FREDERICK JAMES BUTTSWORTH (FRED JNR)
29 May 1927 – 12 May 2021
Fred Buttsworth Jnr was an outstanding batsman who played 172 matches for North Perth between the 1944/45 and the 1958/59 seasons.
Fred was the captain of the Club’s back-to-back premiership wins in 1957/58 and 1958/59. In First Grade cricket he scored 6,434 runs at an average of 36.76 with 13 centuries and 35 fifties.
Fred made his First Grade debut as a 17 year old in the opening round of the 1944/45 season, and acquitted himself well scoring 39 in a close win over West Perth (now Willetton). In just his 7th match he scored his maiden First Grade hundred (104 not out) against the RAAF (who fielded a team for 4 seasons during WW2).
Due to wartime requirements player availability was uncertain from one week to another, and this led to all games being played as one-day fixtures. Fred took full advantage of the 20 matches he played in his debut season by scoring 899 runs at 47.31, which included two more centuries against Nedlands (122) and East Perth (101 not out).
Fred enlisted in the navy in 1945 and consequently missed all the 1945/46 season together with the first half of the 1946/47 season. Upon his return, he quickly returned to form scoring 320 runs from just 6 innings at an average of 64.00 including scores of 97 and 98.
The next season (1947/48) was WA’s first year in the Sheffield Shield and Fred was selected (along with Laurie Bandy) to play in the first match against South Australia in Perth. Fred had the unfortunate honour of making the first Sheffield Shield “duck” for WA. He did however score 60 in WA’s fifth and final game of the season against Queensland, and was in a partnership of 157 for the 4th wicket. WA subsequently won that game, which guaranteed that WA would win the Sheffield Shield.
Fred would play a total of 8 games for WA between 1947/48 and 1949/50 for a total of 343 runs at 22.86 with 2 fifties and 3 catches. His score of 60 against Queensland would remain his highest score for WA.
His highest career innings in First Grade was 153 made against West Perth in the last round of the 1948/49 season. This ensured that the Club qualified to play in the grand final (there were no semi-finals in that era). He featured in a partnership of 233 for the 4th wicket with Alec Robinson (116). Unfortunately, East Perth (now Perth) were too good for North Perth in the final.
The 1949/50 season was Fred’s best where he scored a total of 1,003 runs at an average of 83.58 with 5 centuries and 3 fifties. After missing the first game through football commitments, he scored 119 against Fremantle in round 2 followed by 128 not out against Claremont-Cottesloe in round 3. Fred scored 3 more centuries in round 9 (106 not out versus Mt Lawley), round 13 (117 versus Fremantle) and round 14 (113 not out versus Claremont-Cottesloe). In the grand final he made 84 and 27, however despite Fred’s contributions, South Perth won outright by 128 runs.
Over the next 9 seasons, Fred continued to be a consistent performer with the bat typically scoring between 300 and 500 runs per season at an average in the high 20s or low 30s. During that period, he scored 3,417 runs at an average of 28.71 with a best season of 548 runs at 32.24 in 1957/58.
Fred was captain for 3 seasons between 1956/57 and 1958/59 and led the side into 3 consecutive grand finals. A loss to South Perth in the 1956/57 final was followed by back-to-back wins in 1957/58 (against Midland-Guildford) and 1958/59 (against Nedlands).
The grand final in 1958/59 would end up being his last game as he was then transferred in his employment with the Department of Civil Aviation to the Cocos Islands for 4 years.
Fred was also a talented Australian Rules player who took the field in 182 games for West Perth along with 8 games with Essendon (in 1945) and 18 games for WA. He won the 1951 Sandover Medal, and in the same year won the Simpson Medal as the best player for WA in the State game against Victoria. Fred was in the 1942, 1949 and 1951 West Perth premiership teams, and was selected at centre half forward in their Team of the Century.
The Buttsworth family has a strong connection with the cricket club. Fred Snr played 119 games between 1911/12 and 1926/27 taking 296 wickets and playing in 3 premiership teams during the club’s golden era. Fred Snr was also club captain in 1924/25 and 1925/26.
Fred Jnr’s brothers Wally and Brian also played First Grade. Wally was also a batsman and played 25 games for the club between 1935/36 and 1937/38 before going to Victoria where he played 188 AFL games for Essendon. Brian played 48 games in the late 1950s as a wicketkeeper, and was also a member of the 1957/58 and 1958/59 premierships teams. Hi son Ray also played for the club in the late 1970s and 1980s. Ray was a fast left hand swing bowler and hard hitting lower order batsman playing 2nd grade and was a member of the Club’s first Colts one day Premiership in 1980/81.
