Author: Jamie Sanderson

November 1st: Leo Brereton Happy 75th Birthday!

Career : 1957 –62
Debut : Round 1, 1957 vs Hawthorn
Carlton Player No. 707
Games : 72
Goals : 129
Guernsey No. 6
Last Game: Preliminary Final, 1962 vs Geelong
Height : 174cm
Weight : 70kg
DOB : 1 November, 1936
Leading Goalkicker: 1960

Recruited from the Murray River town of Cohuna, Brereton was a small, nippy rover with excellent goal sense. He wore guernsey number 6 in his 72 games for the Blues in seasons 1957 to ’62, including finals appearances in 1957, 1959 and 1962.

Brereton would share his debut game in 1957 with Club Great John Nicholls.

A skilled crumber, he kicked 130 career goals, including 44 in 1960 to win Carlton’s goal kicking award.

November 2nd

Henry Ogilvie: Happy 70th Birthday!

Career : 1962 – 1963
Debut : Round 6, 1962 vs Collingwood, aged 20 years, 205 days
Carlton Player No. 749
Games : 2
Goals : 0
Last Game : Round 18, 1963 vs Footscray, aged 21 years, 308 days
Guernsey Nos. 24 (1962), 37 (1963)
Height : 184 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 79.5 kg (12 stone, 7 lbs.)
DOB : November 2, 1941

A lightly-framed, athletic defender from Ararat, Henry Ogilvie played two matches for Carlton in seasons 1962-63, wearing a different guernsey number in each of them. Remarkably, there was one year, three months and thirteen days between his debut game in 1962, and his second and last appearance in 1963.

Warren Jones

Career : 1978 – 1985
Debut : Round 1, 1978 vs Richmond, aged 24 years, 150 days
Carlton Player No. 871
Games : 92
Goals : 31
Last Game: Round 3, 1985 vs North Melbourne, aged 31 years, 162 days
Guernsey No. 2
Height: 200 cm (6 ft. 7 in.)
Weight : 103 kg (16 stone, 3 lbs.)
DOB : 2 November, 1953
Premiership Player : 1982

Warren “Wow” Jones added more than his share to the rich tapestry of the Carlton Football Club in his 92 games for the Blues between 1978 and 1985. Perhaps best remembered for the myth that grew from his nickname, Wow was a heavily-tattooed giant at 200 cm and 102 kg – but one whose forbidding appearance hid a surprisingly gentle nature off the field.

 

November 4th: Luke Livingston

Career : 2002 – 2006
Debut : Round 4, 2002 vs Port Adelaide, aged 19 years, 168 days
Carlton Player No. 1052
Games : 46
Goals : 2
Guernsey No. 4
Last Game : Round 11, 2006 vs West Coast, aged 23 years, 219 days
Height : 190 cm (6 ft. 2 in.)
Weight : 92 kg (14 stone, 7 lbs.)
DOB: 4 November, 1982

Luke Livingston was taken at Pick No. 4 in the 2000 National Draft, the draft selection Carlton received from St Kilda as part of the trade for then club favourite Aaron Hamill. There were high expectations that Livingston, at 190cm, would become a star key position player for the Blues. Livingston was drafted from the Bendigo Pioneers U/18’s, with Kerang being his junior club.

‘Livo’ was given the prized number 4 guernsey worn by Hamill, but made famous by our long-serving, dual Premiership captain, Stephen Kernahan. He played the first half of 2001 in the VFL, but then suffered a knee injury, followed by a life-threatening bowel disorder. He therefore had to wait until 2002 to make his debut, in round 4. This was also the year after Full Back of the Century Stephen Silvagni retired, leaving a void in defence that would be impossible to fill. Luke played 17 games in his first year – mainly at full-back, against some the best full forwards in the competition. He was young and inexperienced, and on a steep learning curve.

November 5th

David McKay

Career : 1969-1981
Debut: Round 3, 1969 v Footscray
Carlton Player No. 809
Games: 263
Goals: 277
Last Game: Grand Final, 1981 v Collingwood
Guernsey No. 43
Height: 191cm
Weight: 92kg
DOB: November 5, 1949
Premiership Player: 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981
Judged Best on Ground: 1970 Grand Final

Fondly remembered as one of the most consistent and spectacular high marks of his era, David “Swan” McKay was a Carlton star for twelve years, and a key member of four Premiership teams.

Recruited from Newlyn, near Ballarat in central Victoria, McKay arrived at Princes Park in 1968 as a raw-boned 19 year-old. Coach Ron Barassi liked what he saw, and quickly realised that the laconic, easy-going country kid had the makings of something special when he played his first senior game for the Blues in 1969 in a back pocket, wearing the number 43 guernsey that he would retain throughout his career. At 191cm and 92 kg he had the ideal build for a key position, but was forced to wait for a regular place in a strong Carlton team, until the Blues were beaten by Richmond in the ’69 Grand Final. Early in the next season, McKay was given a chance at centre half-back, and took to it “like a swan to water.”

Terry Board

Career : 1965 – 1968
Debut : Round 1, 1965 vs Hawthorn, aged 19 years, 163 days
Carlton Player No. 769
Games : 41
Goals : 42
Last Game : Round 18, 1968 vs Collingwood, aged 22 years, 285 days
Guernsey No. 24
Height : 173 cm (5 ft. 8 in.)
Weight : 73 kg ( 11 stone, 7 lbs.)
DOB : 5 November, 1945

An honest, hard-working rover from the famous Western District club South Warrnambool, Terry Board played his first game for the Navy Blues round 1, 1965, against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval. That achievement however, was completely overshadowed by the parallel debut that day of ex-Melbourne champion Ron Barassi, who had sensationally been appointed captain-coach of Carlton during the off-season.

On that pivotal Saturday afternoon, a record crowd of 36,000 packed into the Hawks’ headquarters, and saw a disciplined Carlton side come out on top by six goals, with Board more than handy in the role of second rover. Working in tandem with Adrian Gallagher, Terry kicked two majors, and gave every indication that he would be a handy acquisition. From then on, he went on to tally up 16 games and 20 goals for the year, and his future looked bright.

November 6th: Gordon Collis

Career : 1961 – 1967
Debut : Round 2, 1961 vs Fitzroy, aged 20 years, 167 days
Carlton Player No. 739
Games : 95
Goals : 40
Last Game : Preliminary Final, 1967 vs Geelong, aged 26 years, 313 days
Guernsey No. 17
Height : 187 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight: 84.5 kg (13 stone, 4 lbs.)
DOB : 6 November, 1940
Brownlow Medal 1964
Club Best and Fairest 1964
Carlton Hall of Fame 1987

Gordon Collis was a gifted key position player whose injury-hit career at Carlton was highlighted by one magnificent season in 1964. Overall, the Blues achieved very little that year, but Collis was hailed as the game’s outstanding key defender when he was an emphatic winner of the most prestigious individual award in the game; the Brownlow Medal.

 

November 7th: Mark Athorn

Career: 1992 – 1993
Debut: Round 1, 1992 vs Brisbane
Carlton Player No. 975
Games: 30
Goals: 6
Guernsey No. 25
Last Game: Grand Final, 1993 vs Essendon
Height: 178cm
Weight: 76kg
DOB: 7 November, 1967

Look up the word ‘journeyman’ in the AFL Dictionary is a picture of Mark Athorn, sitting next to other 4-clubbers such as Stuart Wigney, Adrian Fletcher and Phil Carman. Athorn, who wore the number 25 for the Blues, played 17 games for the Dogs, 21 for Fitzroy and 15 for the Swans before coming to Carlton at the end of 1991, he had originally started out with Essendon U/19’s.

Please find below information for a special event close the heart of our very own David Rhys-Jones. It is a very worthy cause and if you would like to be involved or help the organisation in some way, please contact Cheri Rhys-Jones, her details can be found below.

Funds raised will benefit Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Victoria

Locate us at Registration table nearest 1000 Step Kokoda walk which is located at Dandenong Ranges National Park. There are 1000 stony and deep steps that lead to the One Tree Hill. A café , playground and toilet are close by. Public Transport is also available to the location. For more information go to www.dandenongrangesattractions.com.au/attractions/1000-steps.

How YOU can HELP

– JOIN US and register your participation on www.pws.asn.au

– SUPPORT US by sponsoring one of our participating families

– MAKE a donation

Contact Cheri or Tina on

info@pws.asn.au for queries.

 

What is Prader-Willi Syndrome?

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic condition affecting Chromosome 15. People with PWS have an obsession with food and eating, along with learning delays, poor muscle tone and behavioural issues.

There is NO CURE.

Families must put in place strict management strategies with diet and exercise to assist the PWS child otherwise the child will become morbidly obese and die from morbid obesity related issues.

Funds raised will contribute towards much needed Respite support for families.

Download the Flyer

This event sponsored by DASSI.

 

Geoff Southby

Career: 1971- 1984
Debut: Round 1, 1971 v North Melbourne
825th Carlton Player
Games: 268
Goals: 31
Last game: Round 20, 1984 v North Melbourne
Guernsey No. 20
Height: 188cm
Weight: 86kg
DOB: 27 October, 1950
Best and Fairest: 1971, 1972
Vice-Captain 1974, 1981-83
Victorian Representative Player
Team of the Century: Back Pocket
Premiership Player: 1972, 1979

Most of the current Carlton faithful agree that Stephen Silvagni was deservedly named as the AFL’s Fullback of the Century. However there are plenty of Blues’ supporters of a more mature vintage willing to argue that Geoff Southby could just as easily have been given the nod. That’s how good this rangy, mop-haired, consumate defender was.

From Bendigo League club Sandhurst, Southby arrived at Carlton in late 1970 as a 20 year-old, and was revelation from his first practice game. At 188cm and 87kg he was the perfect build for a key defender of that era. Wearing the number 20 guernsey, he forced his way into the reigning Premiership team for round one of 1971, and a star was born.

Southby had stopped playing footy in his mid teens (U/15’s) and concentrated on his first sporting love – baseball! He was coaxed back into playing footy by mates at the hostel he was staying at in Melbourne whilst studying. He didnt take long to make his mark by winning the best and fairest with amateur club Powerhouse FC in 1969, and then at Sandhurst in 1970. In 1972, after his first two years at VFL level, he had won best and fairests in his last four seasons of football, an extraordinary effort in anyone’s language.

Beautifully balanced and with wonderful reflexes, Southby was a strong mark and a gloriously long kick. But his defensive instinct and coolness under pressure were perhaps his greatest attributes. He invariably made the right decision to mark, or to punch the ball away, and he always seemed to have that split-second longer to dispose of the ball – as all champions do. Indicative of his impact at Princes Park, he won Carlton’s Best & Fairest in his first season as the Blues missed the finals, then won the same award again in 1972 as Carlton crushed Richmond in the Grand Final. It was Carlton’s eleventh VFL Premiership.

By 1973, Geoff was firmly established among the elite of the competition. He had refined his game to become more attacking whenever possible, and his soaring torpedo punts were a real offensive weapon. Such was his influence that at times some opposing teams actually placed a defender at full-forward in an attempt to nullify him!

Following their defeat in ’72, Richmond were burning for revenge when they met Carlton again in the 1973 Grand Final. Led by ruckman Neil Balme, the Tigers went head-hunting on a day when an act of sheer football bastardry occurred that has never been forgiven. Southby was crashed to the ground by an elbow to the head that he didn’t see coming, and the resulting concussion was so severe that he was a passenger for the rest of the day. In fact it was well into the next season before he fully recovered. Richmond won the flag, but lost all respect.

A teaching colleague of mine and an avid Geelong supporter, declares that Southby was the best fullback he ever saw. He remembers the first day he saw Southby at Kardinia Park when he stood the great Doug Wade and mastered him with a cool efficiency that was to become his trademark. My colleague is still appalled by Neil Balme’s unprovoked and cowardly attack upon one of football’s fairest and best players.
Thankfully, by 1975 Geoff was back to his brilliant best and was selected in the Victorian State team for the third time. Carlton made the finals in ’75, ’76 & ’78 without progressing past the semi-finals, before new captain-coach Alex Jesaulenko led a resurgent Blues outfit into the 1979 Grand Final against Collingwood. When Wayne Harmes‘ desperate slide and swipe at the ball in the dying minutes of that game led to a Ken Sheldon goal and a famous victory, Carlton had won its twelfth flag and Geoff Southby his second Premiership medal.

Peter Bosustow

Career : 1981 – 1983
Debut: Round 1, 1981 vs Richmond, aged 23 years, 152 days
Carlton Player No. 888
Games : 65
Goals : 146
Last Game: Round 21, 1983 vs North Melbourne, aged 25 years, 296 days
Guernsey No. 4
Height : 183 cm (6 ft. 0 in.)
Weight : 85 kg (13 stone, 5 lbs.)
DOB : 27 October, 1957
Premiership Player 1981, 1982
Club Leading Goalkicker 1981 (59 goals)

In the summer of 1980-81, Peter “The Buzz” Bosustow arrived at Princes Park for pre-season training – and a relatively short, yet unforgettable career was cleared for lift off. Peter was the son of Bob Bosustow, who came from WAFL club, Perth to play 20 games for Carlton in seasons 1955 and ’56. So it was that when Bob‘s 183 cm, 85 kg son began to dominate the WAFL competition in the late 1970’s, the Blues had the inside running for his signature. After flying him to their round 9 Sunday game against Essendon in Sydney, the Blues signed him under the Father-Son rule then in place.

Bosustow simply gatecrashed a strong Carlton squad that just two years previously had won the flag, and in 1980 should have made it two in a row. Under new coach David Parkin the Blues were hell-bent on claiming our 13th Premiership in 1981, and had assembled a team that was the envy of every other club in the competition. Parkin‘s coaching style demanded discipline in all aspects of the game, but to his credit he realised that in The Buzz he had a rare talent. One that flourished under less restraint; that responded to a personal challenge, and that more often than not could wrest the initiative from any rival with just a quarter or two of football magic.

Often unstoppable as a free-running half-forward, Bosustow was a freakish mark, a brilliant ground-level player and a deadly snapshot at goal. The highlight tapes of seasons 1981 to ’83 are filled with his exploits, including awards for Mark of the Year and Goal of the Year. Bosustow himself talks about his great mark here.

Legend has it that the Buzz promised Mark Maclure that he would give him a ride in his new car before he took his 1981 screamer. He was a crucial part of our glorious 1981 and ’82 Premiership double, and our Leading Goalkicker with 59 goals in 1981. People flocked to see him in action, and he was one of the brightest stars of his era.

In only his second game – during the second quarter of Carlton’s Round 2, 1981 match against Hawthorn at Princes Park, Carlton was kicking to the scoreboard end. ‘Buzz’ marked on the wing, chip-passed to Wayne Johnston and sprinted hard to create the loose man. His opponent – Hawthorn’s tough man Robert Dipierdomenico – ran in to block him, but Bosustow crashed through the beefy Hawk with a punishing, legitimate shirtfront, right in front of the old press box. A resounding crack was heard (to the roar of an adoring throng) and Dipper’s season was prematurely ended by a broken sternum.

The Round 21 game against North Melbourne would turn out to be a last hurrah for the Buzz. He was reported for striking North Melbourne defender John Law, and subsequently rubbed out for four weeks. This meant that he could only have played again that year if Carlton had made the Grand Final – but it was not to be. In what turned out to be a prophetic statement, a clearly upset Bosustow mentioned after his tribunal appearance that “I am absolutely shattered, when the sentence was delivered I thought my career in Melbourne was all over”. He was just 26 years old, and at the peak of his career.

 

Thanks to the Blueseum for player pics and bios.

 

Ken Hands: HAPPY 85th BIRTHDAY!

Career : 1945 – 1957
Debut : Round 5, 1945 v St Kilda, aged 18 years, 205 days
Carlton Player No. 606
Games : 211
Goals : 188
Last Game: Semi Final, 1957 v Hawthorn, aged 30 years, 309 days
Guernsey No. 1
Height : 185 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 85 kg (13 stone, 5 lbs)
DOB : 26 October, 1926
Premiership Player : 1945 & 1947
Best and Fairest : 1953
Captain : 1952-1957
Captain of Victoria : 1957
Carlton Coach : 1959 – 1964
Carlton Hall of Fame: 1988
Team of the Century

Another of the pivotal figures in the proud history of the Carlton Football Club, Ken Hands left an indelible mark on, and off the field at Princes Park. A two-time Premiership player, state representative, Best & Fairest winner and inspirational captain, Hands played 211 games and kicked 188 goals in twelve seasons beginning in the last months of World War II. Later, he became embroiled in a long and bitter wrangle with Jim Francis, while both were bidding to coach the Blues.

To the chagrin of Geelong Football Club, Carlton recruited Hands from right under their noses in 1944. As the conflict in Europe and the Pacific drew to a close, the 17 year-old key forward was playing impressive football for amateur side Geelong Scouts. The Cats had had Ken in their sights for months, but it was Carlton who pounced first with a firm offer – including the prestige of wearing guernsey number 1 for the Blues. In his senior debut in round 5 of the ‘45 season, against St Kilda – Carlton won a tough match by 11 points. Hands took some strong marks and kicked two goals at centre half-forward. When the siren sounded after that match, Carlton coach Percy Bentley knew that he had something special in the long-striding, 185 cm, 85 kg youngster.

Carlton lost the first three games of 1945, before a late-season revival brought ten wins in the last eleven matches. The Blues went into the finals in third place, but with some advantage, because the final series was to be played at Princes Park, while the MCG was being used as a transit camp for US forces bound for the war in the Pacific. Carlton struck top form at the right time, beating North Melbourne and Collingwood in successive weeks to earn a shot at South Melbourne in the Grand Final. Our Preliminary Final win over Collingwood was a hard, often spiteful clash, and a real portent of things to come. Bruised and battered, Carlton won on heart alone. For this reason, the fresher South Melbourne team went into the decider as warm favourites.

A ground record of almost 63,000 spectators packed into Princes Park on that Grand Final day. At just 18 years of age, and playing his eighteenth senior match, Hands faced the biggest challenge of his blossoming career at centre half-forward. As expected, the physical intimidation wasn’t long in coming. Carlton were in front by 11 points when the match erupted in the second quarter. “I had taken a mark about fifteen yards out and kicked a goal,” Hands explained later. “While the ball was being taken back to the centre, Jim Cleary knocked me out cold. He must have done a good job because I didn’t actually feel it. In those days you only had a nineteenth man and ours was already on, so I had to keep playing. But I don’t remember anything until about ten minutes before the end of the game, when Perce Bentley, who was in the coaches box just behind the goals, whistled me to drop back into the goal square and I suddenly realised it was raining. That game was quite an initiation, and I’m still paying the price for it – I lost a tooth.” In fact he lost two teeth – to go with his broken nose and split lip!

Seemingly oblivious to the battle raging around him, Ken ended the game with three goals in Carlton’s 28-point victory. Infamously remembered as the “Bloodbath” Grand Final, in all, ten players (including Hands) were reported after the match. Eight were found guilty, and suspended for a total of 68 weeks. Hands was one of the two acquitted.

That tempestuous debut season helped forge Hands into a tough, team-oriented performer. Always a well balanced ball-handler, he was a superb mark for his size and a long, accurate kick – particularly when drop-kicking on the run. He became a leader by example, and while no heavyweight, he was a willing protector of his smaller team-mates. In 1947 he won his second Premiership medal when Carlton beat Essendon after an epic Grand Final struggle. Essendon had nine more scoring shots than the Blues, but rover Fred Stafford snapped a glorious goal with just 44 seconds left on the clock to give Carlton victory by one point.

 

 

John Gill: HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY!

Career : 1962 – 1967
Debut : Round 1, 1962 vs Geelong, aged 20 years, 177 days
Carlton Player No. 745
Games : 88
Goals : 38
Last Game : Round 13, 1967 vs Hawthorn, aged 25 years, 268 days
Guernsey No. 12
Height : 180 cm (5 ft. 11 in.)
Weight : 80 kg (12 stone, 7 lbs.)
DOB : 26 October, 1941
Best First Year Player 1962

John Gill was a player with an impressive football pedigree. The nephew of Frank Gill (Carlton’s champion full-back of the 1930’s), he was also the older brother of 1968 and 1970 Carlton Premiership player Barry Gill. After completing an impressive debut season in 1962, John should have gone on to play 100 games or more for the Navy Blues – had injury not brought a premature end to his VFL career at the age of only 25.

Gill was recruited from Casterton in Western Victoria, and wore guernsey number 12 for the Navy Blues for the first time at senior level in a landmark clash against Geelong at Princes Park in round one, 1962. The Cats’ boom WA recruit, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, also made his long-awaited debut that afternoon, only to wreck a knee in the first few minutes of the game. However, Farmer stayed on the field, and limped to a forward pocket, where he kicked four goals and led his team to a big win over Carlton by 39 points.

Gill played out that match on a half-forward flank, where his determination and straight-ahead style stood out. From then on, he held his place in the side right through the year, as the Navy Blues battled through to fourth place on the ladder. Three desperately hard-fought finals ensued; a two-point Semi Final win over Melbourne, a famous draw with Geelong in the Preliminary Final, and a dramatic five-point victory over the Cats in a highly-controversial replay. Not surprisingly, those three epics took their toll, and on Grand Final day the valiant Navy Blues were never really in contention against Essendon, losing by six goals. Gill finished his maiden season with 19 matches and twelve goals to his credit, and was a popular winner of Carlton’s Best First Year Player award.

From the highs of 1962, the Navy Blues fell into a slump over the following three seasons, before the coaching coup of the century brought former Melbourne champion Ron Barassi to Princes Park in the summer of 1964-’65. Earlier that same year, John and Barry Gill were reunited on the football field when they played together for the first time as Blues, against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval in round 2.

Under Barassi, John Gill developed into a tenacious, hard-working half-back. He was encouraged to seize the initiative, and became adept at wrong-footing opponents by often playing on as soon as he took one of his strong marks. By 1967, Carlton was once again looming as a finals contender, and Johnny had become an asset in defence or attack. Then disaster struck in the opening game of the season, when he tore a knee cartilage in Carlton’s huge win over Fitzroy at Princes Park.

Sidelined for a month, John eventually returned to the side for a handful of games with his knee heavily strapped. But his customary zip was missing, and another knock on the same leg in round 13 against Hawthorn did further damage. Over the next six months, while Barassi’s Blues climbed back toward the top of the VFL ladder, Gill was under constant medical treatment. Sadly, it was all in vain, and on doctor’s advice he retired at the end of that year.

 

Thanks to the Blueseum for player pics and bios.

Ian Collins

Career : 1961 – 1971
Debut : Round 1, 1961 vs St Kilda, aged 18 years, 173 days
Carlton Player No. 737
Games : 161
Goals : 49
Last Game : Round 22, 1971 vs Collingwood, aged 28 years, 308 days
Guernsey No. 19
Height : 175 cm ( 5 ft. 9 in.)
Weight : 73.5 kg (11 stone, 8 lbs.)
DOB : 24 October, 1942
Premiership Player 1968
Carlton Hall of Fame (2001)
President: 2003 – 2006

A courageous, uncompromising back pocket in the Blues’ 1968 Premiership team, Ian Collins went on to serve as Secretary-Manager and President through some of Carlton Football Club’s most successful, and later, most turbulent times.

After rejecting overtures from St Kilda and Melbourne, Collins arrived at Princes Park in 1960. He was widely regarded as a ready-made league footballer following an impressive junior career at his home town of Sale in Gippsland, from where he had starred in various representative teams as a quick and skilful centreman or half-forward flanker. At 175 cm and 74 kg he struggled at first to cement a regular place in a team not short of smaller, pacey types, until he was tried as a back pocket in his second year. Almost immediately, he made the last line his territory, and began forging a reputation as a courageous and difficult opponent in the number 19 guernsey.

In 1962 Carlton made the finals after many years in the football wilderness, and played Geelong in the Preliminary Final for the right to meet Essendon for the flag. In a willing, sometimes spiteful encounter, Collins suffered a broken jaw and a split tongue. Carlton won the match, so Collins was determined he would be playing the following week. Somehow, he managed to conceal the severity of the injury, and was far from our worst performer. Essendon, however proved too good.

Six years on, Carlton met the Bombers again for the 1968 Premiership, and turned the tables to claim our first flag in 21 seasons. Collins was solid as always on a great day when wingman Garry Crane was the Blues’ best in a hard-fought three point win. Alongside Collins at full-back as usual was Wes Lofts, and the duo were a daunting proposition. Later, Lofts served as the Blues’ Chairman of Selectors for many years, and he and Collins forged a strong partnership at board level.

Collins might well have collected a second Premiership medal if he had not suffered a serious achilles tendon tear that cost him the entire 1970 football season. While it was a severe blow to his sporting aspirations, the forced holiday did have an upside, in that “Collo” was at least able to complete his tertiary studies in accountancy. The skills he acquired were to prove more than handy when he announced his retirement from league football following the 1971 final series. He was 29, with 161 games and 49 goals to his credit. He spent the following season of 1972 as captain-coach of VFA club Port Melbourne (where one of his players was his former coach at Carlton, Ron Barassi), then hung up his boots for good to prepare for bigger things.

In 1981 Collo was appointed Secretary-Manager of the Carlton Football Club, a position he filled with distinction for twelve years. In this time the Blues won three more flags. In 1993 he became the AFL Director of Football Operations, and in 1999 was appointed CEO of Stadium Operations Ltd, responsible for the AFL’s showpiece Docklands Stadium (Telstra Dome). He was elected to the Carlton Hall of Fame in 2001, and awarded an Order of Australia for his service to the game.

Peter Sartori

Career : 1987 – 1991
Debut : Round 1, 1987 vs Hawthorn, aged 22 years, 154 days
Carlton Player No. 941
Games : 57
Goals : 114
Last Game : Round 24, 1991 vs Richmond, aged 26 years, 310 days
Guernsey No. 18
Height : 195 cm (6 ft. 4 in.)
Weight : 92 kg ( 14 stone, 7 lbs.)
DOB : 24 October, 1964

Another in a long list of VFL/AFL footballers in the category of “could have been anything, but for injury,” West Australian Peter Sartori spent eight seasons with Carlton and Fitzroy between 1987 and 1994, yet managed only 77 games all up. A tall ruckman-forward, he had rare ability and all the physical attributes needed, but sadly, his body let him down with monotonous regularity.

Sartori was just 17 when he played his first senior match for Swan Districts, and 18 when he suffered his first major injury – a ruptured kidney – which kept him out of the Swans’ 1982 Premiership side. When he did eventually return to the field however, he clicked into rare form. His marking skill, versatility and intuitive reading of the play made him a driving force in both of the Swans’ follow-up flag victories in 1983 and ’84. By 1986 he had represented WA twice, won his club’s Best and Fairest award, and well and truly caught the eye of just about every AFL club.

Carlton won the contest for his signature, and Sartori came to Princes Park to augment a growing contingent of star forwards with WA origins – a group that would eventually include Peter Bosustow, Ross Ditchburn, Warren Ralph, Jon Dorotich, Richard Dennis and Earl Spalding. Yet competition for places was fierce, as the club also had Stephen Kernahan, Simon Minton-Connell and Warren McKenzie on its books at the time.

Sartori was assigned guernsey number 18, and made his debut for the Blues in round 1, 1987, against Hawthorn at Princes Park. His first half-dozen games were rather unremarkable, before he strained a hamstring to cut short his progress, and didn’t return to the seniors until late in the season. Then, in only his eighth game, the big Sandgroper showed what he was capable of when he and his captain, Stephen Kernahan went on a rampage against Geelong at Kardinia Park, and kicked a massive 15 goals between them. ‘Sticks’ booted eight, and Sartori contributed seven in a display of forward power that had Carlton supporters in rapture.

That joy lasted for only a fortnight – until the first week of the finals. After a torrid year, the Blues had claimed the minor premiership, and met Hawthorn in what proved to be the defining match of the season in the second Semi Final. Trailing by 15 points at the main break, Carlton stormed home to win by that same margin – but at a cost. Sartori’s hamstring tore again, and his year was prematurely ended. He had kicked one goal on the day, and set up two others with skilful palming of the ball to Johnston and Naley. The Johnston goal came from a clever flip over the back of the pack to the Dominator, who goaled with a right foot snap. In the following quarter at the main scoreboard end, Sartori deftly palmed the ball to Naley in heavy traffic, and his clever snap brought up another telling goal. Both of those scores were the direct result of clever ruckwork by the big West Australian, and showed that it was a much-underrated facet of his game. However, that was all academic in the end, because he could only watch on in frustration two weeks later, when his team decisively beat the Hawks yet again in the Grand Final.

Thanks to the Blueseum for player profiles and pics.

Craig Bradley

Career : 1986 – 2002
Debut : Round 1, 1986 vs Hawthorn, aged 22 years, 159 days
Carlton Player No. 931
Games : 375
Goals : 247
Last Game : Round 19, 2002 vs Port Adelaide, aged 38 years, 291 days
Guernsey No. 21
Height : 182 cm (5 ft. 11 in.)
Weight : 81 kg (12 stone, 11 lbs.)
DOB : 23 October, 1963
Premiership Player : 1987, 1995
Carlton Legend
Carlton Hall of Fame : 1995
Best and Fairest: 1986, 1988, 1993
All Australian: 1986, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997
Captain: 1998-2002
Team of the Century: Wing
International Rules Series vs Ireland : 2000, 2001 (captain), 2002

Off the field, Craig Bradley was a somewhat quiet, unassuming character who never hungered for the spotlight. But when the umpire’s whistle blew for a game of Australian football, he became a consummate professional whose outstanding ball-winning ability, accurate disposal, punishing non-stop running and longevity in the game made him one of the all-time greats. “Braddles” captained the Blues for three years, won two AFL Premierships, and picked up almost every possible honour in a stellar career that spanned 17 seasons and a record 375 games for the Carlton Football Club.

He began his football journey at Pooraka in outer-suburban Adelaide, where his father was coach of the Under-19 team. Craig was a standout junior footballer, and in 1981 he was recruited by SANFL club Port Adelaide. At the same time, Essendon also made a big pitch for his signature. The Bombers were very intent on getting him to Windy Hill, but Bradley wasn’t then ready to make the big move interstate.

Essendon redoubled their efforts after Bradley’s sensational debut year for Port Adelaide, which culminated in the Magpies’ 51-point demolition of Glenelg in the Grand Final. Playing on a wing, but roaming the length of the ground, 17 year-old Bradley was one of his team’s best. He followed up by winning Port’s Best and Fairest in 1982, before departing for England later that year, as a member of the Australian Under-19 cricket team. Cricket was Braddles’ other great sporting passion, and he would eventually play two Sheffield Shield games each for South Australia and Victoria, before giving the game away to further his football ambitions.

Because of his cricketing commitments, Bradley missed most of the 1983 pre-season with Port, but it made little difference, because he had another dominant season for the Magpies and was named All Australian for the first time. Two more Port Adelaide Best and Fairests followed in 1984 and ’85 – with the latter complemented by All Australian honours again.

In that year of 1985, four South Australians were named as All Australians; Bradley, Stephen Kernahan, Peter Motley and John Platten – and to the chagrin and envy of every other VFL club (especially Essendon) the first three all signed to play with Carlton. In the following year that trio of stars took to VFL football like they were born to it, and a time of bubbling confidence began for the Old Dark Navy Blues.

Braddles wasted little time in announcing his arrival into the upper echelons of our national game by playing in the 1986 Grand Final in his debut season at Princes Park; the same year he won his first Carlton Best and Fairest award in a tie with Wayne Johnston. The Blues lost heavily to Hawthorn on Grand Final day, but twelve months later bounced back to snatch the 1987 flag from the Hawks in Bradley’s 47th senior match.

By then, he was already a budding champion whose amazing stamina was too much for almost every opponent. He simply ran his taggers into the ground, and he was as effective in the last minutes of a game as he was at the start. He won two more Carlton Best and Fairest awards in 1988 and 1993, and by the end of his superb career had been an All Australian six times.

Aged 32, he picked up his second Premiership winner’s medallion in 1995 when the unstoppable Kernahan-led Blues demolished Geelong in a one-sided Grand Final, but those who thought he might retire after that triumph were right off the mark. He still had his zip, his footy smarts and his brilliant foot skills, and he had transformed himself from a purely attacking weapon into an equally-effective sweeper across half-back. And to cap off a memorable season, he became one of only a handful of players to be inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame while still playing out their career.

In 1997, at the age of 34, Bradley won the Sunday Age Footballer of the Year award. ”It’s not the end of the world when you reach 30,” he said in a blunt response to those who kept asking how long he intended going on – to his considerable annoyance.

After being named All Australian yet again that year, he answered all those sorts of questions when he was appointed captain of his beloved Blues in 1998 – after the retirement of his great mate ‘Sticks’ Kernahan. Braddles led the Blues into another Grand Final in 1999, but the Wayne Carey-inspired Kangaroos proved just too good.

Jason Saddington

 

Carlton Career: 2006 – 2008
Debut: Round 3, 2006 v Sydney (Carlton)
Carlton Player No. 1 092
Games: 20 (Overall 162)
Goals: 6 (Overall 47)
Last game: Round 20, 2008 v Port Adelaide
Guernsey No. 9
Height: 193cm
Weight: 94kg
DOB: 23 October, 1979

Jason Saddington was picked up by Carlton in a trade for a 4th round draft pick with the Sydney Swans. Given the Number 9 guernsey, ‘Saddo’ was released by the Swans after being in the Harbour City for 9 years. He was originally drafted pick 11 in 1997. He was a Rising Star nominee in 1998.

At 193cm, and with 142 games of AFL experience, there was a hope that Saddington could hold down a key defensive post at Carlton, or in the least, provide a buffer of strength and learning before our young defenders could stake a permanent claim.

Saddington made his debut for Carlton in Round 3, 2006 against his former team, kicking a goal but spending much of the game at interchange. ‘Saddo’ would only manage to play a further 5 games for the Blues in 2006, having to battle readjustment to AFL football and a continuing troublesome knee, which would require further work and his season would end prematurely, surely disappointing the player and the Club.

Saddington would play his first game for 2007 in Round 7 as a late replacement for Bret Thornton, who succumbed to a shin injury. Saddington was a key player in defence with 12 marks. One week later, Saddington would bring up his 150th AFL game against the Kangaroos at Carrarra – 8 for the Blues and 142 for the Swans.

Jason’s season seemed to improve under new coach Brett Ratten, who allowed him to play occasionally as a loose man in defence where he chopped off numerous opposition attacks and created play out of the backline. Overall he would play 12 games in 2007, and would find himself on occasion later in the season as the most senior (by age) Blue out there.

With a move to youth in 2008, many supporters may have thought his time at Carlton was up, but our lack of tall defenders saw Saddington get a surprising call-up to play in the Round 19 66-point victory over reigning Grand Finalists Port Adelaide. Saddington was given the job on young forward Justin Westhoff and managed to keep him to only one goal. Saddington was also selected the week after, but it would be his final AFL / Carlton game, with him retiring at the end of the season.

Saddington finished with 162 games, a great effort from a popular player.

Saddington won the Northern Bullants ‘Laurie Hill Trophy’ for their best and fairest player in 2008 and was an assistant coach and an valuable player when the ‘Ants were runners up in the 2009 grand final. Saddington headed back to NSW at the end of 2009, he signed with the Balmain FC for the 2010 season.

 Thanks to the Blueseum for player pics and bios.

Dan Beauvais

Career : 1945
Debut: Round 8, 1945 vs Geelong, aged 24 years, 232 days
Carlton Player No. 607
Games : 4
Goals : 5
Last Game : Round 12, 1945 vs Melbourne, aged 24 years, 260 days
Guernsey No. 17
Height : 187 cm (6 ft. 1 in.)
Weight : 86 kg ( 13 stone, 8 lbs.)
DOB: 20 October, 1920

Dan Beauvais had a brief 4-game career at Princes Park in 1945 – one of the most tumultuous years in history. It was the year when World War II finally ended with the atomic bombing of two Japanese cities, and when the Carlton football club won a famous, controversial seventh VFL flag in the ‘Bloodbath’ Grand Final victory over South Melbourne.

One of ten young men to wear the Old Dark Navy Blue for the first time in 1945 was Dan Beauvais, a 24 year-old from Jeparit who did well when he came off the bench and kicked two goals in Carlton’s good win over Geelong at Kardinia Park in round 8.

Beauvais was rewarded with a place in one forward pocket the following week (alongside Lance Collins and Ron Hines) and put through another three majors during Carlton’s 9-point loss to Footscray at Princes Park. After this sixth loss of the year, the Blues were languishing in ninth place on the ladder, well out of finals contention.

However, a shock win over second -placed North Melbourne at Arden Street in round 10 revived the Blues spirit, especially when Collins returned to form at full-forward and kicked six terrific goals. Beauvais didn’t trouble the scorers that afternoon, but was still a little unlucky to lose his place in the side when the versatile Ken Baxter returned from injury the next week, and Carlton at home beat South Melbourne by six points.

Beauvais spent just that one week in the seconds before he was recalled as 19th man for round 12 against Melbourne. He sat on the pine throughout the game, even as Melbourne rattled home, kicking 4.1 to Carlton’s 2.1 in the last quarter at Punt Road. The Blues held on to win by 1 point, and moved to within 8 points of the top four.

Even so, Beauvais was apparently dissatisfied with his progress at Carlton, and soon afterward decided to switch clubs to Hawthorn. Carlton wanted him to stay, and the matter dragged on for some weeks until Dan was eventually released. Thereafter, while the Blues continued climbing the mountain toward the finals and eventually succeeded, Beauvais joined the Hawks, and played another seven matches before retiring in 1946.

Peter Jones

Playing Career : 1966 – 1979
Debut : Round 16, 1966 Aged 19 years 297 days
790th Carlton Player
Games : 249
Goals : 284
Last Game : Grand Final, 1979 Aged 32 years 344 days
Guernsey No. 28
Height : 198 cm (6’6″)
Weight : 109 kgs (17.2)
DOB : October 20, 1946
Premiership Player: 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979
Best and Fairest: 1973
B. J. Deacon Memorial Trophy -Best Clubman Award : 1978
Victorian Representative: 1977
Carlton Hall of Fame (1988)

He was part actor, part comedian and an all round quality footballer. Peter ‘Percy’ Jones is one of the truly unique characters in the long history of the Carlton Football Club. His unbounded enthusiasm on the field – and his legendary exploits off it – endeared the lanky Tasmanian to generations of Blues’ fans.

Jones joined Carlton from North Hobart in 1966. He was a 20 year-old, 194 cm ruckman with considerable promise, however a serious car accident soon after his arrival – in which he injured both legs – was a portent of things to come. Happily, he recovered in time to play the last three games of the year and showed enough for new coach Ron Barassi to retain him.

By 1968 ‘Percy’ had settled into the senior team as understudy to John Nicholls. He found his niche in a forward pocket, where his strong marking and accurate kicking was invaluable. And it was about then that his obvious joy at every Carlton goal – whether it be kicked by himself or a team-mate – began to be noticed. As soon as a Blues players’ shot for goal was on its way, Percy would be clapping and cheering – even if it was obviously going to miss. And his Charlie Chaplin-like bewilderment when a free kick was awarded against him was hilarious. He was a handy part of both the 1968 and 1970 Premiership teams, then the Jones legend really started rolling.

In August 1971 at the Junction Oval in St Kilda, Carlton were playing Fitzroy in a game crucial to The Blues’ finals chances. The match started in sunshine, but just after the half-time break a thick fog rolled over the ground from nearby Port Phillip Bay. It was so dense that players only a metre or so apart couldn’t see each other. They relied on their ears more than their eyes, while the time keepers caught only glimpses of the players and had to rely on the emergency umpire to relay the few additional scores. Late in the quarter, the ball came bouncing past Percy, who had dropped back into defence. ‘There it is!’, he shouted – and a Fitzroy opponent pounced on the ball and goaled. Carlton lost an extraordinary game, and missed that year’s Finals by two points!

Percy was quickly forgiven however, when he proved his blossoming talent with a dominant display against a powerhouse Richmond in the 1972 Grand Final. The Tigers went in as hot favourites after drawing with, then beating Carlton in the second semi. The Blues then had to win a tight Preliminary Final against St Kilda, while Richmond had a week off. John Nicholls had replaced Barassi as Carlton’s coach and decided on a bold strategy in the decider. He made eight positional changes, including placing himself at full-forward and handing Percy the daunting task of first ruck. Then he told the Blues to attack at all times and to ignore the inevitable defensive errors and turnovers.

The plan and the switches worked brilliantly, and Carlton won by 27 points in the highest-scoring Grand Final ever. Jones was superb all afternoon, rucking unchanged to dominate the Tigers’ big men, while Nicholls himself bagged six goals. If there had been a Norm Smith medal available that day, Percy would have won it. With his confidence boosted, ‘Perce’ was consistently good throughout 1973 and deservedly won the Blues’ Best & Fairest award. On the field, his exuberance was at its height. The Carlton faithful loved his antics while he drove the opposition to distraction.

On one famous occasion, he played on after a mark in the goal square. But as he tried to guide the ball on to his boot, he missed – and kicked the goal post! On another, he lit a firecracker in the Carlton Social Club while Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was watching a game – and terrified the PM’s minders. Late in his career, he was struggling to keep up in a pre-season training run when a tram appeared, and Perce hopped on board. He might have gotten away with it, too – except that Carlton’s fitness adviser at the time saw him get off!

Jones’ career culminated with the 1979 Premiership. By then aged almost 33 and somewhat in the shadow of future captain Mike Fitzpatrick, Perce responded to his captain-coach Alex Jesaulenko, who challenged the big bloke to show his doubters that he wasn’t a spent force. Perce gave his all that day; more than holding his own in the ruck as the Blues knocked over Collingwood by five points – thanks to some last-gasp brilliance by Wayne Harmes.

 

Thanks to the Blueseum for player pics and bios.

Martin Cross

Career : 1961 – 1963
Debut : Round 1, 1961 vs St Kilda, aged 21 years, 178 days
Carlton Player No. 738
Games : 36
Goals : 36
Last Game: Round 13, 1963 vs St Kilda, aged 23 years, 288 days
Guernsey No. 23
Height : 175 cm (5 ft. 9 in.)
Weight : 72.5 kg (11 stone, 6 lbs.)
DOB : October 19, 1939

Martin Cross had a relatively short, but interesting career with Carlton in the early nineteen-sixties, during which he played in a couple of the most controversial matches in club history. A lightly-built, elusive rover from North Ballarat, he averaged a goal a game in his 36 appearances for the Blues, and was 20th man in the 1962 Grand Final. After leaving Princes Park, he returned to playing and coaching in the bush, and became an Ovens & Murray League legend.

Prior to joining Carlton, Cross played 96 senior games with North Ballarat, beginning in 1956 at the age of 17. Four years later he was invited to Princes Park, where he wore guernsey number 23 when he made his senior debut against St Kilda at the Junction Oval in the first round of the 1961 season. Also on debut that day were future club President Ian Collins, and another star full-forward for the Blues in Tom Carroll. Carlton recovered from a poor first quarter to beat the Saints by 10 points, with Carroll kicking the first five goals of his all-too-short career.

Martin featured often throughout his first year, and added to his value by being dangerous around the goals. After hauls of four majors in round 3 against Footscray, and three in round 8 against Richmond, he made the competition as a whole sit up and take notice when he booted eight goals to rout South Melbourne at Princes Park in round 15 – although even that super effort was overshadowed by the infamous clash between rival ruckmen John Nicholls of Carlton, and Ken Boyd of South Melbourne. Boyd king-hit Nicholls off the ball, and later admitted doing so to a newspaper reporter. He was charged by the VFL, found guilty, and never played at the top level again.

Cross found the going harder in his second year, when he was asked to play more often as a wingman or half-forward flanker, and his goal-kicking fell away. However, Carlton improved markedly from eighth place in 1961 to fourth in ‘62, and set themselves up for a tilt at another flag by edging out Melbourne in the first Semi Final. Martin warmed the bench in all four of Carlton’s finals matches – including our highly controversial victory over Geelong in the Preliminary Final replay, and the following week’s Grand Final clash against Essendon. Fit and well-rested, the Bombers won the 1962 flag by 62 points over the wrung-out Blues.

Carlton slipped down the ladder again in 1963, and by round 13 our chances of making the finals again were all but shot. Cross played only his fifth game of the season that afternoon, and no doubt trudged off the Junction Oval in a gloomy mood after St Kilda whipped a lethargic Carlton team by 41 points. Although he saw out the season at Princes Park, that game against the Saints turned out to be Martin’s last for Carlton – but he was far from finished with the game.

During the next 21 years, Cross played 160 games for Myrtleford Football Club and coached them to an Ovens & Murray League Premiership in 1970. Between 1972 and 1975 he coached the Dederang Bombers in the Tallangatta and District League, before returning to the O&MFL with North Albury.

He coached the Hoppers to a famous victory in the 1984 Grand Final against Wodonga, and lifted them back into another flag decider against Lavington two years later. On that occasion however, Lavington were far too good.

All up, Cross coached 378 home and away games, and 14 finals at his three clubs. The longest-serving coach in Ovens & Murray League history, he remains a household name in the Riverina.

Peter Brown

Career : 1976 – 1980
Debut: Round 12, 1976 v Collingwood
Carlton Player No. 860
Games : 35
Goals : 38
Last Game: Round 12, 1980 vs Collingwood
Guernsey No. 41
Height : 184cm
Weight : 85kg
DOB : 19 October, 1958
Premiership Player: 1979

Peter Brown was recruited to Carlton in 1976 as an 18 year-old from the tiny central Victorian town of Campbell’s Creek. At 184 cm and 85 kg, it was hoped he might develop into a key forward.

Browny found the going tough early in his career, then fortuitously struck his best form late in the 1979 season when he provided a real target at full forward. He held his place for the Grand Final, and justified his inclusion as Carlton beat Collingwood by 5 points.

His form tapered off again in 1980, so after 35 games and 38 goals in the number 41 guernsey for the Blues, Brown was cleared to St Kilda, where he managed another 20 games in two seasons. Peter Brown ended up being cleared to VFA club Coburg for the 1983 season, after a season with the Coburg Lions he was cleared to opposing VFA club Weribee for the 1984 season.

 

Thanks to the Blueseum for player pics and bios.

Notice of Special General Meeting

 Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of the Spirit Of Carlton Past And Present Inc is to be held as follows:

 

                Date:   7/11/2011

               Time:   5.30 pm

          Address:   Visy Park, Carlton Nth.

 

Please note, only paid up 2011 members are eligible to attend.

 

RSVP by 1/11/2011 and ENQUIRIES

 

Bob Lowrie

Phone: 0438 271 947

 

Email: rjlowrie@tpg.com.au

 

Dave McCulloch: Happy 74th Birthday!

Playing Career: 1960 – 1961
Debut: Round 1, 1960 v Richmond
Carlton Player No.: 730
Games: 17
Goals: 6
Last game: Round 11, 1961 v Geelong
Guernsey No. 3
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 92 kgs
DOB: October 12, 1937

McCulloch played 17 games for Carlton commencing in Season 1960, kicking 6 goals. He wore guernsey #3. McCulloch shared his debut with Des Lyons in Round 1 of his debut year.

Dave returned to the family farm at Glenthompson in Victoria, where he still lives and works today.

 

Thanks to the Blueseum for the player bio.