| John Stephens | |
| Fullname: | John Raymond Stephens |
| Birth Date: | 15 September 1950 |
| Birth Place: | East Melbourne, Victoria |
| Originalteam: | Sandringham (VFA) |
| Debutdate: | Round 1, 1971 |
| Debutteam: | St Kilda |
| Debutopponent: | Geelong |
| Debutstadium: | Kardinia Park |
| Height: | 175 cm |
| Weight: | 76 kg |
| Statsend: | 1973 |
| Years1: | 1971–1973 |
| Club1: | St Kilda |
| Games Goals1: | 43 (91) |
| Careerhighlights: |
|
| Batting: | Left-handed |
| Role: | Middle-order batsman |
| Club1: | Victoria |
| Type1: | First-class |
| Debutdate1: | 11 December |
| Debutyear1: | 1970 |
| Debutagainst1: | Queensland |
| Lastdate1: | 10 December |
| Lastyear1: | 1971 |
| Lastagainst1: | Western Australia |
| Type2: | List A |
| Onetype2: | true |
| Debutdate2: | 5 December |
| Debutyear2: | 1971 |
| Debutagainst2: | Queensland |
| Columns: | 2 |
| Hidedeliveries: | true |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 4 |
| Runs1: | 123 |
| Bat Avg1: | 15.37 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/0 |
| Top Score1: | 48 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 3/– |
| Column2: | List A |
| Matches2: | 1 |
| Runs2: | 1 |
| Bat Avg2: | 1.00 |
| 100S/50S2: | 0/0 |
| Top Score2: | 1 |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 1/– |
| Date: | 26 December |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/14322.html ESPNcricinfo |
John Raymond Stephens (born 15 September 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer and cricketer during the early 1970s who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and also represented Victoria in first-class cricket.
Stephens was a goalkicking rover and, after managing eleven majors in a VFA game for Sandringham, was picked up by St Kilda.
He played the first six games of the 1971 VFL season before succumbing to a thigh injury which would keep him out of the side for the rest of the year. St Kilda made the Grand Final that year.
A consistent performer up forward, only four times in his league career did he fail to kick a goal in a game. Thanks to his solid finals performance in 1972, he managed to leapfrog Allan Davis, who was leading St Kilda's goal-kicking after the home-and-away season, with 53 goals for the year, including four in their Elimination Final win over Essendon; however, he again missed out on playing in the grand final when Carlton defeated the Saints in the preliminary final on the back of a seven-goal effort from football Legend Alex Jesaulenko.
As a cricketer, Stephens was a left-handed middle-order batsman and appeared in a total of four first-class matches in the 1970–71 and 1971–72 Sheffield Shield seasons. On his debut against Queensland at the MCG, he made his highest score of 48 in the second innings.[1] Stephens finished his career with a disappointing 123 runs at an average of 15.37. He had played with fellow VFL footballers Peter Bedford, John Scholes and Max Walker.