Harold Lambert (footballer)

Harold Louis Lambert[1] (16 May 1922 – 22 May 2021) was an Australian rules footballer for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Harold Lambert
Personal information
Full name Harold Louis Lambert
Date of birth (1922-05-16)16 May 1922
Place of birth Essendon, Victoria
Date of death 22 May 2021(2021-05-22) (aged 99)
Original team(s) La Mascotte, Melbourne
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 76 kg (168 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1940–41, 1946–51 Essendon 99 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1951.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Lambert made his debut in 1940, winning the best first year junior player award for the season.[2] He missed four years of football from 1942 to 1945 when he was serving in the Australian Army in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific during World War II.[3] A half-back flanker, he played in three Essendon premierships upon his return, in 1946, 1949 and 1950.

His older brother Chris Lambert also played for Essendon.[4]

Recognition

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In 2002, an Essendon panel ranked him at 25 in their Champions of Essendon list of the 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon. He was also named in Essendon's Team of the Century. After the death of Jack Jones on 24 March 2020, Lambert was the last surviving member of Essendon's 1946 and 1949 premiership teams.[5]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ LAMBERT HAROLD LOUIS
  2. ^ "Essendon Trophies". The Age. No. 26, 755. Victoria, Australia. 16 January 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 23 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Bombers mourn passing of Lambert". essendonfc.com.au. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Essendon". The Herald. No. 19, 616. Victoria, Australia. 30 March 1940. p. 13. Retrieved 23 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Hogan, Jesse (22 April 2015). "Kevin Sheedy hails Essendon's 'silent knight' Harold Lambert ahead of Anzac Day". The Age. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
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