Frank "Dolly" Aked (25 November 1902 – 28 January 1993) 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 ...

player. He played with Footscray, now known as the Western Bulldogs, being a member of the inaugural team that entered the then

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 ...

in 1925. He was recruited from Preston as a ruckman and played mostly in that position for the majority of his career. His son Frank Aked Jr. also played four games for Footscray in the 1950s. Aked Sr.'s playing measurements were 183 cm and 86 kg, which would definitely not have him playing ruck in the modern era. Holmesby and Main describe him as a "good mark and wonderful trier". He played one season for

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

in 1933 before returning to Footscray to coach the reserves, taking them to their first ever finals appearance (being also the club's first in the VFL at any level). He was a trainer with the senior team for many years and was a well-known figure around the club for decades. He was the grandfather of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and Collingwood player Allan Edwards, who played the final year of his career with Footscray in 1984.

References

*Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2002) ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers'', Crown Content, Melbourne.

External links

* *
A Guy Called Doll. 1984 article By Mike Ryan, Sunday Press newspaper
1902 births 1993 deaths Hawthorn Football Club players Western Bulldogs players Preston Football Club (VFA) players Australian rules footballers from Geelong {{AFL-bio-1902-stub