The death of Doug Strang
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The death this week of Doug Strang, 41, from injuries suffered in a motor accident at Albury severs all but one link between a famous family and football.
It came as a shock to Richmond officials, players and supporters, for down at Punt Road they still talk wistfully of the days of the Strang brothers—Doug and Gordon. In addition to Doug, the family comprised the father Bill, and Alan, both of whom played for South Melbourne, Gordon (Richmond) and Colin (St. Kilda). Only Alan is still living.
Doug, was possibly Richmond's greatest ever full-forward, yet he became a Tiger more or less by chance. Richmond had gone to Albury in 1931 to sign up his brother Gordon. Old Bill Strang said to Harry Dyke, a Richmond official, who is now club president: “You might as well take Doug too, he's a good player, and not bad in front of goals.” So in order to get Gordon, who was a champion in any key position, Harry Dyke and his fellow committeemen had to take Doug also, although they did not know what they were going to do with him.
They were not left in doubt for long, as in only his second game with Richmond he kicked 14 goals against North Melbourne. This still stands as a record by a Richmond forward. By the time he retired in 1935. Doug had three times headed the Tigers' goalkickers' list.
When they went to Albury for Gordon Strang, the Tiger scouts also sought Hadyn Bunton, but Fitzroy beat them to him. "We did not regret losing Bunton", said Harry Dyke this week. "He was a brilliant individualist, while the Strangs were brilliant team men."
Sensational!
It was intended to bring Gordon Strang down to play cricket with Richmond and thus get him his 13 weeks' residential qualification for football. He was to be kept on ice before he was to be shown to the Melbourne football public.
The two Strang brothers were a sensation in League football. Doug was regarded by Harry Dyke as effective at full forward as Bob Pratt. In his tremendous leaps with long, outstretched fingers, he rarely failed to hold the ball.
And he had some of the greatest of modern full backs to beat, including Ron Hillis (Sth Melb), Jack Regan (C'wood), Bill Cubbins (St. Kilda), and Jocka Todd (Geelong), all of whom made any forward earn his goals. "And Doug had guts." says Charlie Callander, the Tigers property man, who knows a footballer when he sees one.
"I remember one day when he split the webbing between the fingers of one hand. He went off the ground, had the hand bandaged, went back again and kicked goals."
Big brother Gordon was always there to protect Doug. It was a case of "hit my brother, hit me”.
Perfect pair
When Gordon switched to half-forward the combination between the two was perfect and brought scores of goals for the Tigers. How they long for a similar combination in attack today! The Tigers' former champion defender, Martin Bolger, who was in the same teams as the Strangs, says: "Doug and Gordon were champions when football, in my opinion, reached its highest peak, between 1926 and 1936." Then there were many big names in the game—every team had its champions. At Richmond Jack Dyer started at the same time."
While Doug and Gordon played with Richmond the Tigers won two premierships—1932 and 1934. Many sets of brothers have played for the Tigers, but President Harry Dyke says the Strangs, Doug and Gordon, were the greatest family combination Richmond have ever had.
The game has been made richer by the advent of players of the Strang’s calibre, and every follower of the game mourns the passing of this member of a great football family.
Footnotes
Title: Tigers mourn death of Doug Strang
Author: Jim Blake
Publisher: Sporting Globe (Melbourne, Victoria, 1922-1954)
Date: Friday, 3 April 1954, p.5 (Article)
Comments
Julien Peter Benney 20 August 2016
Doug Strang seems to have hit the League like a meteor – even against a team that was in the middle of a 33-game losing streak, fourteen goals on a second appearance is a sensation.
What seems to have weakened Strang is his inability to cope with foul conditions – 1931 and 1932 were very wet autumns and winters (apart from the foggy anticyclonic May 1932) and looking through old papers it has seemed to me Doug Strang was no mud-runner, but could be extremely dangerous in good conditions with such a powerful team behind him. He showed excellent form in the drier 1933 season, but then injury ruined his career and he left Richmond during 1935.
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