as using a runner for sending messages to his players (in 1955). He raised the standards of fitness and team discipline, which enable the evolution of the so-called "running game" in the 1970s. Although his blunt manner of speaking and intolerance for fools sometimes led him to conflict, he was universally admired and respected for his insightful thinking on the game and his mantra that teamwork was all. Although he was known as a great orator and a stern taskmaster, he was a quiet and retiring man away from the game. Paradoxically, he played and coached largely for the love of the game yet did as much as anyone else to move it forward from a semi-professional sport. During the 1970s Smith's son Peter played for Melbourne and Carlton in the VFL and for Coburg in the VFA as a full-forward and was Coburg's leading goalkicker for a season. On 19 July 2007, Norm Smith became just the second coach to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame as a Legend. Norm Smith Medal See main article: Norm Smith Medal In 1979, the VFL instituted the Norm Smith Medal, awarded to the best player in the Grand Final. The first winner was Norm Smith's great nephew, Carlton player Wayne Harmes (Len Smith's grandson). He received the medal from Norm's widow, Marj. References Bibliography External links The Red Fox – The Biography of Norm Smith, Legendary Melbourne Coach Australian Dictionary of Biography: Smith, Norman Walter (1915–1973) Australian Football Hall of Fame Melbourne Football Club coaches Melbourne Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club coaches Sydney Swans coaches 1915 births 1973 deaths Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Melbourne Football Club captains Four-time VFL/AFL Premiership players Melbourne Football Club Premiership players Melbourne Football Club Premiership coaches Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Six-time VFL/AFL Premiership coaches People from Northcote, Victoria