Jump to content

Brian Dixon (Australian footballer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Honourable
Brian Dixon
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for St Kilda
In office
1964–1982
Preceded byBaron Snider
Succeeded byAndrew McCutcheon
Personal details
Born(1936-05-20)20 May 1936
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died9 July 2025(2025-07-09) (aged 89)
Political partyLiberal
Australian rules football career
Personal information
Original team(s) Melbourne High School
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 70 kg (154 lb)
Position(s) Wing
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
1954–1968 Melbourne 252 (41)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1971–1972 North Melbourne 44 (6–37–1)
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Brian James Dixon (20 May 1936 – 9 July 2025) was an Australian rules footballer and politician.[1] He was born in Melbourne.[2]

Football career

[edit]

Dixon played 252 games for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1954 and 1968, playing mostly on the wing. He played in five premierships, winning Melbourne's best and fairest in 1960, while in 1961 he was selected in the All-Australian team and he also won the Tassie Medal for his performances at the 1961 Brisbane Carnival. In 2000 he was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century.

He coached North Melbourne for two seasons, 1971 and 1972.

Political career

[edit]

While still playing football for Melbourne, Dixon entered parliament in 1964 as the member for the now abolished seat of St Kilda, representing the Liberal Party.[3] Being from the moderate wing of the party, he clashed with then Premier Henry Bolte, especially over the hanging of Ronald Ryan which Dixon strongly opposed.[4]

After Rupert Hamer took over as Liberal Party leader and Premier, Dixon was promoted to the ministry. He variously served in several portfolios, including Youth, Sport and Recreation and Housing. His best-remembered achievement was introducing the iconic Life. Be in it. program.[5]

In 1979, Dixon won St Kilda by an extremely narrow margin, which crucially gave the Hamer Liberal government a majority of one seat in the Legislative Assembly, and meant that the Liberal Party did not need to form a Coalition with the National Party, with which relations were traditionally poor in Victoria. However, in 1982, Dixon lost his seat and the Liberal Party was defeated after 27 years in power.

After his defeat, Dixon worked predominantly in sports administration and he ran public speaking seminars.

He travelled the world representing the Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA) and the Asiania Sport For All Association (ASFAA). He was also president of AFL South Africa, taking a keen interest in other countries playing Australian rules football.[6]

Death

[edit]

Dixon died on 9 July 2025, at the age of 89.[7][8]

Statistics

[edit]

Playing statistics

[edit]
[9]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1954 Melbourne 9 8 2 — — — — — — 0.3 — — — — — —
1955 Melbourne 9 16 7 — — — — — — 0.4 — — — — — —
1956# Melbourne 9 17 5 — — — — — — 0.3 — — — — — —
1957# Melbourne 9 21 2 — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — —
1958 Melbourne 9,16 20 2 — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — —
1959# Melbourne 9 20 2 — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — —
1960# Melbourne 9 20 4 — — — — — — 0.2 — — — — — —
1961 Melbourne 9 16 2 — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — —
1962 Melbourne 9 18 2 — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — —
1963 Melbourne 9 18 3 — — — — — — 0.2 — — — — — —
1964# Melbourne 9 17 1 — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — —
1965 Melbourne 9 13 1 2 260 23 283 78 — 0.1 0.2 20.0 1.8 21.8 6.0 —
1966 Melbourne 9 11 0 3 222 20 242 48 — 0.0 0.3 20.2 1.8 22.0 4.4 —
1967 Melbourne 9 18 6 6 357 56 413 77 — 0.3 0.3 19.8 3.1 22.9 4.3 —
1968 Melbourne 9 19 2 1 395 51 446 123 — 0.1 0.1 20.8 2.7 23.5 6.5 —
Career 252 41 12 1234 150 1384 326 — 0.2 0.2 20.2 2.5 22.7 5.3 —

Coaching statistics

[edit]

[10]

Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team Games W L D W % LP LT
1971 North Melbourne 22 5 16 1 25.0% 9 12
1972 North Melbourne 22 1 21 0 4.5% 12 12
Career totals 44 6 37 1 14.8%

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Former Melbourne great Brian Dixon dies aged 89". ABC News. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Brian James Dixon". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. ^ Leanne, Stratos. "The Mayor". Goldcoast.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 24 August 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  5. ^ Topsfield, Jewel (23 July 2011). "This couch potato still appeals". The Age. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Dixon's world tour to advance the cause - World Footy News". Worldfootynews.com. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Former Melbourne great Brian Dixon dies aged 89". Abc.net.au. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Vale Brian Dixon". Afl.com.au. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  9. ^ "AFL Tables - Brian Dixon - Stats - Statistics". Afltables.com. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Brian Dixon". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
[edit]
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for St Kilda
1964–1982 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brian_Dixon_(Australian_footballer)&oldid=1301147470"