Charles Norman Laird (20 May 1893 – 14 December 1968) was an Australian rules footballer who played for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL). Laird spent five seasons with South Melbourne and is best known for his performance in the

1918 VFL Grand Final The 1918 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 7 September 1918. It was the 21st annual ...

. Playing in the

forward pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

, Laird kicked three goals in the match including the match winner in the final minute when he soccered the ball through for a goal.Atkinson, p. 40. Earlier in the season, Laird kicked three goals in the last five minutes of the match to help South Melbourne defeat

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of ...

. His twin brother

Frank Laird Frank Graham Laird (20 May 1893 – 17 September 1964) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Aus ...

also played for South Melbourne.

References

Sources

* Atkinson, G. (1982) ''Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking'', The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. .

External links

* * 1893 births 1968 deaths Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans premiership players Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Paddington Australian Football Club players VFL/AFL premiership players {{AFL-bio-1893-stub