank Maher moved to coach the
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...
. Denning debuted with Carlton in 1935. Early in his career, Denning made a name for himself as a promising goalkicker; he scored six goals from his first six kicks—all in his first match— a record that stands to this day. He only stayed with Carlton until the end of 1937, having played 18 games for 23 goals. In 1938, he crossed over to the
Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of City of Fitzroy, Fitzroy, the club is base ...
, as he was said to be unhappy at Carlton. He scored 37 goals in 1939 to be their leading goalkicker. From then on he focused more on a defensive role, becoming a
back pocket Vulfpeck is an American funk/soul music, soul band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2011. Founded by multi-instrumentalists Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss, and bassist Joe Dart, the band has released four extended plays, six studio a ...
. He represented Victoria at interstate football in 1941, and in 1944 he was back pocket in Fitzroy's premiership side. After leaving Fitzroy, Denning played for and coached Ararat. In 1958, he was the inaugural VFA coach of the
Dandenong Football Club The Dandenong Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong, Victoria, Dandenong. The club competed in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1958 until 1994. Histo ...
.


Death

From the October 2009 death of Jimmy Bates until his own death, at
Keysborough, Victoria Keysborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Keysborough recorded a population of 30,018 at the . Keysbor ...
on 9 November 2009, at 98 years old, he was the oldest living former VFL player, and last surviving member of the 1944 Fitzroy premiership team.


References


External links

* *
Clen Denning, at ''The VFA Project''.

Clen Denning, at ''Blueseum''.Interview with Clen Denning in September 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denning, Clen 1911 births 2009 deaths Carlton Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club premiership players Oakleigh Football Club players Dandenong Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Melbourne VFL/AFL premiership players People from Collingwood, Victoria