Ted Freyer


Edward Laurence Freyer was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL during the 1930s.

Family

The sixth of the seven children of Peter Henry Freyer, and Mary Freyer, née Suffolk, Edward Laurence Freyer was born at Port Melbourne, Victoria on 20 May 1910.
He married Elsie Olivia Holmes in 1930.
His brother, Bill Freyer, played VFL football with South Melbourne and Footscray in the mid-1920s, and his son, Robert Alan Freyer, played for Port Melbourne in the VFA between 1958 and 1965.

Football

Essendon (VFL)

Freyer usually played in the forward pocket and topped Essendon's goalkicking in consecutive seasons from 1931 until 1934 and again in 1936.
He kicked 12 goals in one match in 1935 he kicked 12.1 against Melbourne, at the MCG, on 27 April 1935 8 goals once, 7 goals four times, and 6 goals seven times, 1933, 1936.

Port Melbourne (VFA)

In 1938, Freyer transferred Port Melbourne in the VFA without a clearance, at the start of the VFA's throw-pass era. He was a prolific goalkicker at Port Melbourne, and in 84 games managed 464 goals. In 1940, Freyer kicked 157 goals for Port, including 12 goals in the second semi-final and the Grand Final, to lead the VFA goalkicking for the season.

Military service

He served with the Australian Army in New Guinea in World War Two.

Death

He died at Smeaton, Victoria on 22 April 1984.