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Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian (Indian, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Pakistani) cuisine and ritual.

The word ghee comes from Sanskrit: घृत (ghṛta, IPA: [ɡʱrit̪ə] 'sprinkled') and has several names around the world (Bengali: ঘী ghee, Punjabi: ਘਿਉ ghyo, Hindi: घी ghī, Gujarati: ઘી ghī, Maithili/ Nepali: घ्यू ghyū, Urdu: گھی ghī, Oriya: ଘିଅ gheeo, Marathi/Konkani: तूप tūp, Kannada: ತುಪ್ಪ tuppa, Malayalam: നെയ്യ് ney, Tamil: நெய் ney, Telugu: నెయ్యి neyyi, Somali: subaag, Arabic: سمنة samna, Persian: روغن حیوانی roghan-e heivani, Georgian: ერბო erbo, Indonesian: minyak samin, Malay: minyak sapi, Hausa: man shanu).

Preparation[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

To prepare ghee, butter is melted in a pot over medium high heat. The butter begins to melt, forming a white froth on top. It is then simmered, stirring occasionally and the froth begins to thin slowly and the colour of the butter changes to a pale yellow shade. Then it is cooked on low heat until it turns a golden colour. The residue solids settle at the bottom and the ghee, which is now clear, golden and translucent and fragrant, is ready. The ghee is then filtered, and it will solidify when completely cool. Ghee can be stored for extended periods without refrigeration, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation and remains moisture-free. The texture, colour and taste of ghee depend on the source of the milk from which the butter was made and the extent of boiling and simmering.

Religious use[link]

Traditional ghee is made from cow's milk [Sanskrit: गोघृत go-ghṛta]) and has a sacred role in Vedic and modern Hindu libation and anointment rituals (see Yajurveda). There is also a hymn to ghee.^[1] Ghee is also burnt in the Hindu religious ritual of Ārati and is the principal fuel used for the Hindu votive lamp known as the diyā or dīpa (deep). It is used in marriages and funerals, and for bathing mūrtis (divine idols) during worship.

In other religious observances, such as the prayers to Lord Krishna, Śiva (Shiva) on Janmashtami, Mahā-śivarātrī (Maha Shivaratri), and other Hindu festivals, ghee is served in Pañcāmṛta (Panchamruta) along with four other sacred substances: sugar, honey, milk, and dahī (yogurt). According to the Mahābhārata, ghee is the very root of sacrifice by Bhīṣma. Also, it is used generously in homam or yajña, since it is considered as food for the Devas.

Usage in food[link]

A dosa in South India served with ghee

Ghee is widely used in Indian cuisine. In many parts of India and Pakistan, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bengal, Orissa and many other states, rice is traditionally prepared or served with ghee (including biryani). In Rajasthan, ghee is considered to be a must-have with baati. All over north India, people dab roti with ghee. In the Bharuch district of Gujarat, ghee is served with kichdi, usually an evening meal of yellow rice with curry, a sauce made from yoghurt, cumin seeds, kari leaves, ghee, cornflour, tumeric, garlic and salt. Ghee is also an ingredient in the preparation of kadhi and used in Indian sweets such as Mysore pak, and different varieties of halva and laddu. Punjabi cuisine prepared in restaurants uses large amounts of ghee. Naan and roti are sometimes brushed with ghee, either during preparation or while serving. Ghee is an important part of Punjabi cuisine and traditionally, the parathas, daals and curries in Punjab often use ghee instead of oil, to give the food added richness.

Ghee is an ideal fat for deep frying because its smoke point (where its molecules begin to break down) is 250 °C (482 °F), which is well above typical cooking temperatures of around 200 °C (392 °F) and above that of most vegetable oils.

Ayurveda considers ghee to be sāttvik or sattva-guṇi (in the "mode of goodness"), when used as food. Ghee is the main ingredient in some of the ayurvedic medicines.

Nutrition[link]

Like any clarified butter, ghee is composed almost entirely of fat; the nutrition facts label found on bottled cow's ghee produced in the USA indicates 8 mg of cholesterol per teaspoon.

Ghee has been shown in one rodent study to reduce serum cholesterol slightly, but not significantly.^[2] Studies in Wistar rats have revealed one mechanism by which ghee reduces plasma LDL cholesterol. This action is mediated by an increased secretion of biliary lipids.

Indian restaurants and some households may use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (also known as vanaspati, dalda, or "vegetable ghee") in place of ghee because of its lower cost. This vegetable ghee may contain trans fat. Trans fats are linked to serious chronic health conditions. The term shuddh ghee, however, is not officially enforced in many regions, so partially hydrogenated oils are marketed as pure ghee in some areas. Where this is illegal in India, law enforcement often cracks down on the sale of fake ghee.^[3] Ghee is also sometimes called desi (country-made) ghee or asli (genuine) ghee to distinguish it from vegetable ghee.

Outside South Asia[link]

Several cultures outside South Asia make ghee. Egyptians make a product called samna baladi (سمنة بلدى IPA: [ˈsæmnæ ˈbælædi], meaning "local ghee"; i.e., Egyptian ghee) virtually identical to ghee in terms of process and result. In Ethiopia, niter kibbeh (Amharic: ንጥር ቅቤ niṭer ḳibē) is made and used in much the same way as ghee, but with spices added during the process that result in a distinctive taste. Moroccans (especially Berbers) take this one step further, aging spiced ghee in the ground for months or even years, resulting in a product called smen. In northeastern Brazil, an unrefrigerated butter very similar to ghee, called manteiga-de-garrafa (butter-in-a-bottle) or manteiga-da-terra (butter of the land), is common. It is also widely used in Europe. For example, Wiener Schnitzel is traditionally fried in a version of ghee called Butterschmalz. In France, it is called beurre noisette due to its nutty flavor, and used in making some pastries. Among pastoralist communities in East Africa, such as the Nandi, Tugen and Maasai communities, ghee and flocculated byproducts (kamaek) from ghee-making were traditionally used as cooking oil.

See also[link]

• Clarified butter
• Schmaltz

References[link]

External links[link]

Ghee- A Short Consideration from an Ayurvedic Perspective, Light on Ayurveda Magazine 2005 http://www.ancientorganics.com/articles.htm

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ghee

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Ghee

v t e Butter Beurre blanc Beurre noir Beurre noisette Beurre à la bourguignonne Bog butter Butter (2011 film) Butter churn Butter knife Butter lamb Butter lamp Butter rebellion Butter sculpture Butter tea The ButterCream Gang Buttered cat paradox Butterfat Chicago Butter and Egg Board Churning Clarified butter Compound butter Egg butter French butter dish Ghee Lurpak Manteiga-da-terra Niter kibbeh Paula Deen Scotch hands

Paula Hiers Deen

Paula Hiers (left) in a public service announcement for Civitan International.
Born	(1947-01-19) January 19, 1947 (age 65) Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Cooking style	Southern
Current restaurant(s) The Lady & Sons Restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, Owens Shepard's Finest
Television show(s) Paula's Home Cooking (2002–present) Paula's Party (2006–present) Paula's Best Dishes (2008–present)
Award(s) won 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Host
Official website
http://www.pauladeen.com/

Paula Hiers Deen (born January 19, 1947) is an American cook, cooking show host, restaurateur, author, actress and Emmy Award-winning television personality. Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. She has published five cookbooks. Though married in 2004 to Michael Groover,^[1] she uses the surname Deen from her first marriage.^[2]

Early life[link]

Deen was born in Albany, Georgia.^[3] Her parents died before she was 23, and an early marriage ended in divorce. In her 20s, Deen suffered from panic attacks and agoraphobia. She then focused on cooking for her family as something she could do without leaving her house.^[4] In 1986, she took a job as a bank teller, and later moved to Savannah, Georgia, with her sons. In 1989, she divorced her husband, Jimmy Deen, to whom she had been married since 1965.^[1] She was left with only $200.^[3] She then started a catering service,^[5] making sandwiches and meals, which her sons Jamie and Bobby delivered. She was recently revealed as a sufferer of type-2 diabetes.^[6]

Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.

Restaurants[link]

Deen's home business, The Bag Lady, soon outgrew her kitchen. In January 1996 Deen opened her own restaurant, The Lady & Sons, in downtown Savannah, on West Congress Street. Within a few years, the restaurant moved to a larger building in Savannah's historic district. USA Today named The Lady & Sons the "International Meal of the Year," in 1999. The specialty is a buffet, which typically includes sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, deep-fried Twinkies, fried chicken, cheesy meatloaf, greens, beans, and creamed corn. Every meal is served with a garlic cheese biscuit and a hoecake. Her sons are also involved in managing the restaurant, which is popular with tourists to Savannah.^[7]

In 2008, Deen parlayed her fame into another restaurant, the "Paula Deen Buffet" at Harrah's Tunica Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.^[8] Its entrance facade is modeled on Deen's home in Savannah and features Southern cooking.^[9]

In September 2009, Deen announced a new dessert line to be sold at Walmart including signature pies Apple Crunch Top, Dark Rum Pecan, Old Fashioned Fudge and Gooey Butter Cake bars.^[10]

Books and magazines[link]

In 1997, Deen self-published The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking and The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking 2. Both cookbooks featured traditional Southern recipes.^[11] She has since published two more, written with Martha Nesbit. Deen has appeared on QVC and on The Oprah Winfrey Show (first in 2002, twice in 2007 and once in 2010). Her life story is featured in Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success (2007, Sourcebooks).

In April 2007, Simon & Schuster published Deen's memoir, It Ain't All About the Cookin'. She launched a lifestyle magazine called Cooking with Paula Deen in November 2005.^[12] which claimed a circulation of 7.5 million in March, 2009.^[13]

Food Network[link]

Deen's relationship with Food Network began in 1999, when her friend Erin Lewis introduced her to Gordon Elliott, who then introduced her to her current agent, Artist's Agency owner Barry Weiner.^[14] Elliott took her through the city for a series of Doorknock Dinners episodes. She also appeared on Ready, Set, Cook!. Deen was invited to shoot a pilot named Afternoon Tea in early 2001. The network liked it, and eventually gave Deen her own show, Paula's Home Cooking, which premiered in November 2002. Paula's Home Cooking was originally taped in Millbrook, New York at the home of Gordon Elliott, the show's executive producer.^[15][16] Deen mentioned in an on the March 13, 2006, edition of The Daily Buzz that the next batch of episodes of her show would be taped at her home in Savannah, Georgia. According to the first of those episodes, actual production at her new Savannah home began in November 2005.

Deen throwing out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game in Washington, D.C.

Since then, Deen has been given two more Food Network shows, Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes.^[17] Paula's Party premiered on the Food Network in 2006 and Paula's Best Dishes debuted on June 8, 2008.^[18]

A televised biography of Deen was aired on an episode of the Food Network's Chefography program, in March 2006.^[19]

In December 2007, Deen teamed with Cat Cora and faced Chefs Tyler Florence and Robert Irvine in battle Sugar on the holiday special of Iron Chef America. At the end, Deen and Cora won.

Deen also helped Pat and Gina Neely get their first Food Network show, Down Home with the Neelys.^[20] During the summer of 2006, her sons, Bobby and Jamie Deen, featured the Neelys' Bar-B-Que Nashville location on their Food Network show Road Tasted. In September 2006, Paula ate at the Neelys' downtown Memphis restaurant and was impressed. In January 2007, the Neelys were invited to appear on Paula's Party,^[21] which eventually led to the Down Home show. In July 2008, the Neelys would also take over Road Tasted from the Deen brothers.

In May 2008, Deen announced at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show that she had signed a deal to host a talk show beginning in September 2009.^[22]

Deen has appeared in public service announcements for Civitan International.^[23]

On February 23, 2011, Deen appeared on the show Top Chef, and sat at the Judges Table.^[24]

Personal life[link]

In 2004, Deen married Michael Groover (born 1956), a tugboat captain in the port of Savannah, Georgia.^[25] Groover has two children from a previous marriage. The wedding was featured in a Food Network show in 2004. Their wedding took place at the Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah.^[26]

Deen is a supporter of the Bethesda Home for Boys, and asked Old Savannah Tours to donate $1 to the organization for each ticket purchased for the Paula Deen Store ticket sale.^[26] In January 2012, she announced she has had type 2 diabetes for the last three years.^[27]

Other work[link]

Deen made her film debut in Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in 2005. She played the aunt of Bloom's character, and her cooking was featured. A Food Network special, Paula Goes Hollywood, aired in conjunction with the film's premiere.^[28]

Awards and honors[link]

In June 2007, Deen won a Daytime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Lifestyle Host) for Paula's Home Cooking.^[29] In October 2010 she was selected as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, and presided over the 2011 Rose Parade before the Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2011.^[30]

Criticism[link]

Deen has faced extensive criticism for the high amounts of fat, salt, and sugar in her recipes.^[31] She faced particularly strong objections with the release of Lunch-Box Set, a cookbook aimed at children, with Barbara Walters saying of the book, "You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn't it bother you that you're adding to this?"^[32] Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain commented in 2011 that he "would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it's OK to eat food that is killing us."^[33]

On January 17, 2012, Deen announced that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years before, a disease for which a high calorie diet is a major risk factor.^[34][35] It was also disclosed that Deen is a paid spokesperson for the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.^[35] She was called a hypocrite for continuing to promote her high sugar diet while only disclosing her medical condition when it benefits her in representing the drug company to market their diabetes management program.^[36] Deen stated on the January 18, 2012 episode of The Chew that a portion of her compensation would be given to charities.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paula Deen

• Official website
• The Lady & Sons restaurant
• Cooking with Paula Deen magazine
• Paula Deen at the Internet Movie Database
• Paula Deen at TV Guide
• Paula Deen ... Answers Your Questions Archive at People.com

Sean Price (born March 17, 1972)^[1] is an American rapper and member of the hip hop supergroups Boot Camp Clik and Random Axe. He came to fame as one-half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruckus, or in short Ruck, along with partner Rock. He also is featured in the video game NBA 2K11 as a playable character in street mode. Price lives in Brownsville, Brooklyn.^[2]

In 2011, Sean Price was a judge on the Ultimate MC TV show alongside with Royce da 5'9", Organik, Planet Asia, and Pharoahe Monch.^[3]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

Collaboration albums[link]

Singles[link]

Official mixtapes[link]

• Donkey Sean Jr. (2004)
• Master P (2007)
• Kimbo Price (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Duck Down Records website

Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry performing live at Nambassa in 1981.
Background information
Birth name	Saunders Terrell
Born	(1911-10-24)October 24, 1911
Origin	North Carolina, United States
Died	March 11, 1986(1986-03-11) (aged 74)
Genres	Harmonica blues Piedmont blues[1] Country blues Blues revival Folk-blues East Coast blues
Instruments	Harmonica, Jaw harp
Years active	1930s—1980s
Labels	Atlantic, ABC
Associated acts	Brownie McGhee Sonny Terry and His Night Owls

Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry (24 October 1911 - 11 March 1986^[2]) was a blind American Piedmont blues musician.^[1] He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.

Career[link]

Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia.^[3] His father, a farmer, taught him to play basic blues harp as a youth. He sustained injuries to his eyes and lost his sight by the time he was 16, which prevented him from doing farm work himself.^[2] In order to earn a living Terry was forced to play music. He began playing in Shelby, North Carolina. After his father died he began playing in the trio of Piedmont blues-style guitarist Blind Boy Fuller. When Fuller died in 1941, he established a long-standing musical relationship with Brownie McGhee, and the pair recorded numerous songs together. The duo became well-known among white audiences, as they joined the growing folk movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This included collaborations with Styve Homnick, Woody Guthrie and Moses Asch, producing Folkways Records (now Smithsonian/Folkways) classic recordings.

In 1938 Terry was invited to play at Carnegie Hall for the first From Spirituals to Swing concert,^[2] and later that year he recorded for the Library of Congress. In 1940 Terry recorded his first commercial sides. Some of his most famous works include "Old Jabo" a song about a man bitten by a snake and "Lost John" in this he demonstrates his amazing breath control .

Despite their fame as "pure" folk artists, in the 1940s, Terry and McGhee fronted a jump blues combo with honking saxophone and rolling piano that was variously called Brownie McGhee and his Jook House Rockers or Sonny Terry and his Buckshot Five.

Terry was also in the 1947 original cast of the Broadway musical comedy, Finian's Rainbow.^[4]

Terry died from natural causes at Mineola, New York, in March 1986,^[5] the year he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.^[2] He died three days before Crossroads was released in theaters.

In Popular Culture[link]

Terry's rendition of the traditional song "Fox Chase", was used by the experimental filmmaker Len Lye as the soundtrack for his short film, Color Cry (1952). "Old Lost John" was used by Werner Herzog twice: at the conclusion of his 1977 feature film Stroszek and also during shooting scene in Bad Lieutenant. Port of Call: New Orleans (2009). He also appeared in The Colour Purple directed by Steven Spielberg. With Brownie McGhee, he appeared in the 1979 Steve Martin comedy The Jerk. Terry collaborated with Ry Cooder on "Walkin' Away Blues" as well as a cover of Robert Johnson's "Crossroad Blues" for the 1986 film Crossroads. More recently Terry's track "Whoopin' The Blues" was used for a EON Wind Farm brand commercial. It also appeared in the film 24 Hour Party People (Winterbottom, 2002).

Sonny Terry's harmonica is sampled in the song "Love is Eternal Sacred Light" on Paul Simon's forthcoming album So Beautiful or So What.

Discography[link]

• Sonny Terry's Washboard Band (Folkways, 1955)
• Folk Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (Roulette, 1958)
• Blues with Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (Folkways, 1959)
• Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry At The Bunkhouse (Smash, 1965)
• "sing & play" (society,1966)
• Sonny & Brownie (A&M Records, 1973)
• Whoopin' (feat. Johnny Winter & Willie Dixon / Alligator, 1984)
• Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Sing (Smithsonian Folkways, 1990)
• Whoopin' the Blues: The Capitol Recordings, 1947-1950 (Capitol, 1995)

See also[link]

• List of blues musicians
• Blind musicians
• List of harmonicists
• Harmonica
• Jaw harp
• American Blues
• American folk music
• List of people on stamps of the United States

References[link]

George Robert Alexander "Alex" Duncan (25 February 1900 — August 1984) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League, for Stratford in the Gippsland Football League, for Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Association, and for Havelock in the Industrial Football League (at the age of 36).

Duncan made his debut for Carlton in Round 1 of the 1921 season. He retired from VFL football in 1930, having played 141 senior games for Carlton, and four interstate games for Victoria.

He is especially remembered for his performance in "Duncan's match".

Footballer[link]

Carlton[link]

He made his debut for Carlton on 7 May 1921, playing on the half-forward flank, against Richmond, at the Punt Road ground. A crowd of 32,000 saw Carlton defeat Richmond by 9 points, 7.11 (53) to 8.14 (62).

He played 15 senior matches in 1924; and, with 27 goals, he was Carlton's top goalkicker.

Stratford[link]

Apparently for the sake of his wife's health, he decided to leave the city, and Carlton; and, in January 1925, a public meeting at Stratford, Victoria appointed Duncan the captain-coach of the Stratford Football Club.^[2] He was given a house, rent-free, a job, and was also to be paid an additional salary of ₤8 a week as captain-coach.

Having left Carlton on good terms,^[3] "R. A. Duncan" was granted a clearance from Carlton to Stratford on 25 March 1925.^[4]

On 2 May 1925, "Alex. Duncan (Stratford's coach and captain) marked his first appearance in Gippsland football… by winning the toss, playing a good game, kicking five goals and leading his side to victory [over Rosedale, 13.14 (92) to 9.7 (61)]".^[5]

The Stratford team, which had not won a single match in 1924, and only two in 1923, won a number of matches under Duncan, despite problems with an ever-increasing absence of stronger players as the season went on, and were still potential finalists until they were soundly beaten by Maffra, 7.11 (53) to 2.4 (16), in the last match of the home-and-away season on 19 September 1925 (the match was marred by a very strong wind blowing across the ground for the entire match).

At the end of the 1925 season, he returned to Melbourne, ready to resume his career with Carlton the following season.^[6]

Return to Carlton[link]

The Age, Monday, 27 June 1927.

The Age, Monday, 27 June 1927.

Moved from the forward line to centre half-back, he played his first return game for Carlton, against Melbourne at Princes Park on 8 May 1926 (round two). There was an influenza epidemic in Melbourne at the time, and Duncan was bedridden on the day of the first match of the season.

"Duncan's match"[link]

The encounter between Carlton and Collingwood Football Club at Victoria Park on Saturday, 25 June 1927, in which a strong Carlton team out muscled, outplayed, and (coming from behind) beat a champion Collingwood team playing at its peak, is one of the most famous encounters in the game's history; and is remembered as "Duncan's Match".^[7]

Playing at centre-halfback, the "impassable" and "unbeatable" Duncan dominated the game as, perhaps, no other player has done before or since;^[8]

According to The Age, "Duncan's meteoric marking and wonderfully dashing defence was the most sparkling individual performance of the season".^[9]

According to The Argus, "Duncan his played many fine games for Carlton, and has also been a tower of strength in interstate teams, but he has never been seen to better advantage. His marking was superb, his judgment faultless, and his kicking splendid, while his dash turned many attacks."^[10]

He took at least 33 marks (some claim he had taken as many as 45); and his beautiful drop-kicks on that day were as flawless as his marking.^[11]

Carlton won the match 14.11 (95) to Collingwood's 13.5 (83).

Collingwood, a football club not generally known for magnanimous gestures towards its opponents, were so impressed with Duncan's outstanding performance (perhaps, even, a best of all time performance) that they had the match ball suitably mounted and inscribed and presented the trophy to Duncan.

The Age, Friday, 17 April 1931.

Coburg[link]

He went to the VFA's Coburg Football Club in 1931,^[12][13] and was appointed the captain-coach of Coburg in 1935.^[14]

In his first match for Coburg, against Preston, on 2 May 1931, playing against Preston's Roy Cazaly, "Duncan was a tower of tremendous strength at centre half-back";^[15] however, he sustained several internal injuries, including bruised kidneys, in the match, and he was forced to miss the next matck because his doctor had confined him to bed.

His first senior match in 1936 for Coburg was on 13 June 1936 (round nine), when he played at centre half-back against Preston ("Alex Duncan gave a creditable performance at centre half-back in the first game for the season"), and Coburg won by 33 points.^[16] He also played for Coburg on 18 July 1936, despite having been cleared to play for Havelock.^[17]

Havelock[link]

In 1936, aged 36, he was granted a permit to play for the Havelock Football Club, representing the Havelock tobacco factory of W.D. & H.O. Wills, in the "Saturday Morning League" competition, conducted by the Industrial Football League.^[18] He played in Havelock's Grand Final 6.16 (52) to 4.12 (36) loss to Victoria Brewery on 22 August 1936.^[19] The Havelock club withdrew from the competition before the start of the 1937 season, due to its difficulty in attracting sufficient suitable players.^[20] It returned to the competition in 1939.^[21]

Tribunals[link]

Despite coming a close equal second with Melbourne's Dick Taylor to Colingwood's Syd Coventry in the 1927 Brownlow Medal, having been declared best on the ground in six matches, compared with Coventry's seven (at that stage only one vote was given to one player in each game),^[22] Duncan had quite a history of rough play.

During the particularly torrid match against Collingwood at Princes Park on 29 July 1922, which Carlton won, Duncan scored three goals despite being knocked out on two separate occasions. Eric Cock was found guilty of punching Duncan (he claimed that Duncan had kicked him in the ankle and verbally abused him), and was suspended for six matches. Duncan was found guilty of having elbowed Harry Saunders, and was suspended for three matches. Saunders pleaded guilty to punching Duncan, pleading provocation; he was suspended for six matches and was fined £5 by the police for his assault on Duncan.^[23]

In a torrid, low-scoring match match at a windswept Princes Park on 21 June 1924, against Richmond, which Richmond won 5.8 (38) to 3.10 (38), Duncan was reported three times: for elbowing Reuben Reid, for kicking George Rudolph whilst he was on the ground, and for making an offensive gesture towards Boundary Umpire Johnson.^[24] Duncan was acquitted of all three charges due to lack of corroborating evidence; whilst Richmond's Reid, cited for "charging" Horrie Clover, was suspended for three matches, and Donald Don of Richmond, cited for "charging" Newton Chandler from behind, was suspended for eleven matches.^[25]

In his second match as captain-coach of Stratford, Duncan was reported, by the Sale Football Club, for using obscene language on the playing arena, directed at Wilson, a member of the Sale team during the match against Sale Football Club on 9 May 1925. In the tribunal hearing it was revealed that Duncan had been awarded a mark, and had been kicked on the leg by Wilson; and, as Duncan went back to take his kick, he called Wood a "mongrel — " (the newspaper did not print the word), Wood told him that if he said such things again, he would punch him, and still walking back to take his kick, Duncan swore at him "You dirty —  ", and Wood, striking from behind, felled Duncan, and Duncan was unconscious for at least five minutes. Duncan protested that Sale had only complained to retaliate for Wood having been reported by the field umpire. After much discussion Wood was suspended for four matches and Duncan two.^[26]

The Victorian Football League’s Interstate team that drew with South Australia, in Adelaide, 13.10 (88) to 11.22 (88) on Saturday, 16 June 1928.
Back Row: Jack Moriarty, Albert "Leeter" Collier, Hugh Dunbar, Gordon "Nuts" Coventry, Bob Johnson, Jack Baggott.
Second Row: Jack Vosti, Charlie Stanbridge, Arthur Stevens, Alex Duncan, Dick Taylor, Ted Baker.
Front Row: Basil McCormack, Arthur Rayson, Alan Geddes (vice-captain), Syd Coventry (captain), Barney Carr, Arthur “Bull” Coghlan, Herbert White.

Duncan was reported for charging a Bairnsdale player, during the Stratford-Bairnsdale match on 12 September 1925. He was also reported for threatening Umpire Rowe, the field umpire.^[27] Eventually, due to a technicality (the case had not been submitted to the tribunal within seven days of the match) the case was not heard, and the charges against Duncan were consequently dismissed.^[28]

During the round three match against Geelong, at Geelong on 15 May 1926, Duncan was reported for the "unseemly conduct" of throwing the football into the face of Lloyd Hagger, the Geelong forward who had been the VFL's leading goal-kicker in the preceding season (1925). Duncan was, perhaps, the best player for Carlton on the day. Hagger had been awarded a free kick, against Duncan, in the second quarter, because Duncan had pushed him in the back; as Hagger began to raise himself from the ground, and prepare to take his kick, Duncan spitefully threw the ball into his face. Duncan was found guilty and was suspended for four matches.^[29]

In the VFA Grand Final match between Northcote and Coburg, Duncan was playing full-forward, and kicked eight of Coburg's ten goals — Coburg lost the match 19.16 (130) to 10.9 (69). Two Northcote players were each charged with kicking Duncan during the match. Both were found guilty; one (Haskett) was suspended for four matches, the other (Ackland) was reprimanded.^[30]

During the 1935 VF first semi-final played on 17 August 1935, between Coburg and Camberwell, Duncan (Coburg's captain-coach) was charged with deliberately pushing E. Dyball of Camberwell after a free kick had been awarded in the last quarter of the match. Duncan pleaded guilty; but argued in his own defence that he had not heard the umpire's whistle blow, and had pushed Dyball to delay the play. Given Duncan's defence, the tribunal considered that there was reasonable doubt whether Duncan had, indeed, deliberately pushed Dyball in the full knowledge that Dyball had been awarded a free kick, and dismissed the charge.^[31]

After football[link]

Duncan served in the Australian Army from 3 November 1941 to 6 October 1945.^[32] At the time of his enlistment he was married to Olive Duncan.

Notes[link]

1. ^ Notes by "Full Back": An Extract from The Sporting Globe, The Traralgon Record, (Friday, 11 September 1925), p.2.
2. ^ Stratford Football Club: Coach Appointed, The Gippsland Times, (Monday, 12 January 1925), p.2.
3. ^ Duncan had "received a very fine certificate, framed in oak, from the Carlton Foot ball Club for the fine services rendered that Club during the last four years" (Stratford, The Gippsland Times, (Thursday, 26 March 1925, p.3).
4. ^ League Permits Granted, The Argus, (Thursday, 26 March 1925), p.10.
5. ^ Notes by "Full Back", The Traralgon Record , (Friday, 8 May 1925), p.3.
6. ^ Popular Footballer farewelled: Mr. Duncan Honored, The Gippsland Times, (Thursday, 1 October 1925), p.4.
7. ^ 1927 VFL season#Round 9; Ross, (1996), p.124; Blueseum Game Review of Duncan's Match
8. ^ Without in any way denigrating Duncan's performance on that day, it should be remembered that — ostensibly to reduce "the unseemly bullocking in the ruck at boundary throwins" (Ross, 1996, p.114) — the laws of the game had been altered in 1925 so that the last player to have touched the ball before it went out of bounds was penalized by the awarding of a free kick to the opposing team. This meant that, whilst this law was in operation (1925-?1939), much of the play was directed up the centre of the ground along the goal-to-goal line, and very little play was directed along the flanks.
9. ^ A Memorable Contest, The Age, (Monday, 27 June 1927), p.8.
10. ^ Collingwood Outplayed: Brilliant Win by Carlton: Best Players, (Monday, 27 June 1927), p.6.
11. ^ On 23 June 1951, in a drawn match between Fitzroy Football Club 12.13 (85) and South Melbourne 12.13 (85) which, although conducted under different "out of bounds rules", was played at the small, narrow Brunswick Street Oval in North Fitzroy, the 1949 Brownlow Medal winner, South Melbourne's Ron "Smokey" Clegg took 32 marks.
12. ^ Duncan's Movements; May Play with Association Club, The Argus, (Thursday, 16 April 1931), p.11.
13. ^ Football: League Permits Granted, The Argus, (Thursday, 30 April 1931), p.10.
14. ^ Coburg's New Coach, The Argus, (Wednesday, 20 February 1935), p.16.
15. ^ Association: Preston Wins Splendid Game, The Argus, (Monday, 4 May 1931), p.12.
16. ^ High Scoring Game: Preston Without Hyde, The Argus, (Monday, 15 June 1936), p.15.
17. ^ Runaway Victory, The Argus, (Monday, 20 July 1936), p.15.
18. ^ Too Old at 36?, The Argus, (Saturday, 13 June 1936), p.18.
19. ^ Morning League, The Argus, (Thursday, 20 August 1936), p.15; Victoria Brewery Retains Pennant, , The Argus, (Monday, 24 August 1936), p.15.
20. ^ Morning League: Havelock Withdraws, The Argus, (Wednesday, 17 March 1937), p.11.
21. ^ Havelock Returns, (Wednesday, 8 March 1939), p.24.
22. ^ Brownlow Medal: Won by S. Coventry, The Argus, (15 September 1927), p.5. It is interesting to note that, in the only match that Carlton played against Collingwood that year (round nine), Duncan was far, far better than anyone else on the ground, including Coventry (it was "Duncan's match").
23. ^ Blows During Football: Three League Players Disqualified, The Argus, (Saturday, 5 August 1922), p.22.
24. ^ Football: Players Suspended, The Age, (Friday, 27 June, 1924), p.7.
25. ^ Charges of Rough Play; Two Players Disqualified, The Argus, (Friday, 27 June 1924), p.5.
26. ^ Football Tribunal: Wilson and Duncan, The Gippsland Times, (Thursday, 21 May 1925), p.3.
27. ^ Gippsland Football League: Duncan's Case Sent to Tribunal, The Gippsland Times, (Thursday, 24 September 1925), p.5.
28. ^ Objection Upheld, The Argus, (Friday, 2 October 1925), p.6.
29. ^ Football: LeagueTribunal: Two Players Suspended, The Argus, (Friday, 21 May 1926), p.5.
30. ^ Haskett Suspended, The Argus, (Thursday, 18 October 1934), p.17.
31. ^ Charges Dismissed, The Argus, (Thursday, 22 August 1935), p.13.
32. ^ World War II Nominal Roll: George Robert Alexander Duncan (V143551).

References[link]

• Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897-1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0

External links[link]

• Blueseum Biography: Alex Duncan
• AFL Statistics: Alex Duncan