Few people over the 138-year history of the Bendigo Football Netball League have had an impact on the game to match John Ledwidge.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Premiership player, premiership coach, Eaglehawk Team of the Century coach, inter-league championship-winning coach and BFNL Hall of Fame inductee is quite a CV, but that only scratches the surface of the indelible mark Ledwidge left on the people he came in touch with in his time in football.
Ledwidge passed away earlier this week after a battle with illness. He was 84.
"Gentleman John" or “Legs” was more than just a coach and/or team-mate to the hundreds of men who played with or under him.
Ledwidge, a ruckman and key forward, played 40 games for South Melbourne in the VFL in the mid-50s before he moved to Bendigo and signed with Golden Square.
He coached the Bulldogs from 1959-63 before captaining Golden Square's back-to-back premierships in 1964-65.
In 1962 he coached the BFNL to its first Victorian Country Football League inter-league title.
Ledwidge had played in the lead-up matches, but was forced to miss the final against Wimmera after he suffered serious facial injuries in the semi-final win over Ovens and Murray.
He spent three days in hospital after he suffered concussion, a broken nose and a fractured cheekbone.
It was at Eaglehawk Football Netball Club where Ledwidge's coaching went to another level.
He was playing coach of the Borough's 1968 premiership and coached the team to another flag in 1971.
He had two more stints as Eaglehawk coach in 1977-78 and 1991-92.
Fellow BFNL Hall of Fame inductee Brendan Keane played under Ledwidge at the Borough after moving to Bendigo from Wycheproof.
"When I moved to town John was the reason I went to Eaglehawk. He was a man you wanted to play for,'' Keane said.
"His record as a coach speaks for itself.
"He was a fantastic communicator and always gave you confidence.
"He genuinely cared for his players. Whenever anyone was injured he would take the time to visit them.
"When I suffered a broken jaw and was in hospital, John was at the hospital everyday to see me.
"I couldn't speak higher of John. He was a wonderful man."
One of Eaglehawk's greatest players Alan "Bruiser" Williams said Ledwidge "was a great mentor".
"I was only 18 or 19 when I started under John and he made a big impression on me,’’ Williams said.
"He was very good at getting his message through to the players. He wasn't hard at you verbally, but you knew what he wanted.
"John had set rules. We were allowed to do what we wanted after the game on a Saturday night, but once it got to Monday there was no alcohol allowed.
"I remember one game we were playing down at Kyneton and John found out that a couple of our players had had a drink on the Friday night.
"Once those two players arrived in Kyneton he told them they weren't playing. What he said went, he was straight down the line."
Williams said Ledwidge was before his time when it came to gameday tactics.
A prime example was the Borough's 1971 grand final win over Golden Square.
Greg Kennedy was the Borough's star key forward at that time and Ledwidge devised a plan that was unheard of in those days to ensure Kennedy had every chance to torment the Bulldog defence.
"In the 1971 grand final John decided to push our two wingmen back to the half-back line and the two half-forward flankers back to the wing,'' Williams said.
"That gave more space for Greg Kennedy to work in. I think he kicked 6 or 8 goals in the first half.
"John was a great tactician."
It was a similar story when it came to pre-season training.
"Back then there was no thought of doing pre-season training in Novemeber like they do these days, but John would have us in running spikes doing running at Tom Flood Sports Centre,'' Williams said.
"He'd select six or so players who he thought might need to gain a yard.
"There was no running instructor or fitness coaches back then... it was just John.”
Borough great Steve McDougall played under Ledwidge for two years in 1991 and 1992.
"John was inspirational. He was motivating in the way he delivered his messages,'' McDougall said.
"When he took over we hadn't performed that well the couple of years previous, but John came in with a plan and it worked.
"John gave us a pre-season that I'd never experienced before.
"I don't think we touched the footballs for the first six weeks, it was just running.
"Prior to that we weren't as fit as we probably should have been.
"I think we played in a preliminary final the second year and lost to Castlemaine who went on to win the flag.
"John was a great coach and a true gentleman."
Peter McRae, an assistant coach under Ledwidge at Eaglehawk in the 1990s, said the respect Ledwidge earned in his playing and coaching days was testament to the manner in which he conducted himself.
"John was like a father figure,'' McRae said.
"He was a marvellous leader, he never yelled and he never screamed, but he always managed to get the best out of people.
"He was big on unity. He wanted everyone to know each other as people, not just as footballers.
"John was a great footy coach, but more than that he was a great man."
John Ledwidge’s funeral will be held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo on Friday from 1pm.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.