Donald William James "Mopsy" Fraser (24 October 1922 – 26 June 1987) was an
Australian rules footballer who played in the
VFL
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 ...
between 1945 and 1952 for the
Richmond Football Club.
Family
The son of
Donald James Benjamin Fraser, and Lilian Rose Fraser, née Haig, Donald William James Fraser was born in
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Collingwood recorded a population of 9,179 at the 2021 c ...
on 24 October 1922.
His father (also "Don Fraser"), was an Australian rules footballer in the 1920s and 1930s, who twice won the
leading goalkicker award while playing for
Oakleigh, and also played 18 games for Richmond.
Football
Known as "Mopsy", he is still regarded as one of the most rugged players ever to play in the
Victorian Football League (VFL), serving a total 16 weeks in suspensions whilst at the
Tigers
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...
.
He then played in the
Victorian Football Associatiom (VFA), serving as captain-coach of the
Port Melbourne Football Club
The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne. The club was founded in 1874 and has been competing in the Victorian Football Association/Le ...
, leading the club to the 1953 premiership, and then later serving as captain-coach at
Prahran
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a ...
. He was suspended for a further 30 matches in the VFA, missing out on finals series with
Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...
in 1954 and 1955, and while at Prahran was suspended for the last fifteen weeks of the 1957 season for a dangerous sling tackle on an opponent, following by using abusive language towards the umpires.
See also
*
1950 Brisbane Carnival
The 1950 Brisbane Carnival was the 11th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Inters ...
Footnotes
References
* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996
External links
*
Don Fraser at ''Boyles Football Photos''.
Don "Mopsy" Fraser at ''The VFA Project''.
Richmond Football Club players
East Launceston Football Club players
Port Melbourne Football Club players
Port Melbourne Football Club coaches
Prahran Football Club players
Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
1922 births
1987 deaths
People from Collingwood, Victoria
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