Alex Lang (12 March 1888 – 9 July 1943) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). Despite being a three-time premiership player, Lang will be remembered by history as the joint record holder for the longest player ban received from the

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

Football

Recruited by coach

Jack Worrall John Worrall (20 June 1861 – 17 November 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the VFA, and a Test cricketer. He was also a prominent coach in both sports and a journalist. A small, nugge ...

in 1905, Lang debuted for Carlton in the opening round of the following season. He played as a

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

, winning premierships in his first three years at the club and in 1909 was voted by ''The Australasian'' newspaper as the most 'Outstanding player in the VFL'. During the 1910 final series, Lang became involved in a

match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

scandal after being dropped from the side for the Second Semi-Final, against

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

. It had been alleged that he had accepted a bribe to play poorly, along with teammates

Doug Gillespie Douglas James Gillespie (13 December 1887 – 6 January 1947) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family One of the eight children (five boys and three girls) of James Gillespie ...

and Doug Fraser. Both Carlton and the VFL launched their own investigations, and Lang admitted that an offer had been made to him. He claimed, however, that he did not intend on accepting it. Regardless of his plea of innocence, he was found guilty along with Fraser, and both were banned for 99 games, a total of five years. Doug Gillespie was exonerated and played in the club's losing Grand Final. Lang returned to the game in 1916 and brought up his 100th game for Carlton. He retired the following season after playing only three games. The story of his fall from grace is recounted in the 2020 book ''On the Take'' by Tony Joel and Mathew Turner.: Joel is a history lecturer at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

Notes

External links

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Blueseum: Alex Lang
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Alex 1888 births 1943 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club Premiership players Three-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Carlton, Victoria