Frederick Raymond Stafford (3 August 1926 – 10 July 2009), the older brother of George Stafford is a former

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; a talented schoolboy footballer, who played for Northcote in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1945 and 1946, for

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

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) from 1947 to 1952, and for Sorrento Football Club in the Mornington Peninsula Football League for two seasons including another premiership in 1953. In his first season with Carlton, in the last few seconds of the

1947 VFL Grand Final The 1947 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1947. It was the 49th annual Grand Final of the Vic ...

against

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 ...

, the ever-alert and well-trained Stafford, normally a right foot kick, received the ball from a boundary throw-in, and under the most severe time pressure, kicked a goal with his left foot (as the image at right displays), giving Carlton a one-point victory. He soon became one of Carlton's top players, and led the club's best and fairest count in mid-1948 before missing the end of the season with a wrist injury. On leaving Carlton at the end of 1952, he played for MPFL club Sorrento for two seasons in the 1953, and 1954 seasons, in 32 senior games, including the 1953 premiership. The only surviving photograph for the 1953 season was taken at Sorrento oval during the last home and away match. The framed photograph is entitled "Finals Squad" as it includes several players who did not play in the grand final such as Ken Provan. Sam Wilson and Fred Stafford are dressed in suits. Both were either injured or resting. Another version of the photograph includes the trainers. Fred was a member of the combined Mornington District team that took part in the first-ever Victorian Country Football League championship, held at Ballarat, in July 1954. Stafford also played basketball, and was a regular in the Victorian state team until the

Victorian Basketball Association Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

forbade professional players to ensure it remained eligible for the Olympic games. Stafford later played in a Victorian Footballers team which lost a 1954 exhibition match against the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

Kooyong Stadium Kooyong Stadium, at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, is an Australian tennis venue, located in the Melbourne suburb of Kooyong. The stadium, was built in 1927, and has undergone several renovations. It has a seating capacity of slightly more t ...

. Outside sports, Stafford worked as an electrician.

References

External links

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Profile
a
Blueseum

Fred Stafford: ''Boyles Football Photos''.
1926 births 2009 deaths Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club Premiership players Northcote Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players {{AFL-bio-1920s-stub