Don Rainsford

Don Rainsford
Personal information
Full name Donald Edward Rainsford
Born (1937-09-17)17 September 1937
Deloraine, Tasmania
Died 31 August 1989(1989-08-31) (aged 51)
Melbourne, Victoria
Original team Burnie (NWFU)
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 90 kg (198 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1959 Carlton 3 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1959.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Donald Edward Rainsford (17 September 1937 – 31 August 1989)[1] was an Australian rules footballer and broadcaster who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[2]

Family

The son of Claude Edward Rainsford (1905–1963) and Elsie Louisa Rainsford, née Smith (1909–1992), Donald Edward Rainsford and his twin brother Malcolm John Rainsford were born at Deloraine, Tasmania on 17 September 1937.

Radio and TV career

Rainsford had been working as a radio announcer at 7SD in Scottsdale, Tasmania when he relocated to Melbourne in 1959 to play football for Carlton. In the same year he joined top-rating Melbourne radio station 3UZ, where he remained until 1967, and he was subsequently heard on Melbourne's 3DB and 3AW. He became a familiar voice-over announcer on Melbourne television station HSV7 where his work included VFL football-related content.[3][4]

Death

Don Rainsford died of cancer aged 51 in 1989, leaving behind a widow and three children. A memorial plaque can be found at the Scottsdale Cemetery in Tasmania.

Notes

  1. ^ "Don Rainsford - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 686. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
  3. ^ "Don Rainsford obituary". Melbourne Age, 2 September 1989. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  4. ^ Weekly radio program guides, Melbourne Age, 1959-1971