Gary Cowton (born 30 December 1952) is a former

Australian rules 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 ...

footballer who played for

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

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) as well as having stints with Footscray and

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

. Cowton, often known as "Crazy Horse", was a utility player and was a key member of the successful North Melbourne side of the 1970s. He played in five successive grand finals, winning two of them. The first, in 1975 was as a reserve, in 1977 he played on the half back flank in their drawn game and premiership win. After his football career, Gary completed his Bachelor of Business Degree, majoring in Macro Economics at La Trobe University Bendigo. His career in the Australian Public Service began in 1998 with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005). He served in West Kimberley at Derby, WA and the East Kimberley at Kununurra, WA and then Cairns, QLD which included Cape York. Whilst in Cairns, Gary was sponsored by AFL PNG and traveled to Papua New Guinea for some AFL clinics. Cowton stood as a Senate Candidate for the Australian Capital Territory in the 2019 Federal Election. Cowton, after postgraduate studies, lectured Economics in China Universities from 2012-2019. Cowton also conducted post-graduate lectures and IELTS courses.

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* 1952 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) North Melbourne Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club premiership players Sydney Swans players Western Bulldogs players Benalla Football Club players VFL/AFL premiership players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1950s-stub