Stan Alves

Who is Stan Alves?

Neil Stanley "Stan" Alves, OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played 226 games for the Melbourne Football Club in the 1970s, captaining them from 1973–1976 and finishing runner-up for the Brownlow Medal in 1975, before joining North Melbourne in 1977. Legend has it that he chose to play for North Melbourne rather than Collingwood based on a coin toss. It proved to be a wise decision as North Melbourne met Collingwood in the 1977 Grand Final and, after initially playing a 76-all draw, won the replay 151–124.

Alves played 40 games for North Melbourne before retiring.