MELBOURNE is mourning the passing of five-time premiership player and Hall of Fame member Brian Dixon, aged 89.
Dixon played 252 games for the Demons and was part of the club’s storied premiership teams under legendary coach Norm Smith, winning flags in 1956, ’57, ’59, ’60 and ’64.
He won the club’s best and fairest in 1960 and also won the Tassie Medal for the best player at the national carnival in 1961. Dixon was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2010, and is a member of Melbourne’s Team of the Century.
He also coached North Melbourne in 1971 and ’72.
Remarkably, Dixon embarked on a political career while he was still playing and was a Victorian Liberal MP from 1964-82, serving in various ministerial roles including as Sports Minister.
Brian Dixon and Frank ‘Bluey’ Adams before Melbourne’s clash with Collingwood in 2014. Picture: AFL Photos
Melbourne Football Club president Brad Green paid tribute to a champion of the club.
“Brian was a great of our club and someone who has left a lasting mark, not just on Melbourne, but on the game as a whole,” Green said.
“He was a five-time premiership player, a life member, a Hall of Fame inductee, and was honoured in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, recognition reserved for the very best our game has seen.
“Brian’s football achievements speak for themselves, but his love for the club was just as significant. He was proud of our history, and helped shape it, both through his on the field success and his connection to the club in the years that followed.
“On behalf of everyone at the Melbourne Football Club, I want to extend our condolences to his wife Carmel, and to Brian’s family and friends.”
