Fred Waugh

Fred Waugh
Personal information
Full name Richard Frederick Waugh
Date of birth (1869-12-01)1 December 1869
Place of birth South Melbourne, Victoria
Date of death 23 June 1919(1919-06-23) (aged 49)
Place of death Melbourne Hospital[1]
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1897, 1900 South Melbourne 22 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1900.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Richard Frederick Waugh (1 December 1869 – 23 June 1919) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[2]

Waugh was unable to play in South Melbourne's team for the Round 11 game with St Kilda in 1897 after attempting suicide.[3] He had been spurned by his lover, and had become disconsolate. His mother found him in his room covered in blood, having cut his throat with a blunt knife. He missed severing his windpipe and blood vessels, and a doctor was able to repair the wounds.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Family Notices". The Argus. Melbourne, Australia. 28 June 1919. p. 13.
  2. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 931. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5.
  3. ^ a b Ross, John (1996). 100 Years of Australian Football. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Books. p. 39. ISBN 978-0670868148.
  4. ^ A Footballer's Romance: Rejected by his Sweetheart: He Attempts Suicide, The Argus, (Monday, 12 July 1897), p.5.