Last Thursday, March 2nd marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of former Bulldogs player Charlie Page.
Hailing from local team Spotswood United, Page had only a brief career with Footscray but it was certainly a very successful one. After playing one match for the Dogs late in the 1938 season, which saw him kick three goals on debut, Page became a regular face on the forward line in 1939, kicking 31 goals in 15 matches to top the club goal-kicking list.
He had a sensational start to the 1940 season, kicking nine goals in the opening match against Richmond, followed by five more in each of the following two rounds against Essendon and Melbourne, both powerhouse sides of the time (as was Richmond). Page went onto kick 52 goals in 16 games for the season to again head the list of Bulldog goalkickers.
Page had another good season in 1941, in which he kicked 27 goals in 11 matches but, having enlisted in the Australian Army in January of that year, his 43-game 113-goal league career sadly came to a premature end after that season as Australia's involvement in World War II fighting continued.
Page died in October 2010, aged 93.