DOB: 5 August 1920
Died: 20 June 1999
Debut: Round 11, 1940 against South Melbourne at Lake Oval
Last Game: Round 19, 1949 against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval
From: Hamilton High School/Hamilton
Number: 25 (1940-1949)
Honours
Seconds Premiership Player - 1939
Premiership Player - 1940, 1941, 1948
Grand Final team - 1946
150 Heroes selection
Victorian state player - 1948 (2 games)
Best First Year Player - 1940
Life Member - 1949
Games: 138
Goals: 1
Career Statistics
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % |
| 82 | 1 | 55 | 59.42 |
Half back flanker who was first approached by Hawthorn after playing against them in a Western District League representative side in 1938. He also appeared at Collingwood training but was not signed, and instead found his way to Melbourne. He signed for the club in 1939, making his senior debut the next year. McLean played in two Premiership sides early in the war years before reluctantly retiring for two seasons when doctors discovered a heart murmur. He was refused by the Army and Air Force for war service due to the condition, and spent two years out of the game before returning in 1944 after receiving a second opinion.
In his comeback season, McLean played 18 games in a Demon side ravaged to army service. The next year he played in 20 games, including the round 7 loss to North Melbourne where kicked his solitary career goal. In 1946 he played twenty games, including the Grand Final loss before turning out in 18 the next season. In 1948 he played in both grand finals and won his second premiership before retiring from VFL at the end of 1949 and moving to play in Sydney, where he had been transferred by the Navy. He was non-playing coach of Eastern Suburbs in 1951, and coached the New South Wales state team in 1953.
McLean later served on the Social Committee, as Assistant Secretary, as a selector from 1965, and Chairman of the Selection Committee. He retired from the club committee at the end of 1974.
| Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow |
| 1940 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 1941 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 1946 | 20 | 0 | 2 |
| 1947 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | 22 | 0 | 3 |
| 1949 | 19 | 0 | 3 |
Notes
Australasian shows him as serving in the Navy, but this is not confirmed.
Media
Australasian - 24/06/1944
Age - 11/07/1946, 02/04/1965
Argus - 25/08/1949
Herald - 05/12/1949
Football Record - Football Record 1950, R10 1953
Age - 02/04/1965
Links
Boyles Football Photos
New South Wales Australian Football History Society profile
Wikipedia profile