For the rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s for Australia, New South Wales, Eastern Suburbs RUFC, and Newtown, see Len Smith

Len Smith

Len Smith was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1930s and 40s. He captained the Kangaroos in two Tests 1948 and was controversially omitted from the 1948-49 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain....

For the American footballer for Buffalo Bills and St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, see Leonard Smith

For the rugby league footballer of the 1930s for England, and Hunslet, see Leonard "Len" Smith

Leonard Smith (rugby league)

Leonard "Len" Smith was an English professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s who at representative level played for England, and at club level for Hunslet, playing at , i.e...

Len Smith (9 February 1912 – 1967) was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for the Melbourne Football Club

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1934 to 1935 and then for the Fitzroy Football Club

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

 from 1937 to 1943. Due to service during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 with the Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 (RAAF) he missed the 1944 season altogether but returned for a final year in 1945.

Like his younger brother, the legendary Norm Smith

Norm Smith

Norman Walter "Norm" Smith was an Australian rules football player and coach in the Victorian Football League. After 200 games as a player with Melbourne and Fitzroy, Smith began a twenty year coaching career, including a fifteen year stint at Melbourne...

, it is as a coach that Len is best remembered. During his first stint as a coach, of the Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

 Under 19s (1948–1957), he guided the side to the 1955 Premiership. His first senior coaching role was with Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

, taking them to the finals in 1958 and 1960. He then coached Coburg in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) for the 1963 season before heading to Richmond

Richmond Football Club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...

. He suffered a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 in 1964 and further health concerns saw him relinquish the coaching reins at the Tigers

Richmond Football Club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...

 early in 1965. Smith died of a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

in 1967.