Fred Clarke (1 December 1932 – 17 August 2020) 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

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). During his career he wore the number 17 guernsey made famous by

Jack Dyer John Raymond Dyer Sr. OAM (15 November 1913 – 23 August 2003), nicknamed Captain Blood, was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1931 and 1949. One of the ga ...

, the first player to do so after the retirement of Dyer.

Career

Clarke came to Richmond as an 18-year-old in the

1951 VFL season The 1951 VFL season was the 55th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 21 April until 29 September, and comprised an ...

, from

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. He was 19th man in the opening round, then was moved from his natural half-back flank position to full-back for the second round 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 ...

, after an injury to Bob Wiggins. Described as a fast moving and robust player, Clarke appeared again in round three, then spent a brief period of time in the seconds. In July he learnt he would have to leave Richmond for military training,

compulsory Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...

for 18-year-olds during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, which ended his season. He put together 14 appearances for Richmond in the 1952 season, 12 of them in succession, playing in a variety of positions including full-back. In the 1953 season, Clarke played four early games before suffering a thigh injury from which he was unable to recover well enough to make any more appearances. He was unlucky with injuries again in 1954, unable to get a game he was granted a clearance to Maryborough in late June. A member of five Heidelberg premiership teams, he is a

back pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

in the club's

Team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

Personal life

Fred had four brothers, Robert (Bob), Ronald, Colin Thomas and Ralph Gordon Clarke. He eventually met Fay, his wife. Fred and Fay had four children, three sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Neil Clarke, played 135 games for

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

and featured in two premiership sides.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Fred 1932 births 2020 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Richmond Football Club players Heidelberg Football Club players