Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Terry Gleeson

Known as
Terry Gleeson

Born
16 October 1933

Died
18 February 2011 (aged 77)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 254d
Last game: 28y 306d

Height and weight
Height: 193 cm
Weight: 92 kg

Senior clubs
Melbourne

Jumper numbers
Melbourne: 28, 14

Family links
Brian Gleeson (Brother)

Terry Gleeson

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
MelbourneV/AFL1953-1962100270.2771%3.00—1.257
Total1953-1962100270.2771%3.00—1.257

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 6,360th player to appear, 2,473rd most games played, 3,183rd most goals kickedMelbourne: 744th player to appear, 168th most games played, 256th most goals kicked

 Less audaciously talented than his Brownlow Medal-winning brother Brian, Melbourne’s Gerald 'Terry Gleeson' was nevertheless a competent and hard working ruckman who enjoyed the distinction of playing in two VFL premiership-winning teams, albeit only as a reserve. Therein lies the rub, because in truth his career was somewhat checquered, with extended periods of senior football alternating with prolonged stints in the reserves. Between 1953 and 1962 he averaged just 10 games a season for a career total of 100. His last three seasons saw him produce probably the best football of his life and this was reflected in his taking his place in the powerful Demons line-up most weeks.

Gleeson was twentieth man in the winning grand final of 1955 and nineteenth man the following year, both victories coming at the expense of Collingwood. He was also a reserve for the 1958 grand final in which the Magpies exacted a measure of revenge.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main; Wikipedia article; http://demonwiki.org/Terry+Gleeson

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.