North-Central Honours Its Living Legend
Mancel Giddings has been honoured with life membership of the North-Central Football League, the presentation taking place at Wycheproof on Saturday, when Calder United hosted Wedderburn.
Providing a summary of Mancel’s long and distinguished career and contribution to local football, League chairman, Michael McClelland, welcomed a capacity crowd of family members, friends, together with football identities from other clubs, gathered in Calder United’s social room.
Michael said Mancel may quite possibly be the best footballer to have pulled on the boots in the North-Central Football League.
“He certainly is the most decorated, having won the Feeny Trophy/Medal as the league’s ‘best and fairest’ player on four separate occasions and being runner-up on at least one other.
“This is an incredible feat as only one other player has managed to win the award on three occasions, and only seven others have won the award twice.”
Mancel Giddings began his football career with Narraport in 1954, playing 16 games in the seconds before playing his first senior game as 19th man, going on to play in excess of 330 games.
He played with Narraport from 1954 to the end of the 1963 season. In this time, he won three Feeny trophies, in 1958 as a 19-year-old, polling 25 votes, the first Narraport player to win the award, 1960 polling 27 votes, and 1961 polling 22 votes. He was runner-up to Watchem-Corack’s Ewan Gardiner in 1962.
In 1959, Mancel and Wycheproof’s Bill Gordon both polled the same number of votes, behind Boort’s Frank Fitzpatrick, Bill receiving 4 best-on-ground votes and Mancel 3.
• In 1963, following the death of Mr J. J. Feeny, donor of the Feeny trophy, his son, Mr J. P. Feeny, had a medal struck in his honour, to continue the award recognizing the league’s most outstanding footballer.
Mancel played in Narraport’s senior premiership in 1956, and was captain coach in the club’s final two seasons, 1962 and 1963.
With the amalgamation of Wycheproof and Narraport for the 1964 season, Ralph Rose (former Collingwood footballer) was appointed captain/coach and Mancel was made vice-captain. Later that year he would be a key member of the newly formed club’s first senior premiership.
In 1966 Mancel won his fourth Feeny, polling 27 votes, becoming the first Wycheproof-Narraport player to win the award.
Mick played in four senior premierships with Wycheproof-Narraport, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1972, before finishing up his playing days at the end of the 1974 season.
He won five Wycheproof-Narraport senior “best and fairest” awards, and was runner-up on two other occasions.
Mancel’s contribution to local football continued over many years, as a selector, committee member, president of the Wycheproof-Narraport junior committee, and as an under-16 coach, for which he was honoured with Life Membership of the Wycheproof-Narraport Football Club.
Mancel played a total of ten interleague matches for the North-Central Football League, and was vice-captain and a selector at that level. He also performed runner duties at interleague level, and was the winning coach for a North-Central Football League Under-18 team which played against the Mallee Football League.
League Life Member, Shane O’Shea, was called on to present Mancel with his Life Membership medallion, during which he shared a comment from his father Frank, also a league life member.
When asked to describe Mancel Giddings as a footballer, Frank’s succinct answer spoke volumes, when he said: “They don’t come much better.”
It’s a sentiment all who witnessed Mancel’s playing career or who know the man and appreciate his lifetime contribution, will share.
A champion footballer and a champion gentleman.
