Career : 1902 - 1904
Debut : Round 4, 1902 vs Melbourne, aged 28 years, 43 days
Carlton Player No. 132
Games : 50 (17 at Carlton)
Goals : 36 (11 at Carlton)
Last Game: Round 1, 1904 vs Fitzroy, aged 30 years, 26 days
Height :
Weight :
DOB : April 11, 1874
Remembered as the very first Irish-born player to represent the Carlton Football Club, Frederick Charles Scott was a capable centre half-forward who kicked 11 goals in his 17 matches for the Blues between 1902 and 1904. A renowned high mark, Scott had played 33 games for Essendon from 1899 to 1901 prior to joining Carlton, and his departure from the Same Olds created something of a furore.
Born in Ulster, Northern Ireland in 1874, Scott had migrated to Australia as a young child, part of a large farming family who had gambled that better opportunities awaited them on the other side of the world. Fred grew up a gifted athlete, and embraced the local code of football while completing his studies at Scotch College.
By the age of 25 he had played senior football for Parkville, Essendon District and with Essendon in the VFA. In 1899, the fledgling Victorian Football League was about to enter its third season when Fred was called into the Dons’ senior squad. Over the next three years, Scott averaged 11 games per season in black and red – despite being principally employed as an understudy for the team’s champion forward Albert Thurgood.
In 1902, at the age of 28, Scott was lured to Carlton, amid heavy criticism of the decision from a number of high-profile Essendon supporters. Under the game’s first professional coach in Jack Worrall, Fred became the Blues’ regular centre half-forward. Although injuries exacted a toll at times, he played 16 matches during 1902-03, and saddled for a third year with the Blues when Carlton met Fitzroy at Princes Park in the opening round of 1904.
On that fateful Saturday afternoon, the Blues were outplayed all over the ground by the switched-on Maroons, who kept the home side to just one goal for the match, and destroyed their upstart rivals by 94 points. Worrall promptly omitted seven players – including Scott – from his team for round two, and the big Irishman never laced up his boots in the VFL again.
Despite that forgettable end to his career at Carlton, Fred stayed loyal to the Old Dark Navy Blues throughout the remainder of his long and happy life. He made a successful career in insurance when his playing days ended, and married his wife of more than 50 years; Catherine, in 1911. Later, Fred’s grand-daughter Robyn was to renew her family’s bonds with the game when she married Collingwood’s 158-game Best and Fairest winner Barry Price.
Fred Scott passed away at the age of 95 at Ferntree Gully, Victoria, on the 8th July, 1969.
Milestones
50 Games (VFL): Round 1, 1904 Vs FitzroyLinks
Articles: Zach follows in Freddy's footstepsBlueseum: Summary of playing statistics for Fred Scott | Scott's Blueseum Image Gallery