Frederick Charles Burge (6 September 1923 – 6 November 2018) 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

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, ...

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). Burge, who arrived from

Castlemaine Castlemaine may mean: * Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia ** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club ** Castlemaine railway station * Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland * Castlemaine Brewery, Western ...

, played in two grand finals early in his career, despite not being a regular member of the side.AFL Tables: Fred Burge
/ref> He was on a forward pocket in the

1942 VFL Grand Final The 1942 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Princes Park in Melbourne on 19 September 1942. It was the 44th annual Grand Final of the Victo ...

, his sixth league game and started from the same position in the 1944 Grand Final, which was just his 15th appearance for Richmond. His side lost on both occasions. He had his breakthrough year in 1945, kicking 55 goals from his 20 appearances, which made him Richmond's leading goal-kicker for the season. A rover, he played with the club until the 1951 pre-season, when he suffered a serious knee injury in practice. He died on 6 November 2018 at the age of 95 at a hospital in Melbourne.Burge
/ref>

References

1923 births 2018 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Castlemaine Football Club players Richmond Football Club players {{AFL-bio-1920s-stub