John Gerovich
| John Gerovich | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Statue of John Gerovich's famous mark over Ray French in the 1956 WAFL preliminary final | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | John Michael Gerovich | ||
| Date of birth | 23 June 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | Spearwood, Western Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | Spearwood | ||
| Position(s) | Centre half forward / Full forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1955–1969 | South Fremantle | 221 (771) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1956–1961 | Western Australia | 20 (56) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1969. | |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
John Gerovich (born John Mateo Gerecivich, 23 June 1938[1]) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Fremantle in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL - now WAFL) during the 1950s and 1960s.[2]
Playing career
[edit]Gerovich was a key-position forward, best known for high-flying marks and his prolific goalkicking. One famous mark,[3] which he took in the 1956 WANFL preliminary final over East Fremantle's Ray French, is commemorated in a statue at Fremantle Oval by local sculptor Robert Hitchcock. The statue was based on an iconic photograph of the mark,[2] taken by The West Australian photographer Maurie Hammond and published on Wednesday, 10 October 1956.[4] The mark is also depicted in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.[5] On three occasions he was the WAFL's top goalkicker: in 1956 with 74 goals, in 1960 with 101 goals, and 1961 with 74 goals again. He also topped South Fremantle's goal-kicking tally eight times.[6] When he retired after the 1969 season he had kicked a total of 744 goals for South Fremantle.[7]
State football
[edit]Over the course of his career, he regularly represented Western Australia at interstate football and kicked 56 goals from his 18 representative games. Gerovich, of Croatian heritage, was an All-Australian at the 1956 Perth Carnival and played in the side which won the 1961 Brisbane Carnival.
Honours
[edit]In 2004 he was one of the inaugural inductees into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.[8] Gerovich is also a member of the Fremantle Football Hall of Legends and a centre half-forward in the Fremantle Team of Legends, which was established in 2007. The trophy for each season's leading goalkicker at South Fremantle is named after him.
References
[edit]- ^ "Family Notices". The West Australian. Vol. 54, no. 16, 219. Western Australia. 24 June 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 8 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "John Gerovich - Player Bio". Australian Football. Slattery Media. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ Jordan, Ray, ed. (1985). The Footballers: A history of football in Western Australia (1st ed.). St George Books. p. 71. ISBN 0867780258.
The most famous mark in WA football history.
- ^ Everett, Les (2006). "Gero will fly forever". australianrules.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "The Game That Made Australia painting". Australian Football 150 Years. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "WAFL player profile".
- ^ "WAFL Footy Facts player profile".
- ^ "West Australian Football Hall of Fame Inductees".
