Geelong great Fred Flanagan has died. Picture: Zoe Harrison Source: HWT Image Library
GEELONG'S 1951-52 premiership captain Fred Flanagan has died, aged 88.
The Kokoda World War II veteran was lauded yesterday as a great figure in the club's history.
Tom Harley, who became Geelong's only other dual premiership captain in 2009, described Flanagan as "the ultimate gentleman".
"I had the honour of getting to know Fred really late in my career and I felt really proud and honoured to form that relationship with him," Harley said.
"He had that really warm persona and was a very genuine person. I distinctly remember the time before a game in 2009, some 57 years after he captained his second flag, he came into our rooms and he was just so conscious of not getting in anyone's way.
"The senior players knew who he was but, once word got around, the junior players were also just in awe to be in his presence."
Cats premiership captain Cameron Ling said Flanagan was "always humble".
"He used to come into the rooms for training and games on a semi-regular basis and he was just an absolutely lovely guy," Ling said.
"For me, being a Geelong supporter my whole life, we all loved the name Fred Flanagan, but to meet him, he was just so humble you would never have known just how great a player he was."
Champion Essendon full-forward John Coleman rated Flanagan as the "best centre half-forward I have seen" in an article in the Sporting Globe in 1955.
Flanagan represented Victoria 21 times, including once as its captain-coach against South Australia in 1952.
He won the Cats' best-and-fairest award in 1949 and was selected at centre half-forward in the All-Australian team in 1950.
He was also runner-up in the Brownlow Medal in 1950.
Named in Geelong's team of the century, he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1998.
Flanagan served Geelong Legacy in a variety of positions, including president and was patron of the Geelong Cats Forever bequest program and trustee of the Geelong Cats Sports Foundation from its inception until 2008.
FRED FLANAGAN
Born: March 28, 1924
Nickname: Troubles
163 VFL games, 1946-1955, 182 goals
Geelong premiership captain 1951-'52
Geelong best and fairest 1949
Runner-up Brownlow Medal 1950
Centre half-forward in Geelong's Team of the Century
Member AFL Hall of Fame
Geelong leading goalkicker 1954
Victorian representative 21 times
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