Frederick "Fred" Williams (28 August 1919 – 3 April 2007) 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 ...

player and coach who played for the

Subiaco Football Club The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the ''Maroons'', is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAF ...

in the

Western Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WANFL) between 1938 and 1950, also coaching the club between 1948 and 1949. He also played representative football for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

between 1946 and 1948.

Career

Originally from the West Subiaco Football Club in the Metropolitan Football League (MFL), Williams made his debut for Subiaco in 1938. He left the club in June 1939 to train with the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

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), however, the WANFL were unwilling to approve a transfer, despite Geelong's protests. Williams returned to Subiaco for the 1940 season, which '' The Western Mail'' reported "created considerable interest, and came as a complete surprise to those 'not in the know'". In 1941, Williams finished third in the

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and be ...

behind teammate Haydn Bunton and

Ern Henfry Ernest Edgar "Ern" Henfry (24 July 1921 – 14 January 2007) was an Australian rules footballer who played for in the West Australian Football League, Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) and in the Australian Football League, ...

of . At the conclusion of the 1941 season, Williams enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

. He served in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

during the war, and played in several army football teams, which included captaining a team which included

Bernie Naylor Bernard George Andrew Naylor (19 April 1923 – 26 September 1993) was an Australian rules footballer who was one of the most successful full-forwards in the history of the West Australian Football League. The WAFL now awards the leading goalsc ...

and other senior footballers.FOOTBALLERS ON MONDAY
– '' The Western Mail''. Published 1 August 1946. Retrieved fro
Trove
15 January 2012. Williams returned to football in 1946, and was named captain, kicking 22 goals to be Subiaco's leading goalkicker, as well as winning the club's best and fairest award, the President's Trophy. He also represented

in three interstate matches during the season.State Games 1904–1950
– wafootball.com.au. Retrieved 15 January 2012. When not playing football, he worked as a meter reader for the Water Supply Department. In 1948, Williams was appointed coach of Subiaco. The club was generally unsuccessful during Williams' tenure as coach, losing over 80% of its games. He resigned as both captain and coach for the 1950 season, and announced his retirement at the end of the season, having "reached the stage where he preferred to make way for another man". In 2005, Williams was named Subiaco's "Club Legend" for the season, a WAFL initiative allowing "each club to honour a past champion by displaying their image and career details on the

match ball A football is a ball inflated with air that is used to play one of the various sports known as football. In these games, with some exceptions, Goal (sport), goals or Score (sport), points are scored only when the ball enters one of two designated ...

for that particular season". He died in April 2007 at the age of 87. In 2008, Williams was named as an interchange player in Subiaco's Team of the Century.Subiaco: 'Official Team of the Century'
– FullPointsFooty. Retrieved 15 January 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fred 1919 births 2007 deaths Australian military personnel of World War II Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Public servants of Western Australia Subiaco Football Club coaches Subiaco Football Club players