PLAYER: 1942-1953

GAMES: 204: West Perth 182; Essendon 8; WA 14.

PREMIERSHIPS: West Perth 1942, 49, 51.

HONOURS: Sandover Medal 1951; West Perth fairest and best 1944, 51; Simpson Medal 1951.

The Buttsworth brothers were among the most talented siblings WA has produced.  Fred was a dashing centre half-back and centre half-forward famous for long drop kicks; older brother Wally was a centre half-back with West Perth in the late 1930’sbefore he transferred to Essendon and played 188 games, won two fairest and bests and played in the Bombers 1942 and 1946 premiership teams.  Nine years younger, Fred was the first player post war to represent WA at both football and cricket.  Peaked in West Perth’s premiership year of 1951 when he polled 25 votes to win the Sandover and his mid-year performance for WA on VFL legent Fred Fanning to win the Simpson Medal was so impressive that newspaper headlines hailed the match as “Buttsworth versus Victoria. Injury forced his premature retirement at 26.