Gordon Francis 'Whopper' Lane (30 May 1921 – 21 July 1973) 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 represented the
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
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 ...
in the
VFL. He played as a forward with a strong overhead mark and was rated 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 ...
in 1946 as 'the best centre half forward in the game'.
He is best remembered for his performances in Essendon's Grand Finals of the 1940s. In the 1942 final he kicked six goals and in 1946 kicked seven.
Lane missed out on a chance to play in another Grand Final in 1947 due to him breaking his ribs in the preliminary final. He was injured again the following season, this time it was his knee and he moved to South Melbourne in 1950 where he would be both captain and coach for three years.
External links
*
Profile at Essendonfc.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Gordon
1921 births
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
Sydney Swans players
Sydney Swans coaches
Essendon Football Club players
Essendon Football Club Premiership players
1973 deaths
Three-time VFL/AFL Premiership players
People from Essendon, Victoria