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Key Facts

Full name
Harold Bray

Known as
Harold Bray

Born
5 July 1920

Died
27 June 1999 (aged 78)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 295d
Last game: 32y 56d

Height and weight
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 76 kg

Senior clubs
St. Kilda

Jumper numbers
St. Kilda: 31, 12

Recruited from
Prahran (1941)

Harold Bray

Advanced stats
Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
St. KildaV/AFL1941-1943, 1945-1952156150.1020%———106
Total1941-1943, 1945-1952156150.1020%———106

AFL: 4,883rd player to appear, 1,235th most games played, 4,276th most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 786th player to appear, 56th most games played, 361st most goals kicked

Outstanding player in a weak side, Harold Bray, St. Kilda centreman, would probably be just as prominent in any League team. Critics were slow to recognise his ability, but the Victorian selectors evidently realised his worth when they chose him to occupy the centre in the Carnival side. Bray’s greatest asset is his superb passing to his forwards. His unselfish co-operation with team mates has often brought him to the fore. Les Foote (North Melbourne) once said to me, “Bray never wastes a kick. He is a grand centreman.”¹

Harold Bray was one of the most talented centremen of his era. After playing his early football with Prahran he joined St Kilda in 1941, and went on to play 156 VFL games for the Saints before retiring twelve seasons later. Boasting tremendous pace, especially over that vital first five metres or so, Bray's superb ball handling skills allied with tenacity, excellent kicking skills and strength overhead made him close to the complete football package. He won his club's best and fairest award twice, and finished in the top three places in the Brownlow voting three times. Bray represented the VFL on half a dozen occasions.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. “The Age”, 8/8/47, page 3.

Sources

Crème de la Crème

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.