COLLINGWOOD is mourning the loss of former captain Frank Tuck – one of the unluckiest players in AFL/VFL history.

Tuck, who died on Friday morning at the age of 84, could easily have been a two-time premiership player, but the tough backman endured such a cursed run that he finished empty-handed.

He missed the Magpies' 1953 premiership while serving a four-game suspension for striking Footscray full-forward Jack Collins in the final round.

Most dramatically, a hamstring injury robbed Tuck of the honour of becoming a premiership captain in 1958 as Collingwood produced the greatest boilovers in Grand Final history against Melbourne. 

However, the team-first Tuck was more disappointed about playing in three losing Grand Final sides – in 1952 against Geelong, followed by the 1955 and 1956 defeats to the Demons.

Recruited from Strathmerton in northern Victoria, he debuted in 1950 and made his name as an accountable, tough half-back flanker who could also play in the centre.

Tuck was runner-up in the Pies' best and fairest in 1957 and the next year was appointed captain – a position he held for two years.

At the end of 1959, after 131 games, Tuck retired from League football to coach Ovens and Murray league club Corowa, where he again finished runner-up in 1963.