Author: Jamie Sanderson

A very happy 80th birthday to Graham Gilchrist today.

From the Blueseum:

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Career : 1952 – 1961
Debut : Round 18, 1952 vs St Kilda, aged 20 years, 9 days
Carlton Player No. 661
Games : 114
Goals : 26
Last Game : Round 18, 1961 vs Melbourne, aged 29 years, 11 days
Guernsey Nos. 26 (1952) and 28 (1953-61)
Height : 180 cm (5 ft. 11 in.)
Weight : 73 kgs (11 stone, 7 lbs.)
DOB : August 14, 1932

An elegant, versatile player who celebrated Premierships at Under-19 and Reserves level during his first few seasons at Princes Park, Graham Gilchrist went on to play more than 100 senior games for the Navy Blues in two different guernsey numbers between 1952 and 1961.

While studying at Coburg High School, Gilchrist joined Carlton’s Under-19 squad in 1949. Two years later he was appointed captain, and led his team to a grafting Grand Final win over Essendon. Agile and strong in the air, he often played at centre half-forward in his early days, until it became obvious that he was better-suited to the centre or a flank.

In August 1952, Graham was rewarded for his consistency at Reserves level by gaining senior selection for Carlton’s clash against St Kilda at the Junction Oval, in the second-last round of the year. In the number 26 guernsey previously worn by dual Premiership defender Jim Clark, he showed his wares in a strong victory by the Blues, but had to be content to return to Reserves level the following week.

In 1953, he switched to guernsey number 28 and again spent the season almost exclusively with the seconds, as an understudy to incumbent wingers Laurie Kerr and Johnny Chick. When Chick tore a groin muscle in mid-August, Gilchrist was called up for the last two matches of the season; against Hawthorn and North Melbourne respectively. He kicked his first career goal against the Kangas, before rejoining the Reserves for their finals campaign. On Saturday, 26th September 1953, Carlton seconds won their fifth lower grade Premiership by defeating Essendon in front of 80,000 fans in the Grand Final curtain-raiser at the MCG. Gilchrist played well across half-forward that afternoon, kicked two goals, and staked his claim for a regular place in the seniors throughout the following eight seasons.

Graham was unfortunate in that Carlton was a mediocre team for most of his career, and he played only three senior finals in his 114 games, including the 1957 first Semi Final loss to Hawthorn, and the 1959 Preliminary Final defeat by eventual Premiers Melbourne. Still, his pace, balance and smart disposal made him one of the first selected each week throughout his time at Princes Park, and he was always popular with his team-mates and fans alike. He notched up his 100th game against Collingwood at Victoria Park in round 8, 1960 – sharing the milestone with defender Denis Zeunert – and finished up after a remarkable contest against Melbourne in round 18, 1961 at Princes Park.

On that blustery afternoon, lowly Carlton led Premiership contenders Melbourne by 20 points at three-quarter time, and were on the verge of causing a boilover. In the centre, Gilchrist had the better of his opponent Laurie Mithen for three quarters, before the Demons charged home with a strengthening wind at their backs to pip the gallant Blues by one point. As well as bidding farewell to the VFL that day, Gilchrist kicked his 26th and last goal in Navy Blue. Carlton finished out of finals contention in eighth place on the ladder, but the clubs’ spirits were lifted enormously when star defender Johnny James won the Brownlow Medal, and first-year full-forward Tom Carroll was the League’s leading goal-kicker, with 54 majors.

Milestones

50 Games: Round 9, 1957 vs North Melbourne
100 Games: Round 8, 1960 vs Collingwood

Career Highlights

Under 19’s (3rds) Premiership Player and Captain 1951
Reserves (2nds) Premiership Player 1953

Happy 80th birthday to Peter Webster today!

From the Blueseum:

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Playing Career: 1953 – 1959
Debut: Round 12, 1953 v Footscray, aged 20 years, 339 days
672nd Carlton Player
Games: 97
Goals: 6
Last Game: Semi Final, 1959 v Melbourne, aged 27 years, 37 days
Guernsey Nos. 33, 3
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 82.5kg
DOB: 6th August, 1932

Peter Webster played 97 games and kicked 6 goals after making his debut in 1953. Webster won the club’s 2nd Best Player award in the finals series for the Under 19’s team in their premiership year of 1951, he was also Vice Captain.

Webster was also a member of the reserves premiership team in 1953, after be recruited from Princes Hill, he graduated from the 4th’s through to the senior ranks.

Webster later coached Merebin in the powerful Sunraysia League.

Courageous and adaptable, Peter Webster carved out a useful VFL career for himself with Carlton despite suffering from a weakness of the heart. He played under-age and seconds football with the club before making his senior debut in 1953, and went on to play a total of 97 games and kick 6 goals over seven seasons. For much of his career he played in defence, where his brilliant overhead marking, sound kicking and fine sense of anticipation showed up to good effect. However, he could also perform serviceably on the ball, and even on occasion on the forward lines.

A very happy 95th birthday to the third oldest living Carlton senior player, Keith Rae today!

From the Blueseum:

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Career : 1939, 1943
Debut : Round 15, 1939 vs Footscray, aged 22 years, 5 days
Carlton Player No. 550
Games : 15
Goals : 2
Last Game : Round 16, 1943 vs Fitzroy, aged 26 years, 28 days
Guernsey Nos. 29 (1939), 23 (1943)
Height : 180 cm (5 ft. 11 in.)
Weight : 70 kg (11 stone)
DOB : 30 July, 1917

Keith Stanley Rae was a capable midfielder whose career at Carlton was heavily interrupted by World War II. After playing in two memorable games for the Blues late in 1939, he joined the Royal Australian Navy, where his wartime duties kept him away from Melbourne for three full seasons. Back at Princes Park in 1943, he racked up another 13 matches, but was left out of Carlton’s Semi Final team and departed at the end of that year.

Rae’s path to Princes Park began at Williamstown in the VFA, the suburb in which he was born. He later joined Carlton’s affiliated amateur side, Carlton Juniors, and in 1939 was training with the Blues when captain-coach Brighton Diggins told him that he would be playing his first senior game for Carlton in the following weekend’s round 15 clash at home against Footscray.

Named in the centre, with Jack Carney and Bob Green as his wingers, Rae’s debut was an unforgettable experience. Sitting one win out of the top four, but with the second-best percentage in the competition, Carlton launched a last-ditch assault on a finals place and slaughtered the Bulldogs by 88 points. Forwards Ken Baxter and Paul Schmidt kicked 8 goals each, and clever rover ‘Mickey’ Crisp bagged another five.

That great form continued with another big win the following week, against Hawthorn at Princes Park. This time, the margin was 62 points, as Baxter and Schmidt starred again with four goals each. However, Rae was omitted from the team after just those two appearances, and Carlton missed out on playing finals football when we crashed to a heavy defeat against Richmond in round 17 at Punt Road.

A few weeks later, just as the ‘39 finals began, the world was plunged into crisis by the outbreak of another war in Europe. Because he was already serving with the RAN Volunteer Reserve, Rae was quickly called up by the navy, and spent the following three years in various ships and naval depots in Australian waters. In 1943 he was posted back to Melbourne, and wasted little time in rolling up at Princes Park, where coach Percy Bentley made him welcome.

Rae’s comeback match, a home game against Richmond in the first round of the new season, resulted in another huge win to the Blues, and another brilliant individual effort by a Carlton forward. This time it was Jim ‘Bones’ Baird who provided the game’s highlight, by booting ten great goals in a 44-point victory. Rea was a handy contributor on a centre wing, and from then on held his place in the side for most of the season.

Carlton wound up the ’43 home and away season in fourth place on the ladder – one win behind minor premiers Richmond, but with a healthier percentage. The Blues were considered a real chance of pinching the flag that year, but stumbled when it mattered most and were bundled out of contention by Fitzroy in the first Semi Final. Although Rae had appeared in thirteen of the sixteen regular season games, he was omitted from the Semi Final side, and never represented the Blues again.

The Navy called Keith back to the colours in 1944. Football again took a back seat, and he was still on duty when World War II eventually ended in August, 1945. One of those who could genuinely claim that they served ‘for the duration,’ he was eventually discharged in May, 1946.

Later that same year, he turned up at Richmond, where he impressed enough to be given a go by the Tigers, but managed only two more senior games and one goal.

Footnote:

Keith’s WW2 Rescue.

Williamstown Chronicle, September 26, 1941;
“Mr. and Mrs. Stan Rae, of 32 Hosking-street, have received word that their son Keith, who was a gunlayer on an armed cruiser, has been saved after his ship was sunk by enemy action. Prior to his enlistment Keth was a well known athlete, being a centreman with the Williamstown and the Carlton Football Clubs and also a cricketer with the Colts team, graduating from the Williamstown Cricket Club.”

Dear Past Player / Official

Please find attached an invitation to join us for our 2^nd Annual Spirit of Carlton Dinner to be held at Visy Park on September 12^th 2012 from 6.30pm – 10.30pm.

This is a great opportunity to come back to the club and enjoy the fellowship of our mates and keep the kindred spirit of the Carlton Football club alive

This Annual Dinner is exclusive to all  our senior, reserve and under 19  past players and officials from  all eras,  and we hope that you can  join us to  make the evening a great success.

Our special guest speakers will include – Andrew Mackay General Manager Football Operations  who will provide us with a review of this season and insights into what we can expect in 2013.

Please note that the cost of the two course  dinner is $60 per head, pensioners $30 per head and drinks will be subsidised by the SOC.

Gentleman  we sincerely hope that you can organise a few of your former  team mates to join us  and  enjoy what will be a great evening of camaraderie.

Bookings and payment details  for the evening are on the attached form and we request that you pay in advance to assist us with catering.

The SOC Executive look forward to seeing you on the night.

Dennis Munari

For SOC Past and Present Executive

Just a short note to advise that for anyone collecting tickets for this Saturday night’s game against Richmond.

The ticket collection point is now:

AFL COLLECTION AREA

IN BETWEEN GATES 6 & 7

IN FRONT OF LIGHT TOWER 4

regards,

SOC Executive

We have some very exciting news for our ‘Taming the Tigers’ Luncheon on 3rd August.

Guests at the luncheon will be have the privilege of seeing an exclusive extract of a recent interview with Bruce Doull conducted at the Carlton Football Club by Tony De Bolfo.

Call 1300 227 586 for your tickets to this special Carlton event.

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By Tony De Bolfo

Bruce Doull, one of the game’s greatest and most revered footballers, has returned to the place he called home for twenty years to reflect on his time at Carlton for the record.

From the dark of night and long after the last of today’s players had filed out of Visy Park, he emerged, setting foot in the redeveloped facility on Royal Parade for the first time. There he saw the 16 premiership trophies (he had a hand in four of them); his 1981 Norm Smith Medal (for subduing Craig Davis on that last Saturday in September); and that quintessential Bruce Doull photograph, complete with Carlton guernsey and trademark headband, which now graces the 200-game wall.

Bruce also ventured outside and onto the landing, to what was once the site of the Robert Heatley Stand. There the AFL’s (and Carlton’s) Team of the 20th century half-back stood for a moment, as his mind took him back to those glorious days when Princes Park was truly his domain.

Later, in the sanctuary of the players’ dressing room, Bruce found his place by the famous No.11 locker, where his name shares door space with the likes of Rod McGregor, Jack Hale, John Goold and Earl Spalding – Carlton premiership greats one and all.

For the man David Parkin once declared “the best team player I ever coached”, Bruce was happy to be back.

“I’m overwhelmed. To think of how it was when I was here. It’s fantastic. I can’t believe it, to be truthful,” Bruce said.

“It does feel like home. I was here for more than 17 years if you count the Under 19s so it was a big period of my life and I just love the place . . . ”

Bruce’s very special cameo came after he’d graciously agreed to sit for an extensive to-camera interview for the club’s archive. Part of the interview will be screened at the Spirit of Carlton’s August 3 celebrations of the premiership teams of 1972 and ’82, as Doull is the only Carlton player to have participated in both.

The interview process couldn’t have been easy for this intensely shy character, having made an art form of evading media requests for the better part of his 356-game tenure. But on this occasion and with the fullness of time, Bruce was more than accommodating – recounting the pivotal moments of his unique football odyssey for a one-off 90-minute film now consigned to the football club vault.

For this reporter, it was the rarest of privileges.

Happy 93rd Birthday to Harc Dowsley!

See an excerpt below from the Blueseum article on Harc from 2009.

They were a Great Mob – The Harcourt Dowsley Story

http://www.blueseum.org/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=104

On the eve of the 2009 AFL season, prior to Carlton’s blockbuster first round clash with Richmond at the MCG, the Blueseum was privileged to catch up with one of our club’s living treasures – Harcourt ‘Harc’ Dowsley, who first played for the Navy Blues an amazing 68 seasons ago.

These days he may be a yard or two slower and a few kilos lighter than in his prime, but when 90 year-old Dowsley talks about his brief yet notable career as a league footballer for Carlton, his four years of war in the air piloting flying boats in the Pacific during World War II, and his post-war efforts as a first-class cricketer for Melbourne and Victoria, the passion that drove him in his youth still burns in his clear blue eyes.

‘Call me Harc,’ he insists with a smile, ‘only my mother called me Harcourt – and even then, it was only when I had done something wrong.’ Football is soon mentioned of course, and the memories come flooding back. ‘Carlton was a great club, and they were such wonderful men,’ he says with genuine affection, while recalling his all-too brief, three-game career in the number 20 navy blue guernsey. He swells with pride when he talks about kicking a goal at his first attempt for Carlton, and steering through four majors on debut against St Kilda in May, 1941.

‘I certainly can remember it,’ he says. ‘It was a beautiful day at the old Junction Oval, and I was on cloud nine when we ran out onto the ground. At the age of six or seven, I had decided that the two things I wanted most in my life were to play first class cricket, and to play league football. I had already volunteered to join the air force and I didn’t know what the future held – but at least I was about to achieve one of my main ambitions.’

It was a time of apprehension and uncertainty for all Australians. In Europe, France and the low countries had fallen to a remorseless German army, while to the north of Australia, the sabre-rattling Japanese would soon be on the march through south-east Asia. With our continent under threat, thousands of young Australians – including hundreds of VFL footballers – were flocking to volunteer for military service.

Twenty year-old Harc Dowsley and his older brother Bill volunteered together for duty as RAAF aircrew in August 1940, but the sheer volume of applicants and a shortage of equipment meant that they both had to bide their time until there were places available for them. Meanwhile, they joined the Militia (or Army Reserve) and went on with their sporting interests.

A gifted, natural sportsman throughout his education at Melbourne Grammar School, Harc Dowsley emerged as a punishing right-hand opening batsman in summer, and a dashing, long-kicking key defender on the football field in winter. At the tender age of nine (yes, nine) he had regularly driven his classical right-foot drop-kicks more than 40 metres, and he was a trail-blazer in his teens when he began running off his opponent deep in defence, to set up play with accurate kicks to position.

Remarkably, Dowsley played as an amateur throughout his football career. It was a deliberate decision, taken to ensure that his ambition of reaching the elite level of Australia’s two most popular sports could not be compromised, and it turned out to be a wise move.

Harc attracted serious attention from a number of VFL clubs after starring at full-back for Old Melbournians in their successive B and A section Premiership victories in 1938 and 1939. Melbourne, however, had first call on the rangy 188 centimetre defender, and by early 1941, he was playing solid football on the last line for the Demons’ seconds.

The problem was that Melbourne was the dominant team of that era, and they were already shaping up as premiers for the third year in succession. The possibility of Harc forcing his way into the seniors seemed slim. Then a chance meeting with Carlton’s Jim Francis changed everything.

Dowsley and Francis had built both a healthy rivalry and a long-running friendship after numerous clashes on the cricket field, so Harc listened when Francis said, ‘why don’t you come up to Carlton, Harc? We’d like to play Ken Baxter at centre half-back, so we’re looking for a forward. You can take a good mark, and you can kick the ball a country mile.’

Facing his call-up by the air force sometime in the very near future, the opportunity for Harc to grasp one of his great ambitions was a powerful temptation. He thought briefly, then told Francis that yes, he would take a punt on Carlton.

To his relief and gratitude, Melbourne understood his situation, and didn’t stand in his way. Essendon made a late approach through another of Harc’s cricketing associates, Dick Reynolds, but Harc had given his word and was on his way to the Blues.

In fact, by then, the Dowsley family already had a strong association with the Carlton Football Club through Harc’s grandfather, William Dowsley. A successful newsagency proprietor and real estate agent in West Brunswick, he had been a club supporter, committee member and benefactor for many years, and was still widely remembered when Harc first arrived at Princes Park. ‘One of my fondest memories is of hearing people around the club saying, ‘he’s come home to Carlton’, says Harc, ‘and that was rather nice.’

What was not quite so nice was the embarrassment of his first night at training. ‘I was a bit of a dag, and maybe a bit swollen-headed when I turned up at my first training session,’ he says, ‘without my football boots. Thankfully, Horrie Clover took a liking to me, and said, ‘come with me, son.’ He dug out a couple of old pairs he’d left somewhere around the place, so I can say that in my first run at Carlton, I wore a champion’s boots. But I paid for it later, because they were a little too small for me.’

Horrie Clover also passed on some tips about forward play that would soon bear fruit. ‘He told me to always kick the ball high over the posts, not between them,’ says Harc. ‘Because if the ball drifts over the post, it can’t hit it – and the goal umpire will usually give you the benefit of the doubt.’ Within weeks, Dowsley would be putting that advice to good use.

A very happy birthday to the oldest living Carlton past player to play a senior game, Andrew McDonald “Max” Wilson. 98 years young today, we wish you all the best on this special day.

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From the Blueseum:

Career : 1943 – 1944
Debut : Round 12, 1943 vs Collingwood, aged 29 years, 21 days
Carlton Player No. 584
Games : 9
Goals : Nil
Last Game : Round 17, 1944 vs Geelong, aged 30 years, 48 days
Guernsey Nos. 25 (1943) and 27 (1944)
Height : 170 cm (5 ft. 7 in.)
Weight : 71.5 kg (11 stone, 4 lbs.)
DOB : 9 July, 1914

In a short stay at Princes Park at the height of World War II, Andrew McDonald ‘Max’ Wilson who was born in Balwyn, played nine matches for Carlton – seven of them as 19th man. Remarkably, his first and last appearances came in games that were 100-point thrashings for Collingwood and Geelong respectively, and his first full game was a final.

Wilson was 29 years old, a seasoned campaigner for Sunshine in the Footscray District League when he found his way to the Carlton Football Club in 1943, he had previously played for Sunshine VJFA. With so many young men continuing to volunteer for military service, all VFL teams were short of players and welcoming anyone with football ability.

Wilson was named to make his debut as 19th man for Carlton’s much-anticipated clash against Collingwood at Victoria Park in round 12, 1943. Winning at the Magpies’ home ground had been one of football’s toughest assignments for decades, but it was a task eagerly anticipated by the Blues. On that bright Saturday afternoon, in front of the usual fanatical crowd, Percy Bentley’s Blueboys handed out a football lesson to their fiercest rival. Key forwards Jack Wrout and Jim Francis shredded the Magpie defence with 15 goals between them. Rover Mick Price added five, and half-forward Charlie McInnes chipped in with another four, as Carlton slaughtered an inept Collingwood by 104 points to give Wilson the perfect introduction to VFL football.

Max warmed the bench another three times during Carlton’s last four games of the season, which culminated in a 15-point defeat by Fitzroy at the Brunswick St. Oval in round 16. The Blues still qualified for the finals on percentage however, and aimed up for another shot at the Maroons in the first Semi Final. On the Thursday evening prior to that match, Wilson was chosen for his first full game at half-back for the Blues, replacing the injured Frank Anderson.

Despite the deprivations of wartime life in Melbourne, nearly 40,000 spectators crammed into the MCG on that weekend. They were treated to a typically rugged clash that was decided in the third quarter, when the Maroons pulled away to win by 51 points and end Carlton’s finals hopes at the first hurdle.

After that, it was into uniform and back to the pine for Max in 1944. In February he enlisted in the RAAF, where basic training kept him off the football field until late June. But as soon as he could, he made himself available and was selected as 19th man for another meeting with Collingwood in round 8, this time at Princes Park. Carlton triumphed again over the Magpies – by five goals – in an even team effort.

Two more Saturday afternoons wrapped in a dressing gown and pacing the boundary followed, before Max was called into the Blues’ starting line-up for the second and last time when Carlton met Geelong at Princes Park in round 17, 1944. Another serving member of the RAAF played his first game for in navy blue that day – the brilliant West Australian-born, future Premiership captain of Carlton, Ern Henfry – who was near-best on the ground while the Blues smashed the Cats by 106 points in a seamless exhibition of team football. Alex Way kicked 5 goals, Mick Price and Charlie McInnes four each.

Wilson was either unavailable or omitted for a controversial last game of the season against Footscray the following week, when a hotly-disputed goal after the final bell gave the Bulldogs victory by a point – a result that tipped Carlton out of finals contention. Max didn’t go on after that, and his career at Carlton ended at the age of 30.