Sergio Silvagni

Sergio "Serge" Silvagni (born 28 June 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Sergio Silvagni
Personal information
Date of birth (1938-06-28) 28 June 1938
Original team(s) Parade College
Debut Round 7, 1958, Carlton
vs. South Melbourne, at Lake Oval
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 95 kg (209 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1958–1971 Carlton 239 (136)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1978 Carlton 3 (0–3–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1971.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Recognizable on the field with his bandy legs, stocky build and often playing in a long-sleeved jersey with socks down, Silvagni played most of his career as a ruck-rover, forming one of the game's most celebrated on-ball divisions with ruckman John Nicholls and rover Adrian Gallagher [1]

Family

Silvagni's father Giacomo ("Jack")[2] emigrated to Australia in 1924 from Asiago, in the northern Italian province of Veneto.[3] He is the cousin of Carlton footballer John Benetti.

Silvagni married his wife Rita in 1963. He is the first of three generations to play football for Carlton: His son Stephen (born in 1967) played 312 games for Carlton from 1985 to 2001, and his grandson Jack made his debut in 2016.

Early years

He was an outstanding schoolboy athlete. In 1948, competing for C.B.C. Clifton Hill, he won the Under-11 75-yard sprint at the Victorian Christian Brothers' Combined Athletic Meeting.[4] In 1949, he was the Under-12 handball champion of C.B.C. Clifton Hill.[5] In 1953, running on a rain soaked track, he broke the 440 yard record by half second, clocking 54.4 seconds[6] and also winning the shot put at the combined Christian Brothers Secondary School sports at North Melbourne.

Silvagni, the cousin of John Benetti,[7] made his debut for the Carlton Football Club on 24 May 1958 (Round 7) — although Carlton were defeated (10.19 (79) to 7.15 (57)) by South Melbourne, Silvagni, along with his cousin (Benetti), was one of the best Carlton players on the ground.[8] He retired at the end of the 1971 season after a stunning career.

Post-football career

After retiring, Silvagni held various positions at the Carlton, serving as a committeeman before becoming Carlton's reserves coach, and served as the club's caretaker senior coach for a few weeks in 1978 between the departure of Ian Stewart as coach and the appointment of Alex Jesaulenko as captain-coach.[9][10]

References
  1. Reed, Ron (29 April 2016). "Sergio Silvagni follows son Stephen Silvagni as a Carlton legend". Herald Sun.
  2. Group of men and women on an outing in the Carlton Gardens, Italian Historical Society.
  3. De Bolfo, Tony (11 December 2014). "Latte's raised with Silvagni's return". carltonfc.com.au.
  4. Combined Brothers' Secondary Schools' Athletic Meeting: Clifton Hill Wins Aggregate, The Advocate, (Thursday, 28 October 1948), p.22.)
  5. Special Sports Prizes, The Advocate, (Thursday, 29 December 1949), p.8.
  6. Record 440 Run on Heavy Track, The Age, (Friday, 30 October 1953), p.15.
  7. In 1956, Peter Golding, in his "What Goes On" column remarked on "the changing face of Australia", noting "On Carlton thirds' list this season: Cattogio, Puglia, Scarpella, Silvagni, Carbis, Ruggiero . . . . ." (The Argus, (Monday 21 May 1956), p.18.)
  8. Convincing Win to South, The Age, (Monday, 26 May 1958), p.18
  9. Carter, R., "Silvagni to take over", The Age, (Thursday, 20 April 1978), p.30.
  10. Ron Carter (21 April 1978). "Pull up your socks Blues, says Serge". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 28.
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