Des Healey

Des Healey

Personal information
Birth	5 September 1927(1927-09-05), Victoria, Australia
Recruited from	Preston YCW
Death	18 March 2009(2009-03-18) (aged 81), Melbourne, Australia
Playing career¹
Debut	1948, Collingwood v. North Melbourne, at Arden Street Oval, North Melbourne
Team(s)	Collingwood (1948-1955) 149 games, 35 goals
Coaching career¹
Team(s)	Collingwood Under 19s 1972-77.
¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season
Career highlights
Collingwood best and fairest 1955 Collingwood 2nd best and fairest 1951, 1954 Collingwood 3rd best and fairest 1953 Victorian Team 1949, 1953 All-Australian 1953

Des Healey (5 September 1927 – 18 March 2009) was an Australian rules footballer, who played in the VFL/AFL with the Collingwood Football Club.

After spending 3 years in the reserves team, Healey finally broke into the senior side in 1948. He played every game in 1948 and missed only one in 1949 when he won interstate selection.

The combination of Healey, Thorold Merrett and Bill Twomey, Jr., gave Collingwood a lethal centre line. Healey was a great mark for his size and dazzled the crowd with his evasive ground work and polished skills. He always had great control of the ball and was the master of the pinpoint pass.

Healey was one of the heroes of Collingwood’s 1953 Premiership victory and was rated by many as one of the best players on the ground that day. He won All-Australian selection in the same year.

Essendon’s great full-forward John Coleman once named Healey as the best wingman he had ever seen. “He is clever, has that wonderful tenacity of all good Collingwood players, and is tireless.”

Healey is perhaps best known for his last moments as a League footballer. In the 1955 Grand Final Healey had a sickening collision with Melbourne’s Frank 'Bluey' Adams. They were both stretched off with Healey’s nose broken in five places and his skull fractured, he never played League football again.^[1]

He coached the Collingwood Under 19s to the premiership in 1974.

Preceded by Neil Mann

Copeland Trophy winner 1955

Succeeded by Bill Twomey, Jr.

External links

• Des Healey career stats

References

• Profile on fullpointsfooty

1. ^ http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25211902-19742,00.html Herald Sun 20 March 2009

Persondata
Name	Healey, Des
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 September 1927
Place of birth	Victoria, Australia
Date of death	18 March 2009
Place of death	Melbourne, Australia