Francis Ernest Langley (13 October 1882 – 22 March 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club 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) during the early 1900s.

Family

The son of Henry Archdall Langley (1840–1906), Anglican Bishop of Bendigo, and Elizabeth Mary Langley (1842–1923), née Strachan, and the tenth of 12 children, Langley was born at

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a po ...

on 13 October 1882. One of his elder brothers, Henry Thomas Langley, became

Dean of Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. T ...

, while many of his other siblings took roles within the Anglican church and the education system. He married Lillie Kate Mills (1876–1967), the daughter of George Peter Mills (1835–1933), and Mary "Minnie" Mills (1848–1913), née Kyte, on 25 April 1908.

Education

Langley was educated at Caulfield Grammar School, and at

Trinity College, University of Melbourne Trinity College is the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne, the first university in the colony of Victoria, Australia. The college was opened in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England by the government of Victo ...

where he earned a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree. After completing university he worked as a medical practitioner.

Footballer

He was recruited directly from Caulfield Grammar School in 1900. ::"In Langley, the Melbourne footballer, Caulfield has the champion player of the schools. He has been first in every game, and in the last two seasons has kicked 33 goals in 11 premiership games." — ''The Australasian'', 15 September 1900. While continuing as a student at Caulfield Grammar School, he played every senior game that season, and was forward pocket in the Melbourne team that won the Grand Final that year, with "Old Boy", the football correspondent for ''The Argus'' noting that, for Melbourne, "Langley's play in the third quarter was wonderful. He is only a school-boy, but during that trying time on the lower wing he was cool and sure as a veteran". Langley could play many roles on the field but was primarily a hard running defender who on occasions was used on the ball. He was often rested up forward and his 17 goals in 1901 was enough to top Melbourne's goal kicking. In 1903, and 1904, he represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at interstate football. In 1905 he captained Melbourne for the year, with the club finishing last.

After football

Conducting his medical practice from Dandenong, he was not only a valuable cricketer for the Dandenong Cricket Club, but also served as its president.

Death

Langley died at his home in

Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...

in 1946. He was survived by his wife Lillie and three children, Dorothy, Eric and Roy.Dandenong Doctor Leaves £23,436, ''The Dandenong Journal'', (Wednesday, 26 June 1946), p.1.
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Footnotes

References

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External links

''Demonwiki'': Frank Langley.

Boyles Football Photos: Frank Langley
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, Frank 1882 births Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Melbourne Football Club players Melbourne Football Club captains People educated at Caulfield Grammar School People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) 1946 deaths Melbourne Football Club Premiership players One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Prahran, Victoria Australian people of Irish descent Medical doctors from Melbourne