Australian Football

Recruited from Armadale Juniors in 1924, Frank Smith spent the majority of his first two seasons at Prahran in the seconds, before finally establishing himself as a senior player in 1926. Once allegedly described by teammates as "the prettiest footballer you'd ever see"¹, Smith's chief forté was his exquisite foot passing ability. He was also extremely quick, handled the ball well, and was the consummate team player. In 1927 he became the first ever Two Blues player to win the Recorder Cup, and would doubtless have been the recipient of numerous club best and fairest trophies had such awards been in existence during his career².

Smith spent the 1931 and '32 seasons at Melbourne where he played 14 VFL games before returning 'home' to Prahran to complete his career. In 1937 he was on a wing as the Two Blues broke their premiership duck with a 12.13 (85) to 11.17 (83) Grand Final defeat of Brunswick, and the last of his club record 248 appearances for the club came during 1941, which was the VFA's final season before going into wartime recess.

There will have been few surprises among old time supporters of the club when, in 2003, Frank Smith was chosen on a wing in the Two Blues' official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.

Author - John Devaney