George Sparrow
South Melbourne and St Kilda · “Sugar”
AFL career
25 games2 goals
- Debut
- R1 1898 v CAR14 May 1898
- Most recent
- R14 1899 v GEE12 Aug 1899
Coaching career
63 games37 wins26 losses0 draws
- First
- R1 1913 v SME26 Apr 1913
- Most recent
- SF 1929 v CAR7 Sept 1929
Stats
Bio
George "Sugar" Sparrow arrived in the VFL with a formidable reputation forged in the VFA, where he had captained Richmond and twice topped their goalkicking table. His transition to the newly formed league was controversial, as he sat out the entire inaugural 1897 season due to a bitter clearance dispute before finally gaining approval to join South Melbourne. After a solitary season at the Lake Oval, he transferred to St Kilda for a final year on the field, bringing veteran experience to a struggling lineup. While his VFL playing statistics never quite matched his earlier dominance, Sparrow left an indelible mark on the Saints as a coach, returning more than a decade later to guide the club to its first-ever Grand Final appearance in 1913.
Profile
- Full name
- George S. Sparrow
- Born
- 20 Nov 1869
- Died
- 06 Apr 1933 (aged 63y 137d)
- Birthplace
- St Kilda, VIC
- Deathplace
- Caulfield, VIC
Teams
Coaching
- St Kilda (Senior Coach)191321 games (W13 L8 D0), 61.9%
- St Kilda (Senior Coach)19205 games (W1 L4 D0), 20.0%
- St Kilda (Senior Coach)1928–192937 games (W23 L14 D0), 62.2%
Bio
1 revisionGeorge "Sugar" Sparrow arrived in the VFL with a formidable reputation forged in the VFA, where he had captained Richmond and twice topped their goalkicking table. His transition to the newly formed league was controversial, as he sat out the entire inaugural 1897 season due to a bitter clearance dispute before finally gaining approval to join South Melbourne. After a solitary season at the Lake Oval, he transferred to St Kilda for a final year on the field, bringing veteran experience to a struggling lineup. While his VFL playing statistics never quite matched his earlier dominance, Sparrow left an indelible mark on the Saints as a coach, returning more than a decade later to guide the club to its first-ever Grand Final appearance in 1913.