Stan Alves
Australian footballer and coach
About Stan Alves
Born 1946. Stan Alves is an Australian australian rules football player and australian rules football coach.
Neil Stanley "Stan" Alves, OAM (born 22 May 1946) is a former Australian rules football player and coach.
Playing career Melbourne Alves played 226 games and kicked a total of 160 goals for the Melbourne Football Club from 1965 until 1976. captaining them from 1973–1976 and finishing runner-up for the Brownlow Medal in 1975.
North Melbourne Alves joined 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. In the 1996 season, St Kilda under Alves had another disappointing season, after a promising pre-season competition to find itself finished 10th after round 22. St Kilda won just 10 games for the season.
Alves however went on to coach St Kilda in the 1997 season to finish as runners up and first grand final in 26 years in 1997, where St Kilda under Alves lost to Adelaide by thirty-one points in the 1997 AFL Grand Final. This earned Alves the AFL Coach of the Year award. In the 1998 season, St Kilda under Alves had a great start winning 11 of its first 14 games, but an end of season drop of form saw St Kilda drop down the ladder. St Kilda again qualified for the Finals Series finishing sixth. In the 1998 Finals Series, St Kilda were eliminated by Melbourne In the semi-final. At the end of the 1998 season, Alves was sacked as St Kilda Football Club senior coach. Alves was then replaced by Tim Watson as St Kilda Football Club senior coach.
Awards On 24 October 2000, Alves was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australian football. On 26 January 2008, Alves was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for "service to Australian Rules football as a player, coach and commentator, and to the community as a supporter of charitable organisations".
Statistics
Playing statistics
266 174 220 3940 1075 5015 1265 0.7 0.8 14.9 4.1 18.9 4.8 Coaching statistics
115 55 59 1 48.3%
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Important facts
People in Stan Alves's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Related people
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Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Stan Alves's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Stan Alves?
Australian footballer and coach
When was Stan Alves born?
Stan Alves was born on 22 May 1946.
What is Stan Alves's occupation?
Stan Alves is an australian rules football player and australian rules football coach.
What nationality is Stan Alves?
Stan Alves is Australian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Stan Alves. https://biography.guide/stan-alves/
MLA: "Stan Alves." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/stan-alves/.
Chicago: "Stan Alves." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/stan-alves/.
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