Bert Franks was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for South Melbourne

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Although born and bred in Victoria, Franks played initially in the Goldfields Football Association

Goldfields Football League

The Goldfields Football League is a regional Australian football league based in the Kalgoorlie region, Western Australia. Originally founded in 1896 as Hannans District Football Association, the league enjoyed a seat and full voting rights on the Australian National Football Council until 1919...

 with Kalgoorlie Railways and then at North Fremantle

North Fremantle Football Club

The North Fremantle Football Club was an Australian rules football club which competed in the West Australian Football League from 1901 to 1915.North Fremantle started out in the First Rate Junior Association, the state's second tier competition...

 in the Western Australian Football Association

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

. Usually playing as a ruckman

Ruckman (Australian rules football position)

In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...

, he was a vital member of South Melbourne's 1909 premiership team and kicked a goal in the low scoring Grand Final

1909 VFL Grand Final

The 1909 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 October 1909. It was the 12th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

. He made another Grand Final in 1912, but on that occasion finished on the losing side and finished his career in the Victorian Football Association

Victorian Football League

The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...

 at North Melbourne

North Melbourne Football Club

The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...

.

Franks had a poor disciplinary record, and missed the 1907 Grand Final due to a seven match suspension he received for striking. Most notably, he was sidelined for life (commuted to 33 matches) in 1910 after being found guilty of abusing and threatening an umpire, the longest suspension for such a charge in the league's history.