Fred Baring

Who was Fred Baring?

Frederick Albert Baring was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League during the early 1900s. In 1997 he was named at fullback in Essendon's official Team of the Century.

A premiership player with the Bombers four times, Baring started his career as a ruckman and ended it as a fullback. He kicked the sealer in the 1912 Grand Final and captained Essendon for the 1918 VFL season. In 1913 he won the Essendon Best and Fairest award. He was a VFL interstate representative at the 1911 Adelaide Carnival. During his career Baring played under the pseudonym "Adamson", when he was unable to get approved leave to play in the VFL from his employer.

Baring was also a successful cricketer and played Sheffield Shield matches for Victoria. A right-handed batsman, he managed a total of 30 first-class matches between 1911/12 and 1928/29, scoring 1846 runs at 32.96. Following the death of Victor Trumper, Baring was recognised as the best batsman in Australia on poor pitches. He came close to playing Test cricket for Australia after being named in their squad to tour South Africa but the series was canceled due to World War I.