Opinion
My series on the 100 greatest nicknames in VFL/AFL history continues with numbers 40 to 31.
AFL top 100: Nicknames 100-91
AFL top 100: Nicknames 90-81
AFL top 100: Nicknames 80-71
AFL top 100: Nicknames 70-61
AFL top 100: Nicknames 60-51
AFL top 100: Nicknames 50-41
40. ‘Doc’
The nickname ‘Doc’ appears a number of times throughout the history of the VFL/AFL, but not often was it a genuine doctor.
It was in the case of Brian ‘Doc’ Roet, who played for Melbourne between 1961 and 1965 and returned for 18 games in 1968 and combined his medical studies with his football with great success.
He finished up playing only 88 games, but the gaps in his football career were due mainly to study requirements in Australia and overseas. He finished up practising medicine in the UK.
Richard ‘Doc’ Leffanue gained his moniker ‘Doc’ as a seven-year-old boy when he helped a boy who had fallen from the train. Leffanue played three seasons at South Melbourne and one at Carlton, starting in 1930.
Another famous ‘Doc’ was Collingwood’s Malcolm ‘Doc’ Seddon whose football career started in 1911 but was interupted by war service and ended in 1921 with Seddon only managing 102 games.
Seddon was featured in the book Collingwood: A love story and was a tough hefty ruckman who looked after his smaller players by giving them a clear path to the ball.
However, there is no doubt that the most famous ‘Doc’ was St Kilda’s Darrel John ‘Doc’ Baldock.
Baldock’s reputation as a champion had preceded him from Tasmania and he certainly lived up to it, being captain of St Kilda’s first premiership side.
His control of the football was amazing for someone only 179 centimetres tall playing at centre half forward.
39. ‘Tarzan’
Tarzan the Fearless was one of many Tarzan films, and was released as a feature film in 1933.
At the same time a tenacious footballer named Eric G Glass from Goomaling in WA started his league career and inherited the name ‘Tarzan’.
Glass finished his league career at Melbourne in 1938 with 78 games and 135 goals to his name. He is still well placed in the Demons’ top 100 goal kickers.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
38. ‘Lurch’
A gawky tall ruckman that served North Melbourne well before finishing his career with two seasons at the Swans, Barry Goodingham played in two grand finals for one premiership.
37. ‘Buddha’
This is the second appearance in the list for the Geelong supporters’ hero from 1987 until 2001, Garry Hocking.
He was an explosive, physical player who had to modify his game as he got older. A regular high scorer of Brownlow votes, he finished second or third on four occasions.
36. ‘Wrecker’
As a five-year-old, Melbourne’s Brian ‘Wrecker’ Leahy was talked into wrecking customers’ car at his father’s pub by letting down tyres and removing spark plugs!
35. ‘The Tank’
Don ‘The Tank’ Bauer was a well built, tough defender who played one season at Footscray and then five seasons at Geelong in the 1940s.
34. ‘Budgie’
Like ‘Dipper’, the commentators liked to shorten Essendon’s Tony Buhagiar name to ‘Budgie’. One the best signs I ever saw at the footy was ‘Budgie wants a Krakouer’ at an Essendon/North Melbourne game.
33. ‘Wizard’
Melbourne’s WA recruiter Bernie Dunn profiled Jeff Farmer with a simple sentence: “this kid is a wizard”!
32. ‘Disco’
Champion Richmond full forward Michael Roach was recruited from Tasmania.
31. ‘The King’
When Wayne Carey arrived at North Melbourne in 1989 at age 18, he had already been playing senior football for four years and coach Denis Pagan said he already had a presence around him.
Carey is considered the greatest player of his era. The coach engineered a forward line – Pagan’s paddock – that allowed ‘The King’ to play his immediate opponent one on one with great success.
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Diplomatically answered, Darcy!
For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the now-traditional Anzac Day clash at the MCG, there has been one thing conspicuously lacking over…
Old mate summing it up better than anyone possibly could!
