John Leedham

John L. Leedham (20 May 1928 – 29 May 2020) was an Australian rules footballer who is the vice captain of and ruck-rover in the official Tasmanian Football Team of the Century. He is a 'legend' in the state's Football Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2025.^[1]

Leedham, nicknamed 'John L', always played with his socks down and was known to be a colourful character on the field. He was brought up in Campbell Town and started his football career at North Launceston in 1946, aged 17. Playing as a centre half forward, Leedham was a member of NTFA premiership teams in 1946, 1948, 1949 and 1950 as well as three Tasmanian State Premierships. He was almost poached by the Melbourne Football Club in 1948 but a knee injury stopped him from making his debut in the VFL.^[2]

After 124 games with North Launceston, including a stint as captain-coach, Leedham crossed to TFL club North Hobart. He coached North Hobart from 1954 to 1959 and steered them to a premiership in 1957.

Leedham represented Tasmania at the 1947, 1953 and 1958 interstate carnivals. In 1953 he was the only Tasmanian named in the inaugural All-Australian side^[3] and in 1958 he captain-coached the state to famous wins against South Australia and Western Australia.