Past Garry 'Flea' Wilson (1971-1984)

[3KZ is Football]

 

[3KZ is Football]

Garry Wilson (1971 - 1984)

Footyinfo

Full name: Garry Wilson
Born: July 17, 1953
Teams: Fitzroy 1971-84
Height: 178cm
Weight: 70kg
Debut: Fitzroy vs North Melbourne Round 3, Junction Oval, 17 April 1971

Wikipedia

Wilson, during his playing days, was described by The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers as having "limitless courage" as a wispy rover, with a playing weight of only 64 kg. He played wearing a headguard after several cases of concussion. Many considered him one of the most technically gifted players ever to play the game, and he was renowned for his hard training ethic.

Debuting in 1971 with the Fitzroy Football Club, Wilson came from Preston Swimmers and forged a successful career, winning best and fairest awards with the Lions in 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1980. He finished third in the Brownlow Medal count of 1978. Always amongst the Brownlow votes, his best season was 1979, when he finished just one vote behind the eventual winner, when all the Melbourmne newspapers had him far out in front of their own polls. Wilson became captain in 1982. He finished with 268 games to his name after retiring in 1984.

Statistics:

afl tables

 

[Grimreepah]

Fitzroy captains

1971   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715278"]Kevin Murray[/URL]
1972   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715278"]Kevin Murray[/URL]
1973   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1974   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1975   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1976   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1977   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1978   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=903855"]Harvey Merrigan[/URL]
1979   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=910314"]Ron Alexander[/URL]
1980   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=910314"]Ron Alexander[/URL]
1981   Garry Wilson
1982   Garry Wilson
1983   Garry Wilson
1984   Garry Wilson

Fitzroy club champions

1971   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1972   Garry Wilson
1973   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1974   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=903855"]Harvey Merrigan[/URL]
1975   Warwick Irwin
1976   Garry Wilson
1977   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1978   Garry Wilson
1979   Garry Wilson
1980   Garry Wilson
1981   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=910314"]Ron Alexander[/URL]
1982   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788395"]Matt Rendell[/URL]
1983   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788395"]Matt Rendell[/URL]
1984   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=903475"]Ross Thornton[/URL]

Fitzroy leading goal kickers

1971   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1972   Garry Wilson
1973   Garry Wilson
1974   David Wall
1975   Renato Serafini
1976   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]
1977   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21778902"]Bob Beecroft[/URL]
1978   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21778902"]Bob Beecroft[/URL]
1979   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21778902"]Bob Beecroft[/URL]
1980   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21778902"]Bob Beecroft[/URL]
1981   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787666"]Bernie Quinlan[/URL]
1982   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787666"]Bernie Quinlan[/URL]
1983   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787666"]Bernie Quinlan[/URL]
1984   [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787666"]Bernie Quinlan[/URL]

Fitzroy Team of the century nominees

Garry Wilson was Fitzroy captain for 79 games between 1981 and 1984. He led by example both on and off the field. His dedication to training is rated highly by his teammates and this spurred them to follow his lead.

Garry Wilson played 268 games for Fitzroy between 1971 and 1984. This is the third most by a Fitzroy player. He was a goalkicking rover who kicked 452 goals in his career. This is the third highest by a Fitzroy player. He led the Fitzroy goalkicking in 1972 and 1973. He won five Fitzroy best and fairest awards in 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1980. He was third in the Brownlow Medal in 1978 and runner-up in 1979. He captained Fitzroy between 1981 and 1984. He was assistant coach at Fitzroy in 1987. He was named in the forward pocket in Fitzroy’s greatest team from 1944 to 1993. He is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame.

Fitzroy Team of the Century

B:       Bill Stephen         [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=910582"]Fred Hughson[/URL]       Frank Curcio
HB:      [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715278"]Kevin Murray[/URL] (c)     [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788519"]Paul Roos[/URL]          [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=789272"]Gary Pert[/URL] 
C:       [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794205"]Wilfred Smallhorn[/URL]    [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794296"]John Murphy[/URL]        Warwick Irwin
HF:      Owen Abrahams        [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787666"]Bernie Quinlan[/URL]     [U]Garry Wilson[/U] (vc)
F:       [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=885563"]Allan Ruthven[/URL]        [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21743771"]Jack Moriarty[/URL]      Norm Brown
R:       Alan Gale            [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=909123"]Norm Johnstone[/URL]     [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=793028"]Haydn Bunton[/URL]
I:       [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787992"]Michael Conlan[/URL]       [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134778"]Alaistar Lynch[/URL]     [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=903855"]Harvey Merrigan[/URL]   
         [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788524"]Richard Osborne[/URL]      [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=853635"]Percy Parratt[/URL]      [URL="http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=912887"]Percy Trotter[/URL]
Coach:   Len Smith

Link

 

[3KZ is Football]

Garry Wilson (1971 - 1984)

[YOUTUBE]SlFztB9WM9o&feature=player_embedded[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]oYGgegCY1rc&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Grimreepah]

Mike Sheahan's Top 50 Players

47. Gary Wilson
Born: July 17, 1953
1971-84: Fitzroy
Games: 268 Goals: 452

 

[Grimreepah]

Link ....

Ron Alexander, coach Graham Campbell, and Garry 'Flea' Wilson celebrate Fitzroy's defeat of North Melbourne to secure the 1978 night flag, Fitzroy's last senior premiership.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link to article

Aside from spectators taking a gamble on broad-shouldered farmboys, there was always a weight of responsibility that came with players personally inheriting a number - the stamp that would forever set them apart from the pack, or carry on a grand tradition. Back in the day, Ross Lyon had Gary Wilson's No. 29 bestowed upon him as a sign that Fitzroy recognised him as a future champion.

 

[Grimreepah]

 

[Grimreepah]

Fitzroy Brownlow Medal career totals

Kevin Murray - 178
Garry Wilson - 161
Haydn Bunton - 122
Wilfred Smallhorn - 100
Paul Roos - 98
John Murphy - 97
Alan Ruthven - 97
Bernie Quinlan - 59
Bill Stephen - 59
Ron Alexander - 51

 

[Grimreepah]

Link to article

Despite being thought too frail for league football by some people, Fitzroy's Garry 'Flea' Wilson proved himself one of the most brilliant rovers of his era (see footnote 1). Between 1971 and 1984 he played a total of 271 VFL games, frequently displaying courage and persistence above and beyond the call of duty. In 1977, for example, he sustained a badly fractured jaw, and doctors wrote him off for the season, but within weeks he was back playing as though nothing had happened.

Regularly among the favourites to land the Brownlow Medal, Wilson's best season was 1979 when he finished just one vote shy of the winner, Collingwood's Peter Moore. He also came a close third in 1978 behind Malcolm Blight and Peter Knights. His importance to Fitzroy was amply illustrated by his feat in winning no fewer than five club best and fairest awards. He also topped the club's goal kicking list on two occasions.

 

[Grimreepah]

Team of the '70s
11:29 AM Sat 07 Jul, 2007

B: Ian Nankervis, Geoff Southby, Len Thompson
HB: Bruce Doull, Peter Knights, Francis Bourke
C: Keith Greig, Barry Cable, Robert Flower
HF: Alex Jesaulenko, Royce Hart, Wayne Schimmelbusch
F: Kevin Bartlett, Peter Hudson, Malcolm Blight
R: Gary Dempsey, Michael Tuck, Leigh Matthews
Reserves: John Rantall, Garry Wilson
Emergencies: Peter McKenna, David Dench, Phil Carman
Coach: Ron Barassi

Wilson represented Fitzroy from 1971-84, playing 268 games and kicking 451 goals. He was a wispy rover with limitless courage, toughing out several head knocks, before eventually wearing a trademark head guard. He won the Fitzroy best and fairest in 1972, 1976 and three times in succession from 1978 to 1980. He played for Victoria 12 times.

 

[Grimreepah]

Paul Roos

There's no doubt senior Fitzroy players such as Bernie Quinlan, Garry Wilson and Mick Conlon taught me about getting to training early and working hard.Even off the field those senior players were the ones who set and enforced the standards around the footy club.
Garry Wilson was our best player and also the best trainer, which taught me that you can't just rely on talent alone. With strong leadership, everyone at the club fell into line with those senior players.

 

[MICKYCONLAN]

I know I've mentioned this story before so forgive me for repeating it one more time. I remember Wilson with the ball, on the boundary & surounded by opposition players with nowhere to go. He then did something I had never seen before. He deliberately handballed to the opposing player and then grabbed him. Wilson got the free kick. How's that for quick thinking. He was years ahead of his time and would have been a sensation playing today.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link to article

There are tales of mysterious fogs, songs from the outer, the saintliness of Garry Wilson - the late poet, Chas H Duke sums him up with "In a couple of hundred games/ I never saw him do a mean of dirty thing

I reckon he's worth remembering"

 

[Grimreepah]

 

[LIONHART]

if any young kid just starting out wants to see an example of courage on the football field, just show them a tape of g. wilson in action.
courage personified. a great example to any up and comer.
to think this undersized kid went on to become a fitzroy captain, and all-time champion

 

[Mr Ripper]

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[3KZ is Football]

In the opening round of the 1982 season against Carlton, Wilson demonstrated why he was regarded by most at Fitzroy as the greatest rover in the VFL competition. In a game that was to finish in a draw, Wilson gathered 29 disposals and kicked 4 goals, none better than his effort at the 5.27 minute mark of this clip. Having tapped the ball to Clayton on the wing, Wilson demonstrates his run and work ethic by sprinting up the ground and getting on the end of a David McMahon handball to then goal.

A great passage of play and classic Wilson!

[YOUTUBE]t9u-3c7I-vY[/YOUTUBE]

http://www.fitzroyfc.com.au/2011FFCMembershipform.pdf

 

[blackpowerlappin]

Geez this is great stuff. I remember that game well, standing in the outer at Princes Park. The silver tails were thankful that Bortolotto got a hand on the siren, after a lucky free kick went to Greg Wells just before the siren.

Love the Flea, will never be truly appreciated, by those who only saw him a couple of times a year. Always played well against top sides, especially against the cheats.

Would love a Wilson, McMahon and Conlan for 2011.

 

[3KZ is Football]

I was at this one too blackpowerlappin and I agree, we were robbed!

Here is the rest of the last quarter. There's another Wilson goal in there as well.

[YOUTUBE]u2FJo8qoe88&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]FFP0sNkkPq4&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]lqbFcVo4Y1g&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[3KZ is Football]

Gary Wilson, rated by Kevin Murray as the greatest player he ever played with during his career at Fitzroy.

[YOUTUBE]TuQ9_sYncuQ&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Grimreepah]

Interview with Peter Foster

Who were some of the better players you played with?

• Garry Wilson – A perfectionist & fitness fanatic. He was super fit.
• Bernie Quinlan – A thoroughbred!
• Doug Hawkins – Just so naturally gifted, though he probably didn’t apply himself as well as he could have perhaps done.
• Simon Beasley – A 100 goal full forward, just a beauty. Fast on the lead & a nice straight kick.
• Andrew Purser- Just fantastic for his size.
• Brian Royal – An absolute standout for a small bloke.
• Tony McGuinness – A fantastic work ethic.

 

[Grimreepah]

Team of the Century leaders reunite
1:57 PM Mon 23 May, 2011

Five-time Best & Fairest winner Garry Wilson will be the Club’s special guest at the upcoming Kevin Murray Club match-day function, joining Lions Legend Kevin Murray in a star-studded line-up.

Despite being relatively small in stature - which earned him the nickname ‘Flea’ - Wilson was one of the finest rovers of his era and became renowned for his limitless courage. His courage was such that after several bad knocks to his head, it became necessary that he wear a headguard.

He was regularly among the leading contenders for the Brownlow Medal each year and finished agonisingly close to securing the AFL’s highest individual honour on more than a few occasions.

 

[Jubair]

Did he have any sons? If they played, they would be past draft age by now looking at the time period he played and retired it seems. Its a shame we didn't get many father/son prospects (except traitor Murphy) out of the players who played in that era because it does seem like they were very good players in their own right. Hopefully some of Paul Roos boys decide in our favour.

 

[Grimreepah]

Wilson no chicken
By Paul Daffey
10:00 AM Sat 18 Jun, 2011

GARRY Wilson, the courageous former Fitzroy rover, was knocked around so much that he played the final years of his career wearing a helmet, which was unusual in the early 1980s. He says he was knocked out five or six times and, on about 20 occasions, finished a match with blurred vision. But the repeated blows have done nothing to dampen his talent for figures.

During an interview in his apartment in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct near Etihad Stadium, Wilson, 57, recalls with great clarity how much he was earning as a Board of Works clerk when he made his debut with Fitzroy in 1971, aged 17. He knows the number of finals he played (seven). Most of all, he knows the number of chickens he housed in his sheds outside Melbourne, chickens that helped make him a wealthy businessman.

Not even the odd stray dog could stop Garry Wilson in his prime.