Graham Campbell
From Snoutslouts
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As a player, Graham Campbell was energetic, tough and canny, with a keen goal sense. Between 1956 and 1964 he played a total of 151 VFL games for Fitzroy, kicking 154 goals. He won the club's best and fairest award in 1957, and was a prime reason for the side's emergence as a genuine force in the late fifties and early sixties. In 1960, the 'Roys reached a rare preliminary final, but despite Campbell's near best afield performance, they went under to Collingwood by 5 points. Besides his best and fairest award, the highlights of Campbell's playing career were probably his selection to represent the VFL, and his membership of Fitzroy's 1959 night premiership side.
As a coach, Campbell's greatest achievement was steering West Perth to the 1975 WANFL premiership thanks to a 23.17 (155) to 7.9 (51) grand final annihilation of South Fremantle. Two weeks earlier, in the 2nd semi final, the Cardinals had achieved similar supremacy over Swan Districts, winning 20.22 (142) to 8.16 (64). This gave them an average winning margin in two finals of 91 points, an achievement unequalled in the history of football in the three major states. Campbell coached West Perth from 1975 to 1978, getting the side into the finals each year. In 1978 he returned to his old club Fitzroy, where he had coached on a caretaker basis for a few games in 1974, as senior coach. However, although the Lions scored a noteworthy victory over North Melbourne in the night grand final, their premiership form was unimpressive, and at the end of the year Campbell was replaced as coach by Bill Stephen. In 1983 he returned to league coaching with Glenelg, where he spent two seasons. He later worked in the media.
