Fred Pringle

Who is Fred Pringle?

Frederick Neville 'Fred' Pringle was an Australian rules footballer who played for Cananore in the Tasmanian Football League and Carlton in the Victorian Football League during the 1920s.

Pringle was born in India but brought up in Tasmania where he played with Cananore. Just 15 years of age when he debuted in 1915, Pringle had to wait until 1920 to appear again due to the league going into recess while the war was going on.

He served in the 10th Field Artillery Brigade of the First AIF during World War I.

A ruckman who was at times used as a key position player, he had a two season stint at Carlton, beginning in 1923, which impressed the state selectors enough to see him represent the VFL.

When Pringle resumed playing at Cananore in 1925 it was as captain-coach and he promptly steered them to three successive premierships. To highlight the strength of this Cananore side, they played a challenge match in 1925 against South Australian Football League club Port Adelaide and won by 178 points. He played his last TFL season in 1928 and then retired, having represented Tasmania in six interstate matches, most recent of which was the 1927 Melbourne Carnival. In 2005 he was honoured as one of the inaugural inductees into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.