Fred Fanning

Fred Fanning (5 November 1921 – 23 May 1993)^[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) who holds the record for most goals in a VFL/AFL match, with 18.

Fred Fanning
Personal information
Date of birth	(1921-11-05)5 November 1921
Date of death	23 May 1993(1993-05-23) (aged 71)
Place of death	Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s)	Coburg juniors
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	102 kg (225 lb)
Position(s)	Full-forward
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1940–1947	Melbourne	104 (411)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1947.
Career highlights
VFL premiership: 1940 4× VFL leading goalkicker: 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal: 1945 5× Melbourne leading goalkicker: 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

VFL career

Hailing from the Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Coburg, Fanning was a strongly built forward standing at 193 cm and weighing 102 kg. In September 1939, playing for Melbourne Seconds against Richmond in the Seconds' Grand Final, Fanning kicked 12 goals in a 29-point victory.^[2]

Fanning made his senior debut in 1940 and played in that year's Grand Final victory over Richmond. He topped the VFL's goalkicking charts in 1943 (62 goals), 1944 (87) and 1945 (67),^[3] a year in which he also won Melbourne's best and fairest award.

In Round 19, 1947, he kicked 18 goals, 1 behind, in a game against St Kilda, which remains the record for most goals in a VFL/AFL match to this day;^[4][5] this was coincidentally Fanning's final appearance in a VFL match. He kicked 97 goals for the 1947 VFL season, the highest in his VFL career.

Post-VFL

Fanning joined the Hamilton Football Club in the Western District Football League as captain-coach in 1948, after being offered 3 to 6 times the salary he was receiving at Melbourne (accounts vary). This appointment caused a split in the club, and the Hamilton Imperials were founded.

Fanning held the Western District record for most goals in a game by kicking 22 against Heywood in 1949. The following year he kicked 20 goals against Penshurst. He kicked a Western District record of 151 goals in a season in 1952. He finished his football career at Coleraine in 1953.

References

1. Linnell, Stephen (24 May 1993). "Champion goalkicker Fanning dies at 71". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
2. "MELBOURNE WINS". The Argus. Melbourne. 29 September 1939. p. 15. Retrieved 27 October 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
3. afl.com.au Coleman Medal List
4. 17. FRED FANNING'S 18 GOALS, 1947
5. Records, The Australian Book Of. "The Australian Book Of Records". The Australian Book Of Records. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.

External links

• Fred Fanning's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Fred Fanning at AustralianFootball.com