Fred Goldsmith (20 August 1932 – 13 April 2017) 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 with

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

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). Goldsmith as a seventeen year old in 1950, once kicked 29 goals in a match for Spotswood against Kingsville in the Footscray District Football League. His club was zoned to South Melbourne.

VFL career

A fireman, Goldsmith started his career in 1951 as a half forward flanker, having been recruited by South Melbourne from Spotswood. In 1952, he was shifted to fullback; and, in 1955, he became the first ever (and so far, only) specialist fullback to win the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

. To the astonishment of all, in 1956, South Melbourne decided to play its 1955 Brownlow Medallist fullback at full-forward. He played at full-forward for the remainder of his career. In 1957, he was South Melbourne's leading goalkicker with 43 goals.

Post VFL career

At 27 years of age, he was appointed as captain-coach of the

Albury Football Club The Albury Football Club, nicknamed the ''Tigers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Albury, a major regional city in New South Wales. Albury football and netball squads compete in the Ovens & Murray Football League. C ...

, in the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...

and coached them from 1960 to 1965 and kicked 270 goals in that time. Goldsmith led the O&MFL goalkicking in 1964 with 81 goals for the season. In 1966 he played seven games with

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 League (VFL) – ...

in the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

. Goldsmith's 1955 Brownlow Medal attained $43,700 at an auction of sporting memorabilia conducted by

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

on 17 April 2000. He was selected as an interchange player in the South Melbourne/Sydney Swans's "Team of the Century"' announced on 8 August 2003. In a 1958 competition, held at the

Lake Oval Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park, Victoria, Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association ...

, Goldsmith kicked a drop kick that travelled (). Fred Goldsmith has five children, 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren

References

External links

* * * https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Players/Goldsmith,_Fred.php 1932 births 2017 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players Brownlow Medal winners Port Melbourne Football Club players Spotswood Football Club players Albury Football Club players Albury Football Club coaches {{AFL-bio-1920s-stub