Francis Ernest Langley (13 October 1882 – 22 March 1946) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) during the early 1900s.

Family

The son of Henry Archdall Langley (1840–1906), Anglican Bishop of Bendigo, and Elizabeth Mary Langley (1842–1923), née Strachan, and the tenth of 12 children, Langley was born at

Prahran Prahran ( , also colloquially or ), 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 population ...

on 13 October 1882. One of his elder brothers, Henry Thomas Langley, became Dean of Melbourne, while many of his other siblings took roles within the Anglican church and the education system. He married Lillie Kate Mills (1876–1967), the daughter of George Peter Mills (1835–1933), and Mary "Minnie" Mills (1848–1913), née Kyte, on 25 April 1908.

Education

Langley was educated at

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield Grammar began admitting girls exactly ...

, and at Trinity College, University of Melbourne where he earned a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

degree. After completing university he worked as a medical practitioner.

Footballer

He was recruited directly from Caulfield Grammar School in 1900. ::"In Langley, the Melbourne footballer, Caulfield has the champion player of the schools. He has been first in every game, and in the last two seasons has kicked 33 goals in 11 premiership games." — ''The Australasian'', 15 September 1900. While continuing as a student at Caulfield Grammar School, he played every senior game that season, and was forward pocket in the Melbourne team that won the Grand Final that year, with "Old Boy", the football correspondent for ''The Argus'' noting that, for Melbourne, "Langley's play in the third quarter was wonderful. He is only a school-boy, but during that trying time on the lower wing he was cool and sure as a veteran". Langley could play many roles on the field but was primarily a hard running defender who on occasions was used on the ball. He was often rested up forward and his 17 goals in 1901 was enough to top Melbourne's goal kicking. In 1903, and 1904, he represented Victoria at interstate football. In 1905 he captained Melbourne for the year, with the club finishing last.

After football

Conducting his medical practice from Dandenong, he was not only a valuable cricketer for the Dandenong Cricket Club, but also served as its president.

Death

Langley died at his home in Dandenong in 1946. He was survived by his wife Lillie and three children, Dorothy, Eric and Roy.Dandenong Doctor Leaves £23,436, ''The Dandenong Journal'', (Wednesday, 26 June 1946), p.1.
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Footnotes

References

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External links

''Demonwiki'': Frank Langley.

Boyles Football Photos: Frank Langley
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, Frank 1882 births Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Melbourne Football Club players Melbourne Football Club captains People educated at Caulfield Grammar School People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) 1946 deaths Melbourne Football Club premiership players VFL/AFL premiership players People from Prahran, Victoria Australian people of Irish descent Medical doctors from Melbourne 19th-century Australian sportsmen