Fred Cook, a legend of state-league and suburban Australian rules football, has died at the age of 74.
VFL club Port Melbourne, where Cook booted 1210 goals and won six premierships from 253 games during the VFA glory days, confirmed he had died peacefully on Tuesday morning.
Cook was a brilliant full-forward and charismatic personality in the 1970s and 1980s.
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The Age sports editor Russell Bennett described Cook on Twitter as “truly a giant figure”.
Rohan Connolly, formerly a sports journalist at The Age, also paid tribute to the Victorian footy icon.
“Anyone my age or older who loved VFA football knows what a star this guy was, one of the biggest names in Melbourne without even playing in the VFL,” Connolly wrote.
“Port Melbourne had some super teams and Freddy was always their focal point.”
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