Full name Samuel Leslie McClements
Known as Les McClements
Born 12 May 1922 Claremont, WA (6010)
Died 1973 (aged 50‡)
Height and weight Height: 183 cm Weight: 86 kg
Senior clubs Claremont, Clarence
Recruited from Claremont(1951)
State of origin WA
Hall of fame Western Australian Football Hall Of Fame (2004)
Played Claremont 108 Games for 241 goals
Played Clarence TANFL 99 games
The highlight of ruckman Les McClements’ much decorated, 244-game senior football career came during the 1947 Australian championships when, on a North Hobart Oval turned into a veritable quagmire by incessant rain, he “threw a stout heart and a strong body into the fray”¹ in helping propel his Western Australian team mates to a famous four-point victory over the VFL. Having earlier displayed superlative form against both South Australia and New South Wales, McClements was considered a ‘shoe-in’ for the Tassie Medal as best player in the carnival, an honour he eventually shared with Canberra’s Bob Furler.
Les McClements began his senior football career with Claremont in 1941, the year after the third of the Tigers’ inaugural three premierships in a row. In 108 games with Claremont the closest he came to a flag was playing in a losing first semi final team in his debut season.
On the individual front, however, honours flooded his way, with no fewer than five successive Claremont fairest and best awards between 1946 and 1950, followed by a couple more with Clarence where he moved in 1951.
Besides representing Western Australia in both the 1947 Hobart and 1950 Brisbane carnivals, McClements went to Adelaide in 1953 in the colours of his adopted state of Tasmania. His interstate football career comprised a total of 37 games, 16 for his home state, and 21 for Tasmania.
Despite conceding up to five inches to many of his opponents in the ruck, McClements managed to be more than competitive owing to his “magnificent build and an ability to lift his powerful frame high”.
Author – John Devaney
