Dick Telford
Fitzroy and Collingwood
AFL career
3 games0 goals
- Debut
- R9 1966 v SME18 June 1966
- Most recent
- R8 1967 v FSC3 June 1967
Stats
Bio
Recruited from North Reservoir, Dick Telford was a skilled centreman whose brief VFL stint belied his significant broader contribution to Australian sport. After managing a single senior game for Collingwood in 1966, he crossed to Fitzroy seeking greater opportunities, adding two matches as a rover before a serious hand injury interrupted his progress. While he could not establish a long-term VFL career, Telford became a genuine star in the VFA with Preston, where his elite fitness and work rate helped him claim the J.J. Liston Trophy and play in back-to-back premierships. He is best remembered today not for his on-field statistics, but for his pioneering post-playing career as Australia’s first full-time sports scientist and mentor to world-class marathon runners like Robert de Castella.
Profile
- Born
- 02 Apr 1945 (age 81y 208d)
- Height
- 175 cm
- Weight
- 70 kg
Teams
Honours
- J.J. Liston Trophy1968
Bio
1 revisionRecruited from North Reservoir, Dick Telford was a skilled centreman whose brief VFL stint belied his significant broader contribution to Australian sport. After managing a single senior game for Collingwood in 1966, he crossed to Fitzroy seeking greater opportunities, adding two matches as a rover before a serious hand injury interrupted his progress. While he could not establish a long-term VFL career, Telford became a genuine star in the VFA with Preston, where his elite fitness and work rate helped him claim the J.J. Liston Trophy and play in back-to-back premierships. He is best remembered today not for his on-field statistics, but for his pioneering post-playing career as Australia’s first full-time sports scientist and mentor to world-class marathon runners like Robert de Castella.