Waratah Football Club’s Team of the Century skipper passes into history with his death at 94

Waratah Football Club loses one of its favourite sons with the death of Team of the Century captain Denis Ganley

Waratah's 1952-53 premiership side. Denis Ganley is the fourth player from the left in the back row.

WARATAH Football Club’s Team of the Century captain Denis Ganley has died at the age of 94.

The NTFL’s Nichols medallist in 1951-52 and the Tahs’ grand final winning captain-coach a year later, Ganley was announced as the club’s Team of the Century captain at the club’s 100-year reunion dinner in 2017.

Essentially a ruckman despite his relatively short 183cm frame, Ganley had a big leap and a chest full of courage that carried him through six seasons of Top End football.

He won three best and fairest awards at Waratah — 1949-50, ‘50-51 and ‘51-52 — in another reminder of his class.

Waratah’s Team of the Century selector Garry Smart remembers Ganley as a proud and “beautiful’’ person who personified everything the football club stood for.

“He had that cheekiness about him that separates the average player from the best and he was always a Tahs man,’’ Smart said.

“You would not meet a nicer bloke than Denis and to be named captain of the best Waratah team for 100 years with players like Maurice Rioli, Peter Ivanoff, Arch Wilkey and Anthony Hoban speaks for itself.’’

The former West Adelaide footballer was a keen sportsman, excelling at Australian football and tennis where he beat future Davis Cup captain Harry Hopman in a tournament in Adelaide.

The man they called “Dinny’’ also plied his football trade in Alice Springs with Rovers, Broken Hill and Port Pirie, attaining life membership of the Spencer Gulf Football League in the process.

A big numbers man, Ganley’s ability to calculate figures in his head ensured he was a natural when working as a penciller at legal betting shops that preceded the TAB.

Denis Ganley is survived by his children Anne, Sharon, Debbie, Judy, Marie, Denis Jr and Alison, 14 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.