AFL Victoria is saddened by the passing of VFL life member and AFL Hall of Fame inductee Frank Johnson Snr.
The Port Melbourne 189cm ruckman was a five time best and fairest winner at the club (1951, 52, 54, 55, & 56) and was voted the competitions best in 1952; winning the J.J. Liston Trophy in just his third season in the VFA.
In 1953, Johnson added a Port premiership to his growing list of accolades at the club, playing in an era where the team reached eight consecutive grand finals. Fittingly, Johnson was named as captain of the Port Melbourne Team of the Century.
After eight seasons and 165 games with Port Melbourne, Johnson moved to the Hampden Football League for two seasons, before moving to South Melbourne in 1960. He won the club best and fairest in his first season - edging out Bob Skilton for the honour - going on to play 64 games for the club before finishing his league career at the end of 1964.
In 2007 Johnson was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, the first and only player to have played more VFA than league games, and to have the Association games cited as part of the induction.
Our thoughts are with the Johnson family, with his name to always live on in the history of the competition as a VFL life member and with the state game best on ground named after him.
Port Melbourne will wear black armbands in the Channel 7 TV game on Sunday, and both Port and Werribee will observe a moments silence prior to the first bounce.
Last Modified on 10/07/2016 08:37
