Alan Olle

Alan Olle
Personal information
Full name	Alan Charles Olle
Date of birth	(1924-07-23)23 July 1924
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria
Date of death	12 October 2004(2004-10-12) (aged 80)
Original team(s)	St Kilda CYMS
Height	174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1946–1951	St Kilda	051 (1)
1952–1961	Sorrento	162 (unknown)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1982	Sorrento	16-18 (non-playing coach)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1961.
Career highlights
1953 Sorrento premiership captain-coach 1955 Sorrento B&F and LGK (44)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Alan Charles Olle^[1] (23 July 1924 – 12 October 2004)^[2] was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).^[3]

Early life

Olle was born in Melbourne in 1924.

In 1942 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), serving as a sergeant until he was discharged in 1946.^[4]

Football career

He made his debut in the final round of the 1946 VFL season against Sydney at the Junction Oval. Between 1946 and 1951 he played 51 matches for the Saints.^[5][6][7]

In 1952 Olle accepted a coaching role in Sorrento when the Coulter Law restricted payments to VFL players to £3 per week, £7 less than Sorrento's offer. His employer, the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) obliged with a transfer to Sorrento's telephone exchange. Only a year passed before Sorrento was celebrating its first premiership in 18 years, defeating Frankston by 3 points 12-6-78 to 11-9-75 in a thriller.^[8] Olle and president Jim Thoms (ex-Footscray) were instrumental in attracting numerous talented VFL/VFA players to the club to mount the 1953 premiership assault including Mike Fitchett (Hawthorn), Dick Kennedy (Melbourne and Fitzroy), Alby Morrison (Footscray), Fred Stafford (1947 Carlton premiers), Ron Wilson (St.Kilda) and Norm Spencer (Brunswick).

Olle had a record-breaking 3-stint association with Sorrento over nine seasons, the first and second as playing coach (1952-1956 and 1959–1961) the third and final as non-playing coach (1982).

References

1. Also spelt Allan
2. Alan Charles Olle's obituary in the Herald Sun, 14 October 2004
3. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing. p. 678. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5.
4. "Olle, Allan Charles". World War Two Nominal Roll. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
5. "Alan Olle". AFL Tables. rleague.com. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
6. "South Melbourne v St Kilda - 31-Aug-1946". AFL Tables. rleague.com. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
7. "Alan Olle - Player Bio". Australian Football. Slattery Media. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
8. Club History, Sorrento Sharks FNC. Retrieved 21 December 2022