Full name George Stafford Name George Stafford Years Club | Height/Weight 178 cm / 76 kg Original team(s) Northcote | |
Date of birth (1930-10-21)21 October 1930 Date of death 30 July 2010(2010-07-30) (aged 79) | ||
George Stafford (21 October 1930 – 30 July 2010) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
On Tuesday, 21 September 1954, Carlton First XVIII half-back flanker Stafford, a spectator at the match, was convicted at Carlton Court of jumping the fence and assaulting both of the boundary umpires (John Joseph McNiff, and Desmond Nicholas Fitzgerald) who had officiated at the VFL Third XVIII Grand Final between Carlton and Footscray at Princes Park, on 4 September 1954, at the end of the match.
He was found guilty on both charges and was fined ₤5 on each charge, with ₤4/15/- costs (in default 10 days jail).
On Wednesday, 10 November 1954, a VFL Investigation Committee, after considering the evidence, found Stafford guilty of striking both boundary umpires, and suspended him for the first four games of the 1955 season.
Although his name appears in Carlton's Final 1955 Training List as "to be considered when available", Stafford did not play for Carlton ever again.
Once his suspension had been served, he started playing for the VFA club, Brighton, were he had been training whilst suspended. He played his first match for Brighton on Saturday, 20 May 1955.