Australian Football

Combining coolness with considerable assurance and skill, Fred Langford - invariably known as ‘Dickie’ - commenced his senior career with Hobart club Railway, where his prowess quickly came to the attention of a number of mainland clubs. In 1894, he was enticed to cross the Bass Strait by Collingwood, with whom he immediately impressed as a player of the highest calibre. However, after a game against Port Melbourne midway through the year he was suspected of having accepted a bribe to ‘play dead’, and amidst a welter of acrimony on the part of the club’s supporters, he was told to pack his bags and return home, partly at least for his own safety.

The following season saw Langford resuming his football career, which was to last for another 18 seasons without any further controversy, with his original club, Railway. He later spent time with Glenorchy (not to be confused with the later club of the same name which emerged from the New Town Football Club), Wellington, where he oversaw premierships in 1903-4, and North Hobart, which won a flag during his first season in 1908. Langford’s peak years as a player were the early 1900s, and in 1903 he was voted the best all round player in the STFA.

Author - John Devaney