Peter Lawrence Anthony "Wheels" Bedford (born 11 April 1947) is a former Australian Rules footballer and first-class cricketer. As a footballer, he is best known for his time at South Melbourne, where he won Victorian Football League's (VFL's) Brownlow Medal in 1970 as the best and fairest in the competition.
Bedford began his football career at Christian Brothers College Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. He began his senior career in the Victorian Football Association, where he played at Port Melbourne Football Club. He was part of the Port Melbourne team which lost the controversial 1967 VFA Grand Final against Dandenong.
At the end of the 1967 football season, Bedford was approached by South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club Port Adelaide with an offer to move to South Australia to play for Port Adelaide as well as for the South Australian cricket team. South Australian cricket selector Sir Donald Bradman considered Bedford a leading candidate for the Australian cricket team and urged Bedford to accept the offer from Port.
He played for South Melbourne between 1968 and 1976, playing 178 games and kicking 325 goals. He was the Swans' Best & Fairest on five occasions, leading goalkicker three times and in 1970 he won a Brownlow Medal as the league's best and fairest player. He played for the Swans as a rover but was also thrown forward to kick a goal when they needed it. He was South Melbourne's captain from 1973 until his departure in 1976, when he transferred to Carlton.
Peter was also a talented batsman and leg-spin bowler for Victoria, playing 39 matches for the State between 1966-67 and 1972-73. He made 1602 runs at 28.10 and took 45 wickets at 33.40. His top score and only century was 134 not out against Western Australia in Melbourne in 1969-70, and his best bowling figures came later in the same season against South Australia in Adelaide when he took 5 for 40 in the second innings to help Victoria win and clinch victory in the Sheffield Shield.
Peter and his father, William Roy, were both selected in the Port Melbourne F.C. Team of the Century. Peter was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and was also named in Swans team of the century which was announced on 8 August 2003.
Famous quotes containing the word bedford:
“When, said Mr. Phillips, he communicated to a New Bedford audience, the other day, his purpose of writing his life, and telling his name, and the name of his master, and the place he ran from, the murmur ran round the room, and was anxiously whispered by the sons of the Pilgrims, “He had better not!” and it was echoed under the shadow of the Concord monument, “He had better not!””
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)