Trevor Raymond Sprigg (10 August 1946 – 17 January 2008) was an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...

from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

, as well as a former football star. Sprigg, a member of the Liberal Party, was the Liberal Party legislative whip as well as the member for the electorate of Murdoch in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. Sprigg was elected to his seat in the Western Australian general election in 2005.

Personal life

Sprigg was born in Wagin, Western Australian in 1946 and was widely known as a sports enthusiast and

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

. He was a lifetime member of the East Fremantle Football Club and played a total of 152 League games for the club. Sprigg also worked at various other football clubs as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, chairman of selectors, captain and football manager. For example, he worked for the West Coast Eagles Football Club from 1990 to 1992. Sprigg also worked as a consultant to the Western Australian Football Commission during the planning and formation of the Fremantle Football Club. Additionally, Sprigg worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, as well as several

radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

and

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

, as a part-time

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short ess ...

and football commentator. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000. Sprigg was married and had five children (Sharon, Natalie, Jarrod, Travis and Brett) and seven grandchildren.

Death

Trevor Sprigg died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

at Fremantle Hospital in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

on 17 January 2008 at the age of 61. His heart attack and subsequent death prevented him from attending a partyroom meeting that day which saw Troy Buswell replace Paul Omodei as Liberal leader.

References

External links

Trevor Sprigg's MP page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprigg, Trevor 1946 births 2008 deaths People from Fremantle Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia East Fremantle Football Club players William Leitch Medal winners Glenorchy Football Club players Glenorchy Football Club coaches Australian rules football commentators Australian sportsperson-politicians Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People from Wagin, Western Australia East Fremantle Football Club administrators West Coast Eagles administrators 20th-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians