Vale Fred Flanagan

[Cicjose]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-01-14/cats-legend-passes-away

Fred's record as a player speaks for itself, but it is the man himself that was special.

"We will all miss Fred’s friendship and we offer our deepest condolences to Pauline and to their family."

Recruited from the northern Victorian town of Swan Hill, Flanagan played his first VFL game against Melbourne at the Punt Road Oval (the MCG was still being converted from an army base back to a sporting arena) in round one, 1946.

Then aged 22, he quickly developed a reputation as a high-flying key forward whose marking and kicking were the highlights of his game.

Nicknamed "Troubles" because he was always worrying, Flanagan enjoyed a brilliant playing career.

He won Geelong's best and fairest in 1949, finished second in the Brownlow Medal in 1950 (he polled 88 Brownlow votes in all) and topped the Cats' goalkicking in 1954.

Geelong's captain in 1949 and between 1951 and '53, he led the Cats in three Grand Finals, winning the first two and losing the last one to a Lou Richards-led Collingwood side.