| Peter Bedford | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Peter Lawrence Anthony Bedford | ||
| Date of birth | (1947-04-11)11 April 1947 (age 77) | ||
| Original team(s) | Port Melbourne (VFA) | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1965–1967, 1978-1979 | Port Melbourne | 55 (88) | |
| 1968–1976 | South Melbourne | 178 (325) | |
| 1977–1978 | Carlton | 8(4) | |
| Total | 241 (417) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1978. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Peter Lawrence Anthony "Wheels" Bedford (born 11 April 1947) is a formerAustralian rules footballer andfirst-class cricketer. As a footballer, he is best known for his time atSouth Melbourne, where he wonVictorian Football League's (VFL's)Brownlow Medal in 1970 as the fairest and the best in the competition.
Bedford grew up in theMelbourne suburb ofPort Melbourne.[1] He played for his schoolParade College as a junior.[2] He began his senior career in theVictorian Football Association, where he played atPort Melbourne Football Club. He was part of the Port Melbourne team which lost the controversial1967 VFA Grand Final againstDandenong.[3] He played 52 senior games with Port Melbourne during this phase of his career.[4]
At the end of the 1967 football season, Bedford was approached bySouth Australian National Football League (SANFL) clubPort Adelaide with an offer to move toSouth Australia to play for Port Adelaide as well as for theSouth Australian cricket team.[5] South Australian cricket selector SirDonald Bradman considered Bedford a leading candidate for theAustralia national cricket team and urged Bedford to accept the offer from Port Adelaide.[5] However, he opted instead to stay in Melbourne and moved to VFL clubSouth Melbourne.
He played for South Melbourne between 1968 and 1976, playing 178 games and kicking 325 goals. He was the Swans'Best & Fairest on five occasions, leading goalkicker three times and in 1970 he won aBrownlow Medal as the league's best and fairest player. He played for the Swans as a rover but was also thrown forward to kick a goal when they needed it. He was South Melbourne's captain from 1973 until his departure in 1976, when he transferred toCarlton. He played at Carlton until mid-1978, then transferred back to Port Melbourne.[4]
Bedford was also a talented batsman and leg-spin bowler forVictoria, playing 39 matches for the State between 1966–67 and 1972–73. He made 1602 runs at 28.10 and took 45 wickets at 33.40. His top score and only century was 134 not out against Western Australia in Melbourne in 1969–70, and his best bowling figures came later in the same season against South Australia in Adelaide when he took 5 for 40 in the second innings to help Victoria win and clinch victory in theSheffield Shield. He playeddistrict cricket forMelbourne (ten seasons) andCarlton (one season).[6]
Bedford was selected in the Port Melbourne Team of the Century. He was inducted to theAustralian Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and was named in the Swans team of the century which was announced on 8 August 2003. Bedford's father, William, was also selected in the Port Melbourne Team of the Century, and his nephewStephen Allender won aJ. J. Liston Trophy with Port Melbourne.[7]