Brighton Diggins

Who was Brighton Diggins?

Brighton Diggins was an Australian rules footballer in the West Australian Football League and Victorian Football League.

Diggins began his senior football career at the Subiaco Football Club in the West Australian Football League in 1927. A key position player and ruckman, Diggins was a strong mark and a fast runner, and by 1930, he was considered to be the finest key position player in Australia. He played with Subiaco from 1927 to 1931, and played 88 matches for the Lions.

In 1932, during the Great Depression, Diggins moved to Victoria to play for the South Melbourne Football Club in the VFL. Diggins was one of several Subiaco players who joined South Melbourne in the early 1930s, including Johnny Leonard, Bill Faul and John Bowe. The influx of players from interstate became known as South Melbourne's "Foreign Legion", and helped South's on-field performance significantly. Diggins won one premiership with South Melbourne in 1933, and played there until 1937.

In 1938, Diggins moved to the Carlton Football Club, taking on a leadership role as captain-coach, in which he flourished. In his first season at Carlton, he led the team to the premiership. He played two more seasons with Carlton, his last game coming in 1940 with the onset of World War II.