The Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award is the annual recognition of the most exemplary and committed player at the age of twenty-one or under.
The recipients of this prestigious award are listed below.
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The award itself is named after Leeming Spartan Club Legend and Life Member and former President Jack Knox-Peden, one of the two most pivotal figures in the resurgence of the Club following the Second World War.
Knox-Peden served as the Vice President of the Club in the first season following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945-46 and later became leader of the Spartans in 1959. He held the position until 1976.
His ongoing commitment from a relatively young age makes him the perfect choice for the naming of this achievement.
Award Recipients:
Season Young Spartan Award Winner Notes 1967/1968 P.J. Dama Inaugural Winner 1968/1969 P.J. Dama 2nd Victory 1969/1970 B.Maher Pictured Below 1970/1971 M. Pietroniro 1971/1972 R. Maher 1972/1973 T.J. Wortley 1973/1974 P.A. Read 1974/1975 C. Bridger 1975/1976 P.A. Read 2nd Victory 1976/1977 D.J. Blight 1977/1978 T. Vickredge 1978/1979 A. Gough 1979/1980 A. Wood 1980/1981 G.S. Mazzini 1981/1982 D. Waters 1982/1983 S. Blight 1983/1984 J.P. Read 1984/1985 C. Chilcott 1985/1986 J.P.A. Hamling 1986/1987 T. Allan 1987/1988 T. Allan 2nd Victory 1988/1989 T. Allan 3rd Victory
Most Victories1989/1990 A.R. Bright 1990/1991 S. Hope-Hume 1991/1992 S. Hope-Hume 2nd Victory 1992/1993 M. Barry 1993/1994 D.J. Rose 1994/1995 G.R. Bond 1995/1996 A.S. Wragg 1996/1997 A.S. Wragg 2nd Victory 1997/1998 G.A. Finlay 1998/1999 Not Awarded 1999/2000 Not Awarded 2000/2001 M. Nash 2001/2002 S.J. Davies 2002/2003 C.T. Pereira 2003/2004 T. King 2004/2005 D.G. Humble 2005/2006 S. Hennessey 2006/2007 I.T. Murfitt 2007/2008 C.A. Wright 2008/2009 L. O'Dea 2009/2010 L.R. Hanrahan 2010/2011 M.G. Lane 2011/2012 M.D. Wake 2012/2013 R.D. McLeod 2013/2014 S.W. Byrne 2014/2015 L. Wake 2015/2016 A.L. Morgan 2016/2017 C. Appleby 2017/2018 A.L. Morgan 2nd Victory 2018/19 T.Frantom 2019/2020 S.L.Pitkethley 2020/21 L.D.Dawson
Last Updated: March 2023
History Of The Award:
The Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award was first presented in 1968, and has continued to have been awarded every season thereafter with the exception of only the years of 1998/1999 and 1999/2000.
Jack Knox-Peden, for whom the award is named. Circa 1975.
A number of legendary Spartans find themselves on the list, and it is incredible to know that many of the recipients can still be found regularly at the Club.
To be inducted as a recipient of the Knox-Peden Award is a testament to the person’s character, as they have already become an integral part of the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club despite their young age.
It can certainly be difficult to establish oneself as a vital member of the Club, particularly at such a young age with, comparatively, such little cricket played, and it is therefore remarkable that we at Leeming Spartan Cricket Club regularly have those with the character to break that ideology.
With the recipient being the age of twenty-one or under, it means that at best, a maximum of four years could have passed since their first game. The minimum age for a player at Leeming Spartan Cricket Club is 17.
For example, to become “part of the furniture” at the ripe old age of twenty is a challenge. Yet outstandingly, these award winners and many others have achieved this and have deservingly become integral members at Leeming Spartan.
Regrettably, in recent years this award has probably not received the attention it deserves, and there is now a strong push to increase the award’s recognition and standing within the Club.
So much so in fact, that in 2017, President Peter Coombs organised the first honour board displaying the names of the winners of the Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award to be displayed in the clubhouse.
Furthermore, the 2017 season saw the renaming of the award from the Knox-Peden Best Club Junior Award to the Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award, in order to clear up any possible confusion with the Leeming Spartan Junior Cricket Club, a separate entity fostering development of players under the age of seventeen before their progression into the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club.
It is amazing to consider that most of the award winners are still vital parts of our Club, despite in some cases, many decades having passed since their induction.
This alone makes the Jack Knox-Peden Award one of the highest individual honours one can receive at Leeming Spartan Cricket Club.
Criteria:
The Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award not only incorporates the efforts of the player on the field, but, perhaps more importantly, it also takes into account the contributions made to the Club off of it.
Through regular attendances at training, to helping around the Club after matches and during events, the recipient helps immediately establish themselves as a fine clubman and an asset for the future.
Although technically not an official standard, the age limit for a recipient has over time been verbally decided to be at twenty-one years of age or under, and certainly all recipients thus far have fit that criteria.
Presented to the Best Young Spartan at the age of 21 or under, the Jack Knox-Peden Award is for the individual judged to be the most committed on and off the field.
A recipient does not need to be a “standout” player, a junior who takes the Club by storm with regular contributions, but it more importantly means they are dedicated off the field and on it.
Committing more than one-hundred percent week in week out, at the game, at training, or at the clubhouse is key. A fantastic attitude and desire to further oneself is what nominates an inductee, and these qualities are what make those clubmen vital assets for the years that follow.
The Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award is decided annually by the Leeming Spartan Executive Committee following the final home and away match, and it is then presented to the recipient at the End of Season Windup.
Jack Knox-Peden:
The efforts of this club stalwart are, quite frankly, unheard of and will hopefully never have to be replicated.
Knox-Peden and fellow Club Legend Albert West were the two Spartans responsible for reforming the Spartan Cricket Club following the Second World War.
The final shot of the Second World War had barley been fired before their efforts turned to getting the Spartan Cricket Club back up and running in 1945, and Knox-Peden was hugely influential in making this a possibility.
A remarkable piece of history. President Jack Knox-Peden speaking at the 1969/1970 windup at the Jandakot Hall.
Interestingly, this was also the first time in the Club’s history, since the foundation of the Spartan Cricket Club that the Church had no involvement in its organisation.
As such, this led to a change in outlook and personnel (in addition of course to the reforming of the Club due to World War Two), and Knox-Peden and West continued to be pivotal figures.
Not to rest on their laurels following the reforming of the Spartan Cricket Club, Knox-Peden served under West as Vice President from 1945 until 1958.
He then succeeded West as President of the Club from 1959 until his nineteen year era at the head came to an end when he was forced to resign from the Club Presidency due to ill health in 1978.
During his long term if office, the Club had grown from a one team organisation to having five sides.
To honour his long service, Jack was awarded the position of Life Vice President.
Knox-Peden had become the most influential figure in the efforts of re-establishing the Club following World War Two, and ensuring that it continued to grow over the next three decades.
In early 1985, Knox-Peden passed away following a stroke and long illness.
His legacy continues to this day, and through the Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award, we look towards the future through the individuals who have the Club at heart from a young age.
Award Facts:
- The Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award was first presented in 1968, awarded to Peter Dama.
- The following season, Dama became the first person to win the award twice, and the first to do so consecutively.
- Peter Read became the second Spartan to win the award more than once, achieving the feat in 1976, following his inaugural win in 1974.
- Tim Allan has won the award thrice, more than any other person.
- Allan won the award in 1987, 1988, and 1989, making him the only Spartan to win the award three times consecutively.
- Steven Hope-Hume and Andrew Wragg are the only other Spartans to have won the award consecutively.
- In all, four Spartans have won the award consecutively.
- The Jack Knox-Peden Award was not presented in the seasons of 1998/1999 and 1999/2000.
- Nevertheless, it is still the oldest award (other than Life Membership) that is still presented today, although is second to the Graeme Ashley Award for most consecutive presentations to today.
- In 2018 Adam Morgan became the first person since Andrew Wragg in 1997 to have won the award more than once.
- Sam Pitkethley is the most recent inductee.
- In 2018, Leeming Spartan Cricket Club’s 100th year, the Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan Award turned fifty years old.
Photos:
Barry Maher wins the Jack Knox-Peden award in 1970, the third season of the award. Knox-Peden himself stands on the far left hand side. Taken at the Club Windup at the Jandakot Hall in 1970.
Left to Right: J. Knox-Peden, G. Pluske, B. Maher
A special thank you to Deb Blight for providing these photos.
Adam Morgan wins the Jack Knox-Peden Young Spartan in 2016. Graeme Ashley (left) presents the award.
Callum Appleby (centre) won the Young Spartan Award in 2017.