Len McCankie (8 November 1924 – 15 May 2003) 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 Footscray 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) during the 1940s. McCankie, a half back and ruckman, was only 16 when he made his league debut in 1941.AFL Tables: Len McCankie
/ref> He represented the VFL in the 1947 Hobart Carnival, having also appeared at interstate level in 1945. During his time with Footscray he played in four semi finals but was never part of a winning finals team. At the end of the 1950 season, the then vice-captain was in the running to replace

Arthur Olliver Arthur Olliver (10 December 1916 – 31 May 1988) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL), and coached successfully in the then Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). A champion Foo ...

as playing coach but the job went to

Charlie Sutton Charlie Sutton (3 April 1924 – 5 June 2012) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). He captained the Bulldogs to their first VFL premiership in ...

instead. He instead took up the position of North Hobart captain-coach, leading them from 1951 to 1953, with the highlight being a grand final appearance in his first season. In 1953 he captain-coached Tasmania in the Adelaide Carnival and won the first ever Lefroy Medal. He was playing coach of

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

in 1954 and from 1955 to 1956 coached

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

in the Alberton Football League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccankie, Len 1924 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players North Hobart Football Club players North Hobart Football Club coaches Warrnambool Football Club players Warrnambool Football Club coaches 2003 deaths