Doug Strang

Who was Doug Strang?

Doug Strang was an Australian rules footballer who played as a full forward in the VFL between 1931 and 1935 for the Richmond Football Club.

Strang was originally recruited from Jindera as part of a major country recruiting drive by the Tigers, who were eager to break a run of Grand Final losses to Collingwood dating back to 1927. In just his second VFL game, his 14 goals kicked against North Melbourne in 1931 still stands to this day as the record for the most goals kicked by a Richmond player in a single game, and as the youngest player to kick ten or more goals in a VFL game, at just 18 years and 300 days old. In his first season Strang’s brilliant overhead marking, in spite of exceptionally wet weather for much of the winter, brought him sixty-eight goals with long drop kicks. In 1932, Strang struggled severely in another rainy winter, but from the time he kicked a goal after the bell to end an eleven match winning streak by Carlton, his brilliant marking asserted itself, most notably in a wonderful display on a dry ground in the second-semi-final.

1933 saw Strang begin to suffer from injuries later in the season.