Leo Seward

Leo Malachi "Sammy" Seward (3 November 1885 – 1 April 1941) was an all-round athlete, who played Australian rules football with University in the Victorian Football League (VFL) where, "among his contemporaries, he was regarded as the cleverest follower of his day".[1]

Leo Seward
Personal information
Full name Leo Malachi Seward
Nickname(s) Sammy
Date of birth (1885-11-03)3 November 1885
Place of birth Rochester, Victoria
Date of death 1 April 1941(1941-04-01) (aged 55)
Place of death Pingelly, Western Australia
Original team(s) St Pat's College
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 93 kg (205 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1908 University 15 (15)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1908.
Career highlights
  • Victorian interstate representative: 1912
  • University Vice Captain: 1913
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com
University VFL Team: 23 May 1908
L. Seward, second from left, middle row.

Family

The second of the five children (one of whom died in his infancy) of Stephen Seward (1853–1923),[2][3][4][5] and Mary Ellen Seward (1849–1935), née Kelleher,[6][7][8] Leo Malachi Seward (a.k.a. Leo Malachy Seward) was born at Rochester, Victoria on 3 November 1885.[9]

Siblings

His older brother, Harrie Stephen Seward (1884–1958),[10] was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1933 to 1950, and a Member of the Australian Senate from 1951 until his death in 1958; his younger brother, Joseph Thomas Lawrence "Tom" Seward (1889–1974),[11] a dental surgeon, served with the First AIF;[12] and his youngest brother, Stephen Aloysius "Steenie" Seward (1892-1982),[13] a farmer, also served with the First AIF.[14]

Marriage

He married Eveleen Josine McCarthy (1884-1967) — the sister of Dr. Kevin McCarthy, President of the Footscray Football Club from 1926 to 1938 — in Ballarat, on 19 August 1916.[15] They had four children.

Education

He was educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat, and at the Ballarat School of Mines.

Football

Given the conditions of the admission of the University team to the VFL competition in 1908,[16] and because he had attended the Ballarat School of Mines, Seward was eligible to play for the University side.

Even though he played for just one season in the VFL, he played for many years in Ballarat and also a season for the Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League.

Seward, considered to be a magnificent player, bigger than most others, possessing a long kick and a strong mark, was acknowledged to be one of the finest players of his time.[17][18][19]

All-round athlete

He was also a fine all-round sportsman.[20][16]

Apart from his prowess on the football field Leo [Seward] was also outstanding in many other avenues of life. It will be admitted he was one of the fairest footballers ever to play.
At golf and cricket, he excelled. At handball and tennis in his home town (Ballarat) he had few, if any, superiors. As an oarsman and as a swimmer he was again much above the average athlete, and as a pedestrian, notwithstanding his massive frame and height (6ft. 1½ [sic]), he was able to cut out the 100 yards in exceptionally good time. In addition, an occasional break of 100 on the billiard table cost him very little effort.
His life was a model for any young man to emulate. Speaking as one who knew him intimately, and appreciated him in full, his memory will ever be my cherished privilege." — "Roxy, Williamstown", (Letter to the Editor), The Sporting Globe, 21 November 1942.[21]

Death

A mining engineer and then a farmer at Beverley, Western Australia,[22] he died in Western Australia on 1 April 1941, in a motoring accident, aged 55.[23][24][25][26]

Notes
  1. Leo Seward was a Fine All-Rounder, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 5 April 1941), p.3.
  2. Presentation to Mr. and Mrs. S Seward: A Valedictory Gathering, The Ballarat Star, (Thursday, 17 September 1903), p.1.
  3. An Old Rochester Identity, The Rochester Express, (Tuesday, 6 November 1917), p.3.
  4. Deaths: Seward, The West Australian, (Monday, 21 December 1925), p.1.
  5. Later Mr. Seward: Old Resident's Reminiscences, The Riverine Herald, (Tuesday, 19 January 1926), p.2.
  6. Marriage: Seward—Keleher, The Argus, (Wednesday, 9 August 1876), p.1.
  7. Deaths: Seward, The West Australian, (Tuesday, 16 July 1935), p.1.
  8. Obituary: Mary Ellen Seward, The Beverley Times, (Friday, 19 July 1935), p.2.
  9. Births: Seward, The Argus, (Saturday, 7 November 1885), p.1.
  10. St Pat’s News: Harrie Stephen Seward, St Patrick's College, Ballarat, 4 August 2015.
  11. St Pat’s News: Joseph Thomas 'Tom' Lawrence Seward St Patrick's College, Ballarat, 4 August 2015.
  12. First World War Nominal Roll: Captain Joseph Thomas Seward, collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  13. St Pat’s News: Stephen ‘Steenie’ Aloysius Seward, St Patrick's College, Ballarat, 4 August 2015.
  14. First World War Nominal Roll: Private Steenie Aloysius Seward (14580), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  15. Weddings: Mr. L.M. Seward to Miss E. J. McCarthy, (Melbourne) Punch, (Thursday, 19 October 1916), p.38.
  16. Fogarty, J.P. (1941), "Leo Seward, a Man and a Half", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 12 April 1941), p.5.
  17. Seward Greatest Follower, and Dominating Influence, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 27 April 1935), p.7.
  18. Personal Items, The Ballarat Star, (Wednesday, 20 July 1910), p.2.
  19. Shelton, James Newman, "Our Greatest Footballers: Seward best of Present Century", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 17 October 1942), p.3.
  20. "CRICKET". The West Australian. Perth. 9 April 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 28 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. Our Greatest Footballers, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 21 November 1942), p.3.
  22. Valedictory Gathering, Mr Leo Seward Farewelled, The Pingelly-Brookton Leader, (Thursday, 24 December 1931), p.3.
  23. "Utility Overturns". Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 47, no. 12, 096. Western Australia. 3 April 1941. p. 4.
  24. "Obituary MR. LEO SEWARD". The Argus. No. 29, 520. Victoria, Australia. 3 April 1941. p. 5.
  25. Deaths: Seward, The West Australian, (Friday, 4 April 1941), p.1.
  26. 'Murchison', "Vale Leo Seward", The Mount Magnet Leader and Youanmi Miner, (Friday, 18 April 1941), p.1.

References
  • Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
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