Frederick Norman Swift (6 July 1938 – 28 April 1983) was an
Australian rules footballer who played for the
Richmond 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). He also played first grade cricket with the
Eaglehawk Cricket Club in the
Bendigo and District Cricket Association.
Swift has a special place in the history of the Richmond Football Club as the captain of the drought-breaking
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
premiership team. He was murdered during a home invasion at his farm at
Lockwood, near
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...
, at the age of 44.
Career
Sandhurst
Swift was recruited as a utility player from the
Sandhurst Football Club
The Sandhurst Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Dragons'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Bendigo, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Sandhurst is the former name of that city.
The club teams currently compete in t ...
in the
Bendigo Football League
The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Sandhurst Football Association, Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball compe ...
. He played with their senior team, coached by
Kevin Curran (and playing alongside
Brendan Edwards
Brendan Edwards (18 March 1936 – 10 May 2021) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1956 to 1961 and again in the 1963 season.
VFL career
Edwards was recrui ...
), from the time he was seventeen and, at 19, he was the youngest player ever to win the club's best and fairest award.
Richmond
Swift played in two practice matches with Richmond in 1957 but was not given a full, extended clearance; and he consequently returned to Sandhurst for the 1957 season.
In early March 1958, Richmond were able to come to an agreement with Sandhurst and Swift was allowed to travel to Melbourne to train with Richmond.
He starred in Richmond's 1958 pre-season practice games – "he marked well, played on with determination once the ball hit the ground, and frequently sent his side into attack with long, driving kicks into the goal mouth" – and, by mid-April 1958, nineteen years old Swift, regarded by Richmond as the "recruit of the year", was finally cleared to the Tigers.
Because it seemed certain that he would "definitely play for the Tigers in the opening game 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 ...
", it was thought during the week prior to the first match of the 1958 season that he had so well demonstrated his ability to play at centre-half forward, half-back flank, and centre ("where he gave what was probably his most impressive performance") that "he could fill any one of these positions in the game against South"; and, moreover, that "his natural ability is such that he would probably be successful no matter where he is played".
Although Swift had played at full-back at Sandhurst, he had not played full-back in any of Richmond's 1957 or 1958 practice matches; he had "played brilliantly at centre" during the practice matches in 1958 and had satisfied Richmond that he could "play in any position" – to such an extent that the Wednesday ''Age'' speculated that he would be picked at full-back, in place of the injured
Allan Cations on the following Saturday. He was, however, picked on the half-forward flank for his first senior game, in round 1, 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 ...
.
Debut with Richmond
At nineteen, he played his first senior game for Richmond against South Melbourne in the first round of the 1958 season on the half-forward flank. Richmond unexpectedly beat South Melbourne, and Swift kicked one goal. One of the football writers of ''The Age'' commenting on his debut, said that, "Fred Swift was strange early but in the last quarter showed good football sense and ability on his half-forward flank. He should develop into a useful player.
He was a highly talented footballer, with great anticipation, and highly polished ball skills, and he was equally at home in the forward line – he kicked 5 goals against Fitzroy in round 18, 1966; and, when moved from center half-back to full-forward, in the last quarter against
St Kilda in round 6, 1959, he kicked 3 goals, in a losing side – wing, centre, or in defence".
Reserves
In his entire career with Richmond, he only played five games with the second eighteen. He did not play his first match with the seconds until the round 16 match against Carlton at
Princes Park on Saturday, 24 August 1963, by which time he had already played 83 senior games. Playing at center half-forward, he was best on the ground, kicking 3 goals.
Interstate football
Given Richmond's place on the VFL ladder, only one Richmond player could be selected in the Victorian Interstate team for the fifteenth Australian National Football Carnival, that would be held in Brisbane in 1961. Ruckman
Neville Crowe
Neville Crowe (1 June 1937 – 2 September 2016) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1950s and 1960s. He also served as club president from 1987 to 19 ...
, was selected. In the interim, Crowe had injured his knee, and was forced to withdraw from the team. Richmond paid for Crowe's expenses to travel to the carnival with the team, and the allocated Richmond place in the Victorian team was taken by Swift. The Victorian team was coached by
Len Smith.
Swift played in both of Victoria's matches. He played on the half-back flank in the first match against Tasmania on 19 July 1961, until he injured his ankle and was replaced; Victoria won by 61 points: 23.30 (150) to 12.17 (89).
His ankle recovered and he played, again on the half-back flank, in the Victorian team that finished with 17 men, that was comprehensively beaten in an extremely rough and tough match by West Australian team, on Sunday, 24 July, by 9 points: 15.14 (104) to 14.11 (95). The West Australian team won the carnival competition; coached by
Jack Sheedy, the team included
John Todd,
Graham "Polly" Farmer,
Ray Gabelich,
Jack "Stork" Clarke, and
Ray Sorrell
Ray George Sorrell (born 1 January 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with East Fremantle and South Fremantle in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL).
A centreman, Sorrell achieved many accolades during ...
.
1962 night premiership
Richmond played its first match against
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
on Tuesday 4 September 1962 with Swift at full-back. Richmond beat Fitzroy 12.9 (81) to 9.10 (64).
In the semi-final match, on Friday, 14 September 1962, Richmond played against the strong favourites
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
. Swift played at full-back, and was best on the ground. Richmond beat North Melbourne 12.13 (85) to 9.8 (62).
The
final match of the series was originally scheduled to be played at the
Lake Oval
Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association football club Sout ...
on Monday, 24 September 1962, but was moved to Wednesday, 26 September 1962 because of bad weather.
In the Grand Final, Swift was again best on the ground, playing at full-back against Hawthorn's
John Peck, and as the team's captain in Richmond's only ever Night Premiership victory: "Swift played a superb game at full-back repelling Hawthorn’s forward thrusts and marking everything that came his way" (Hogan, 1996, p. 300) and, according to the press, "his superb defensive play, in that game, was the difference between victory and defeat" (Hogan, 1996, p. 224). Richmond 8.16 (64) defeated Hawthorn 9.6 (60).
Injuries in 1966
In the first four matches of 1966, Swift played at full-forward, kicking a total of 10 goals. His knee was badly injured in the last quarter of the round 4 match against Collingwood, and it was feared that he might not play again that season.
However, his knee did eventually come good; and, whilst playing a couple of matches in the Second Eighteen, to get back his touch and his match fitness, he broke a bone in his hand. This meant that he was not fit to resume his place in the senior team until the last round match against Fitzroy. He was selected at full-forward, and he kicked 5 goals.
Full-back
Although playing with a suspect knee for his last few seasons at Richmond, Swift always gave his best; and, considering his knee problems, he had a surprising turn of speed. He ended his career at full-back, having played as a half-forward flanker and ruck-rover for his last few seasons, and only moving to full-back in the last half of his last season, in place of the injured
Mick Erwin.
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 ...
had suggested the move, on the basis of his own experience with a similar sort of knee injury, Dyer argued that, of all the positions on the field, full-back was the best for Swift, because he would have almost all of his play in front of him, and almost all of his running would be straight ahead, with a minimum of turns and sideways movement. In his first full match in 1967 at full-back, in Round 16 against at
Glenferrie Oval
Glenferrie Oval is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
It is the historic home of, and is synonymous with, the Hawthorn Football Club, who played there from 1903 and as a VFL/AFL ...
, despite fears that he was too short to play against Hawthorn's champion full-forward,
Peter Hudson
Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the ...
, who was 3½ inches taller, Swift held Hudson to three goals, and Richmond won the match, thrashing Hawthorn 23.30 (168) to 7.12 (54).
1967 VFL Grand Final
In his final game, the 1967 Grand Final against
Geelong, he not only captained his team to a premiership, but he was one of the best on the ground, somewhat nullifying the impact of the temperamental Geelong hairdresser and champion full-forward,
Doug Wade
Douglas Graeme Wade (born 16 October 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
He was the League's leading goal scorer ( ...
, who was nearly five inches (11 cm) taller and more than two stone heavier (14 kg), and was widely expected to out-class Swift. Wade, the season's top goal-kicker, who had scored 79 goals during the home-and-away section of the season (including 6 goals against Swift, and Richmond, in round 18), and 8 and 5 goals in the semi-final and preliminary finals against
Collingwood and
Carlton respectively, was clearly outplayed in the Grand Final, and was held to just 4 goals by Swift.
Although Geelong was the first to score, Richmond was a goal in front by quarter time: 4.3 (27) to 3.3 (21). By half time, Richmond had increased its lead to 16 points: 9.10 (64) to 7.6 (48). Geelong fought back during the third quarter and, at one stage, led by 14 points; however, Richmond counter-attacked and the scores were level. And, then, two rushed behinds right at the end of the quarter, saw Richmond two points ahead at three-quarter time: 12.15 (87) to 13.7 (85).
In one of the most exciting last quarters ever, Richmond was in front, then scores were level, then Geelong was in front, then scores were level, then Richmond was in front, then scores were level; and then it was time on.
Richmond's
John Ronaldson kicked a goal (his third for the match) to put Richmond six points ahead, and then a goal from
Kevin Bartlett, backing out of the pack, increased Richmond's lead to twelve points. Geelong then ferociously surged back into the game when
"Polly" Farmer (playing his last game for Geelong) handpassed the ball to
Wayne Closter
Wayne Closter (born 26 February 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Closter played as both a wingman and centreman during his 191-game career, missing out on joining th ...
, who kicked the ball goal-wards towards Wade (Geelong's no.10) somewhere between centre-half forward and full-forward.
An almost exhausted Swift (Richmond's no.15; and, as always, with the 5 askew), with great anticipation, leapt high in front of Wade and palmed the ball away to his right from in front of the pack. He raced back towards the goal square, just in time to intercept a kick from
Colin Eales and, to add insult to injury, ran across the face of goal, bounced the ball, with Wade in hot pursuit, and calmly passed the ball to
John Perry.
Both
Tony Polinelli and
Bill Ryan kicked poorly, each scoring a behind, placing Geelong ten points behind; and then, with plenty of time for Geelong to get another goal, and breaking out of a pack, Goggin punt-kicked what seemed certain to be a goal (which would have reduced the lead to a dangerous four points).
The tenacious Swift – already greatly tired from having to captain his team, counteract the stronger, heavier, and taller Wade, and kick the ball back into play after the eight behinds that Geelong had scored up to that moment in the last quarter), single-mindedly concentrating on his task, took one of the finest marks of his career at the Punt Road end of the M.C.G.
With the strong September afternoon sun shining directly into his eyes, without any opposition (with the goal umpire crouching in a perfect position to determine its legality), he first caught the ball perhaps ten feet above the ground (3m), right on the goal line, to turn Geelong away, and retain Richmond's lead of ten points. He played on, and his clearing drop-kick almost hit the centre.
Moments later, Polinelli surged up the ground kicked Geelong's ninth behind for the quarter; and, as Polinelli's kick went through, the siren sounded, with Richmond finally winning by nine points 16.18 (114) to 15.15 (105).
Retirement from Richmond
Immediately after the Grand Final, he announced his retirement.
In the following week, Swift was made the Lord Mayor of Richmond City for the day; and a photograph appeared in the Melbourne press, entitled "The day Richmond belonged to him", with Swift, in full mayoral regalia, looking down over the City of Richmond from the roof of the
Richmond Town Hall.
Richmond did all it could to induce Swift's to stay in the following week, but he was adamant that he would not change his mind, and they parted on friendly terms.
It is also significant to note that, although Swift tasted success as the captain of a premiership team, coached by
Tom Hafey
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
(who had played beside Swift in the Richmond first eighteen in the 1957 and 1958 seasons), in his last season with Richmond, he had also experienced Richmond being far from successful for most of his career; and, when examined year by year, Swift's career of 146 senior games clearly shows the extent to which he (and Richmond) had experienced hard times: 1958 season, he played 16 senior games (Richmond was 10th, out of 12 teams, at the end of the home-and-away season); 1959, 7 games (11th); 1960, 18 games (last); 1961, 15 games (10th) (in
round 16
Round or rounds may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere
* Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
, Swift played in the centre of a Richmond team that was beaten by
St Kilda 12.19 (91) to 0.8 (8), the first time that a senior VFL team had failed to score a goal since
round 11, 1921); 1962, 18 games (8th); 1963, 12 games (10th); 1964, 18 games (9th); 1965, 17 games (5th); 1966, 5 games (5th); 1967, 18 games (first), plus the second semi-final and the Grand-Final (premiers).
Coaching career
In his own time with Sandhurst, he had been coached by former Hawthorn rover, by then playing as a ruckman,
Kevin Curran, and by former North Melbourne wingman,
Leo Francis. At Richmond he had been coached by
Alan McDonald,
Des Rowe
Kenneth Desmond Rowe (19 November 1925 – 12 May 2007) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1946 and 1957 for the Richmond Football Club. He was later senior coach of Richmond from 196 ...
,
Len Smith,
Jack Titus
Jack "Skinny" Titus (9 March 1908 – 19 April 1978) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one ...
, and
Tom Hafey
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
.
In 1968, Swift was appointed captain-coach of the
Corowa Football Club
The Corowa Football Club, nicknamed the Spiders, was an Australian rules football club based in Corowa, New South Wales, that competed in the Ovens & Murray Football League.
The club merged with the Wahgunyah Football Club on several occasions d ...
. Under Swift's guidance the team, which had taken the wooden spoon in 1967, went on to win the premiership in 1968 from fourth position. Corowa beat
North Albury
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
in the first semi-final, beat
Myrtleford
Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia, 280 km (170 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 46 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 2016 the town had a po ...
in the preliminary final 11.19 (85) to 8.13 (61), and went to beat the hot favourite team
Wodonga
Wodonga
( Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA. Its population is approximately ...
(coached by ex-Collingwood rover
Mick Bone
Michael Bone (born 3 October 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s.
Bone, who kicked four goals in his second VFL game, was recruited from Thornbury ...
) in the Grand Final 14.11 (95) to 12.16 (88), with Swift playing at full-back. Swift was also the captain-coach of the Corowa in 1969.
He was captain-coach of the
Morwell Football Club (also known as "The Tigers") in 1970–1972, and coach of the
Kennington/Strathdale Football Club in 1978–1979.
Record
* 1953–1954: Sandhurst Football Club, Third Eighteen: Captain and best and fairest.
* 1955–1957: Sandhurst Football Club, First Eighteen: 60 games, 20 goals, best and fairest (1957).
* 1958–1967: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: 146 games, 41 goals.
* 1958–1967: Brownlow Medal: 18 votes.
* 1958: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: Best First Year Player.
* 1960: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: Runner-up, best and fairest.
* 1961: Victorian Representative Team: 2 games.
* 1962: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: Captain, Night Premiership Team.
* 1963, 1966: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: Vice-Captain.
* 1963, 1966: Richmond Football Club, Second Eighteen: 5 games, 3 goals.
* 1964: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: Third, best and fairest.
* 1965: Richmond Football Club: Life Membership.
* 1967: Richmond Football Club, First Eighteen: Captain, Premiership Team.
* 1968–1969:
Corowa Football Club
The Corowa Football Club, nicknamed the Spiders, was an Australian rules football club based in Corowa, New South Wales, that competed in the Ovens & Murray Football League.
The club merged with the Wahgunyah Football Club on several occasions d ...
: Captain-Coach, Premiership coach (1968), 30 games, 17 goals.
* 1970–1972: Morwell Football Club: Captain-Coach, 52 games, 29 goals.
* 1978–1979: Kennington/Strathdale Football Club: Coach.
After football
After his time with the Kennington/Strathdale Football Club he moved back to the Bendigo area and took up farming.
Murder
At around midday on Thursday, 28 April 1983, two young men, Robert William Larson (born 13 March 1965) of Ophir Street, Bendigo, and Malcolm David Lee, of Violet Street, Bendigo, armed with a sawn-off .22 calibre rifle and disguised with
balaclavas, invaded Swift's family property at Lockwood (10 km southwest of Bendigo) while he was absent. They had chosen to rob Swift's property in order to supplement their unemployment benefits. According to the account of
Tom Hafey
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
, a former Richmond team-mate, coach, and long-time friend of Swift, "The kids
ho killed himknew the layout of the house. Fred used to take them fishing".
They tied up his wife (Anita Charlotte Swift) and son (Paul Andrew Swift) and began ransacking the house.
Swift arrived home soon after Larson and Lee's invasion. Going into the house to investigate the commotion, he was confronted by the two youths and shot in the heart and in the thigh. He died almost immediately from his wounds. His body was not moved until nearly 6 pm that afternoon.
His murderers escaped in Swift's car. Larson was identified by Paul Swift (who had first met Larson two years earlier); and, despite Larson's disguise, Paul was able to identify him by his voice, his eyes, his build, and his clothing. Paul also identified Larson as the one who had been armed with the sawn-off .22 calibre rifle. The police immediately set up road blocks, and began to search the surrounding area. Swift's car, a dark blue XC Ford Falcon, was found abandoned in bushland several kilometres from the scene of the murder. The police arrested both of his murderers late that afternoon.
Jack Dyer's eulogy on ''World of Sport''
At the time of Swift's death, the entire football community was deeply shocked.
On the morning of the following Sunday (1 May 1983),
Ron Casey, host of the television programme
World of Sport, without any prior warning, unexpectedly asked one of the show's stars, the sports journalist, Richmond legend, former Richmond coach, and Richmond selector Jack Dyer, who had been responsible for suggesting Swift's move to full-back in 1967 in place of Mick Erwin, to deliver what amounted to a
eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...
. Dyer refused outright, and a very fierce argument broke out between Casey and Dyer; with Casey's will, as host of the programme, prevailing.
Many of the viewers, already deeply upset at the murder of such a brave, honest, courageous, and well-loved man apparently killed in defence of his family, were further affected by the mournful manner in which Dyer, who deeply respected and admired Swift, spoke. It was only later revealed that the reason for Dyer's initial refusal to speak on air, and his actual refusal to look into the camera whilst speaking – having been forced against his will, by Casey, to deliver the eulogy – was solely due to his having left his false teeth at home (a fact that he refused to reveal to Casey or anyone else at the time), and had nothing to do with any reluctance to acknowledge his own personal sense of great loss at Swift's murder.
Murder trial
On Monday, 2 May 1983, both Larson and Lee were charged with Swift's murder. They were also charged with the unlawful imprisonment of Anita Charlotte Swift and Paul Andrew Swift, and having committed a robbery while armed with a rifle. Prior to the trial, the unlawful imprisonment charges were dropped, and both men were charged with murder and both were charged with armed robbery.
According to the trial transcript (VR 559, p. 564) a clinical psychologist, Bernard Healey, had comprehensively tested Larson in May 1983 and found "that Larson
adan
I.Q.
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term ''Intelligenzq ...
of 80, which
laced
Lace is a lightweight fabric patterned with open holes.
Lace(s) may also refer to:
Arts and media Films
* Lace (1926 film), ''Lace'' (1926 film), a German silent crime film
* Lace (1928 film), ''Lace'' (1928 film), a Soviet silent film
* Laces ( ...
him at the lowest end of the dull range of intelligence and at about 9 per centum amongst people of his age".
In November 1983, a jury found Larson guilty of murder and armed robbery, and found Lee guilty of manslaughter and armed robbery; they were sentenced, by Mr. Justice Hampel, to life imprisonment and seven years' gaol respectively on Monday, 12 December 1983.
Four and a half years later, on 30 March 1988, Larson escaped from custody at the Melbourne City Watch-house in company with Paul Alexander Anderson (who had been imprisoned for car theft and other convictions). They were both recaptured in Adelaide, charged with firearms offences, and extradited back to Victoria.
Later, in 1992, Larson was again incarcerated for armed robbery, and was convicted twice in the first part of 2003, for separate assaults on police.
In November 2003, Larson (who was now living in Preston) appeared in court, facing 13 charges rising from an entirely unprovoked knife attack on three unarmed cleaners at Southbank at 2:00 am on 29 September 2003.
Remembered
The grace, strength, and safety of his marking, especially at full-back, has seldom been matched; and the consistent beauty, length, and accuracy of his drop kicking was wonderful to behold. He was a tough, tenacious, and fearless footballer, able to play through injury and, on at least one occasion, played with a broken bone in his arm (Hogan, 1996, p. 224). Although predominantly a right foot kick, he could kick well with either foot.
He is vividly remembered for his happy, smiling face, his rolling gait, and his gentle friendliness to all and sundry. At Richmond he was a greatly respected and very popular clubman, who was "always available to help the recruits with some friendly advice and took a keen interest in the development of the younger players ensuring that they fitted in well" (Hogan, 1996, p. 224).
A grandstand at the home ground of the Corowa Football Club was named The Fred Swift Stand in his honour.
In 1986, he was posthumously inducted into the Bendigo Football League's Hall of Fam
The "Fred Swift Medal" is awarded in his honour each season to the player who finishes fourth in
Richmond Football Club, Richmond's best and fairest count.
References
Bibliography
* Hogan P: ''The Tigers of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996
* Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
* Prior, T., ''Sheeds: A Touch of Cunning'', Wilkinson Books, (Melbourne), 1995.
* Supreme Court of Victoria, Victorian Reports: R v LARSON and LEE – 1984 VR 559
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Fred
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
Richmond Football Club players
Richmond Football Club Premiership players
Corowa Football Club players
Corowa Football Club coaches
Sandhurst Football Club players
Morwell Football Club players
Male murder victims
Australian murder victims
People murdered in Victoria (Australia)
Deaths by firearm in Victoria (Australia)
1938 births
1983 deaths
One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players