William 'Buns' Fraser (29 March 1867 – 21 February 1938) 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 for South Melbourne 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), and for both South Melbourne and Port Melbourne in the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

. Fraser joined Port Melbourne in 1889, and established himself as a forward. He was Port Melbourne's leading goalkicker each year from 1890 to 1893, including kicking 40 goals in the 1892 season. Highly sought after, he joined the neighbouring South Melbourne Football Club – at that time a bitter rival of Port Melbourne – in 1894; but Port Melbourne refused to transfer him, and he ultimately stood out of football for the whole of the 1894 season. Prior to 1895, he was finally cleared to South Melbourne, where he played in both the VFA and VFL until 1904. Fraser captained South Melbourne in its first two VFL seasons. He could play a variety of positions and was used as a winger, forward and centreman during his career. Fraser was a forward pocket in the

1899 VFL Grand Final The 1899 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the St Kilda Cricket Ground in Melbourne, on 16 September 1899, to determine the premiership ...

loss to Fitzroy.

References

* *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players Port Melbourne Football Club players 1867 births 1938 deaths South Melbourne Football Club (VFA) players {{AFL-bio-1860s-stub