{{Short description|Australian rules footballer and coach}} {{For|George Sparrow the coalmaster|Thomas Savery}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}} {{Infobox AFL biography | name = George Sparrow | image = George Sparrow 1895.jpg | alt = | caption = George Sparrow, 1895 | fullname = George Stephen Sparrow | birth_date = 20 November 1869 | birth_place = St Kilda, Victoria | death_date = {{death date and age|1933|4|6|1869|11|20|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24877506 |title=FOOTBALL. |newspaper=The Mercury |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=10 April 1933 |accessdate=16 September 2014 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> | death_place = Caulfield, Victoria | originalteam = St Kilda Esplanade | height = <!-- ### cm --> | weight = <!-- ### kg --> | position = | statsend = 1929 | years1 = 1892–1896 | club1 = Richmond (VFA) | games_goals1 = 86 (56) | years2 = 1898 | club2 = South Melbourne | games_goals2 = 14 (2) | years3 = 1899 | club3 = St Kilda | games_goals3 = 11 (0) | games_goalstotal = 111 (58) | coachyears1 = 1913, 1920, 1928–29 | coachclub1 = St Kilda | coachgames_wins1 = 63 (37–26–0) | careerhighlights = * Richmond leading goalkicker 1892 (19) and 1893 (23) * Richmond captain 1894–1895 }}
'''George Stephen Sparrow''' (20 November 1869 – 6 April 1933)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4728272 |title=Family Notices. |newspaper=The Argus |location=Melbourne |date=7 April 1933 |accessdate=16 September 2014 |page=1}}</ref> was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and both played for and coached St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
==Football== Nicknamed 'Sugar', Sparrow began his career in the Victorian Football Association playing for Richmond, where he was captain for two years.
He joined the VFL in its second season, and after having to sit out 1897 to gain a clearance, represented South Melbourne before switching to St Kilda the following year.
After retiring, Sparrow turned to coaching and was appointed senior coach of St Kilda in 1913. He coached the club to its first ever Grand Final: the Saints had defeated Minor Premiers Fitzroy in the Final, but under the rules at the time, Fitzroy had an automatic right of challenge, and they won the Grand Final the following week.
Sparrow quit as coach at the end of 1913, coaching five games as caretaker coach in 1920. He returned again in 1928, this time for a two-season stint, with the Saints finishing sixth, missing the finals on percentage. In 1929 he coached St Kilda to the finals again, with a Semi Final loss ending the club's season.
He finished with a winning percentage of 58.73% as a coach.
==Notes== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
==References== * Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221167741 Football Favorites, ''The Weekly Times'', (Saturday, 18 May 1895), p.13] * [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page23421632 Football: Season 1895 Senior Captains, ''The Weekly Times'', (Saturday, 18 May 1895), p.10]
==External links== *{{AFL Tables | G/George_Sparrow }}
{{St Kilda Football Club coaches}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrow, George}} Category:1869 births Category:Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Category:Sydney Swans players Category:St Kilda Football Club players Category:St Kilda Football Club coaches Category:Preston Football Club (VFA) coaches Category:Richmond Football Club (VFA) players Category:Preston Football Club players Category:1933 deaths Category:People from St Kilda, Victoria Category:People from the Colony of Victoria Category:19th-century Australian sportsmen
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