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Laurie Mithen

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Laurie Mithen
Mithen in 1954
Personal information
Full name Lawrence Sidney Mithen
Date of birth (1934-04-15)15 April 1934
Date of death 2 February 2022(2022-02-02) (aged 87)
Original team(s) Ormond (VAFA)
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1954–1962 Melbourne 153 (108)
1963–1965 Port Melbourne (VFA) 052
1966–1967 Claremont (WAFL) 034 00(4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1967.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Lawrence Sidney Mithen (15 April 1934 – 2 February 2022) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the VFL during their successful period in the late 1950s under Norm Smith.

Education

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He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne in April 1964.[1] Laurie completed his doctoral dissertation while living in America receiving a PhD at the University of Oregon in 1975. The topic of his dissertation was the exploration and investigation into community-based education, what we would now call TAFE or community colleges, that was a relatively new concept and offered education to all age and socioeconomic groups. Laurie was a teacher at Melbourne High School and attended CBC as a child.

Ormond (VAFA)

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Playing for the Ormond Amateur Football Club in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, Mithen was the Association's best and fairest A Grade player in 1953.[2]

Melbourne (VFL)

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Recruited from Ormond,[3] he played in three consecutive premierships from 1955 to 1957 and was a premiership player again in 1959 and 1960 to finish with five.

Mithen played as a half forward early in his career before moving into the centre. It was as a centreman that he had most success, winning Melbourne's best and fairest in 1958 and 1959.

VFL representative

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He was selected to play for Victoria in the 1958 ANFC Melbourne Carnival. In the only match (of a possible four) that he played in — the 7 July 1958 match against the VFA — he was completely outclassed by the VFA centreman, Bob Withers.[4]

Team of the Century

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He was named on the interchange bench in the Melbourne's official 'Team of the Century'.

Port Melbourne (VFA)

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In 1963, he moved to the Port Melbourne Football Club in the VFA and was the team's captain-coach from 1963 to 1965, during which time, he played 52 games, and the club won the 1964 Premiership.

Claremont (WAFL)

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He played for Claremont Football Club in the WAFL in 1966 and 1967 for a total of 34 games.[5]

Death

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On 2 February 2022, it was announced that Mithen had died, at the age of 87.[6]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Degrees and Diplomas Conferred, University of Melbourne Calendar, (1965), p.664.
  2. ^ Best and fairest in Amateurs, The Age, (Monday, 31 August 1953), p.14.
  3. ^ O'Brien for Two Matches, The Age, (Thursday, 15 April 1954), p.18; de Lacy, H.A. "Mithen a real utility player", The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 21 April 1954), p.4.
  4. ^ League's 49-point Win Over V.F.A., The Age, (Tuesday, 8 July 1958), p.20.
  5. ^ WAFL FootyFacts: Mithen, Lawrence Sidney.
  6. ^ "Vale Laurie Mithen". Melbourne FC. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
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