Murray Weideman

Murray Weideman
Personal information
Full name	Murray Weideman
Date of birth	16 February 1936 (1936-02-16) (age 75)
Place of birth	Victoria, Australia
Original team	Preston Districts
Height/Weight	187cm / 96kg
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1953–1963	Collingwood	180 (262)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1956–1960	Victoria
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1975–1976	Collingwood	45 (19–26–0)
1 Playing statistics to end of 1963 season . 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1976.
Career highlights
Collingwood premiership player 1953 Collingwood premiership captain 1958 Collingwood Team of the Century Collingwood Life Member Copeland Trophy 1957, 1961, 1962 Collingwood vice-captain 1958–1959 Collingwood leading goalkicker 1959, 1960, 1962 Collingwood captain 1960–1963 Australian Football Hall of Fame, inducted 2007

Murray Weideman (born 16 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Playing career

Weideman is probably best remembered today as Collingwood's 'enforcer' of the late 1950s and early 1960s, loved by the club's supporters, and loathed by those of the opposition.

He made his VFL debut in 1953, and was on the bench for that year's grand final, in which the Magpies defeated Geelong.

When regular Collingwood skipper Frank Tuck was injured and unavailable for the 1958 Grand Final against Melbourne, Weideman's deliberate and continuous intimidation of his star Melbourne opponent Ron Barassi was a major factor in the Magpies eking out an unexpected three goal win.

Awards

Weideman was much more than just the football equivalent of a hit man. He won the Copeland Trophy for Collingwood's best and fairest player in 1957, 1961 and 1962, and was regularly among the Magpies' best players in important games. He retired in 1963.

With his selection as centre half forward in Collingwood's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century' Weideman will continue to be remembered as one of Collingwood's greatest players.

Coaching career

Murray Wiedeman coached West Adelaide in the SANFL from 1968 to 1971, taking The Bloods to the Preliminary Final in 1969.

Weideman made a brief return to his old club Collingwood in 1975 as coach. After a solid debut season which spawned an 11–9 record and fifth place on the ladder, things quickly went bad in 1976 as the club plummeted to its first ever wooden spoon. Weideman was quickly replaced by former multiple time Richmond premiership coach Tom Hafey for the 1977 season.

Wrestling

Weideman's reputation as a football 'hard man' was utilised by the Australian professional wrestling promotion of the day, International Wrestling. While recovering from a shoulder injury sustained during 1962 season, Weideman was induced to enter the wrestling ring in a bid to draw publicity to the ailing promotion. He was paired with Italian-American veteran Salvatore Savoldi as his tag team partner, and generally put over by his opponents. While briefly serving its purpose in attracting publicity, it ultimately resulted in little benefit to either Weideman or International Wrestling.^[1]

Family

Weideman's son Mark Weideman also played for Collingwood.

References

1. ^ York, Barry (2002). "'Good and Evil' - in the Wrestling Ring". The National Centre for History Education. Commonwealth of Australia. http://www.hyperhistory.org/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=716&op=page. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 

External links

• Murray Weideman career stats
• Fullpointsfooty Profile
• Wrestling with the Weed

Preceded by Bill Twomey, Jr.	Copeland Trophy winner 1957	Succeeded by Thorold Merrett
Preceded by Ray Gabelich	Copeland Trophy winner 1961–1962	Succeeded by Des Tuddenham

Persondata
Name	Weidemann, Murray
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 February 1936
Place of birth	Victoria, Australia
Date of death
Place of death