Buck

Samuel Otto John Buck earned his place as an Inception Blue when he played on a half-forward flank in Carlton’s first-ever VFL match against Fitzroy in 1897.

Otto lined up alongside a pair of Henrys - Henry Dunne at centre half-forward, and Henry McPetrie on the opposite flank. From the first bounce however, the ball spent most of the match at Fitzroy’s end of the park, and the Maroons won comfortably.

Whether Buck was injured or omitted from the team for round two is unclear, but it took him until mid-July to get his second crack at senior football, against Geelong at Princes Park. The Premiership favourites promptly thumped the Blues by 50 points, and a week later Melbourne added to the despair when they handed out another drubbing.

Otto Buck gave up VFL football after that, having played only three matches in 12 rounds, and suffered defeat by an average of five goals in each one of them.

In June 1897 Otto Buck was cleared from Carlton to Royal Park Crescent.
Royal Park Crescent in 1897 was Carlton's reserves team which played in the V.J.F.L. (Victorian Junior Football Association).

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