Darrel Baldock, Australian football player and coach, member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly (1972–1987) and Minister (1975–1982), died from a stroke he was , 72

Darrel John Baldock commonly nicknamed "The Doc" and "Mr Magic", was an Australian rules football player who in 1966 was the first (and, to date, only) captain of a premiership-winning St Kilda Football Club. Baldock was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame as a "Legend" and also represented Tasmania in two first-class cricket matches. Baldock served for fifteen years as a member of Tasmania's parliament.

(29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011), 

 Victorian Football League (VFL) playing career

Baldock was recruited from Latrobe in Tasmania and was famous for his football handling skills and balance. "Doc" played at Centre half-forward and was made captain of St Kilda's "Team of the Century" in 2002, and named as the initial "legend" in the St Kilda Football Club Hall of Fame in 2003.
Apart from playing in the Victorian Football League with St Kilda, Baldock played 71 games for East Devonport (1955–1958, club best and fairest 1955); 158 games for Latrobe (1959–1961 and 1969–1974); four games for New Norfolk (1975); as well as 15 Tasmanian state representative games and 20 North-West Football Union representative games.

Political career

Baldock became a member of the House of Assembly in the Tasmanian Parliament on 22 April 1972. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party and was a state minister from 1975–1982. After a 15 year parliamentary career he resigned on 30 June 1987 to become coach of St Kilda.

Darrell Baldock Tasmanian Tigers
Batting style	Right Hand Batsman (RHB)
Bowling type	Right Arm Medium (RM)
	First Class	List A Matches	Twenty20 Matches
Matches	2	0	0
Runs scored	86	0	0
Batting average	21.50	0.00	0.00
100s/50s	0/1	0/0	0/0
Top score	54	0	0
Balls bowled	0	0	0
Wickets	0	0	0
Bowling average	0.00	0.00	0.00
5 wickets in innings	0	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	0	0
Best bowling	0/0	0/0	0/0
Catches/stumpings	3/0	0/0	0/0
As of 27 May 2007 Source: Cricinfo.com

Coaching career

Baldock was the senior coach at St Kilda from 1987 to 1989. In his first year he lifted them off the bottom of the ladder but also suffered a minor stroke. He continued to coach for a further two years.

Later life and death

Baldock retired to Tasmania where he raced horses. His biography, Darrel Baldock – The Incomparable Mr Magic, was written by his friend Peter Lyons and published in June 2010. Baldock suffered from illness in his final years. He died of pneumonia and kidney failure on 2 February 2011 following a fourth stroke.^[2]
A state funeral was held at Latrobe, Tasmania, Tasmania on 11 February 2011.^[3]

Honours

Baldock was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in its inception in 1996 (as a player) and was upgraded to Legend in 2006. In 2004, he was named on the half forward flank and as captain in the Tasmanian Team of The Century. Baldock was also honoured by having the Northern Tasmania Football League 2000 Best and Fairest medal named after him.

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