Donald Clarence "Don" Grossman (born 27 December 1920) was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with South Melbourne

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

A Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Football Club

The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne and is currently playing in the Victorian Football League ....

 recruit, Grossman started his VFL career in 1940. He didn't play at all in 1943 due to his Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 commitments. He appeared in all 22 games for South Melbourne in 1945 and featured prominently in the "Bloodbath Grand Final"

1945 VFL Grand Final

The 1945 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at Princes Park in Melbourne on 29 September 1945. It was the 49th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers...

, where Carlton

Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

 defeated South Melbourne in a spiteful encounter. Starting in the back pocket

Back pocket

In Australian rules football, the back pocket refers to a position on the field deep in defence.Back pocket players, situated in the backline, need to have good spoiling skills and usually, quality back-pockets are noted for their hardness....

, Grossman, who would later be an amateur boxer, played as a ruckman

Ruckman (Australian rules football position)

In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...

 and was reported for striking Carlton's Jim Mooring

Jim Mooring

Jim Mooring was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .-External links:* -References:* at...

. He was found guilty and missed the opening eight rounds of the 1946 VFL season

1946 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1946.-Premiership season:In 1946, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...

 through suspension.

Grossman left South Melbourne in 1948 to take up an offer to captain-coach Warrnambool

Warrnambool Football Club

The Warrnambool Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Hampden Football League.Warrnambool are based in the city of the same name and have played in the Hampden Football League since 1933.-Maskell Medallists:...

. He remained in that position for six years before switching to South Warrnambool

South Warrnambool Football Club

The South Warrnambool Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Hampden Football League.They are based in the regional Victorian city of Warrnambool and have played in the Hampden Football League since 1933....

 in 1954 and coaching them to a premiership in his first year. In 1951, while at Warrnambool, he won the Hampden Football League's Best and Fairest

Best and Fairest

Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...

award.