The Carlton Football Club is seeking to re-engage with any player who wore the Dark Navy Blue guernsey at senior level and who, for whatever reason, never realised the dream of being part of a Carlton premiership.
Of the 1137 senior Carlton footballers since 1897, a total of 956 players weren’t fortunate enough to raise the silverware. Further, a total of 976 Carlton senior players have played 99 matches or less and as such have never been acknowledged on the 100-game lockers – from the Italian-born one-gamer Peter Bevilacqua through to the 95-game Brownlow Medallist and club best and fairest of 1964, Gordon Collis.
It is the surviving members of these two groups with whom Carlton and the Spirit of Carlton Past & Present want to re-connect, in acknowledging their on-field contributions to the club.
The initiative has in part been driven by men like Brett Sholl, who as a 35-game former player from 1992-’94 and member of the club’s losing 1993 Grand Final outfit meets the aforementioned criteria.
Brett is of the view all former Carlton players who for whatever reason may have had issue with the club should now re-connect.
“The immediate feeling when you leave the club is one of disappointment in that you never played in a premiership… and as the years go by you realise that up to now only the premierships are celebrated,” Brett said on a welcome visit to Visy Park recently.
“That leaves you feeling a little bit alienated and when you think that for every Carlton premiership player there’s half a dozen more who aren’t, there’s probably a lot of former players who feel that way.
“In my case we got to the Grand Final, but just couldn’t get the job done. That sometimes makes it even worse, knowing that you got so close to the ultimate but didn’t quite achieve the goal.
“Sometimes these things take time to get over and sometimes it takes other things like family to put it all in perspective. I’ve got a son who’s 12 and interested in Carlton and the game itself and it’s only really now that I’ve been able to look back on my time here with pride because I’ve worked my way through it.”
To that end, Brett sought to make the following personal appeal to all former Carlton players of his ilk, with the club planning a function celebrating Carlton by guernsey number.
“My message to the players and to the club itself is this – re-engage,” Brett said.
“To the past players who wore the guernsey and played one, two, three, 40 or 50 games and who because they didn’t participate in a premiership may not have felt a part of it, it’d be great to see you back at Carlton.
“To the club, it’s important that it realises – and I’m sure it does realise – the significance of the contributions of all those players who wore the guernsey and in their own way help set up the premierships for those others who actually played in them.”
All former Carlton senior players who wore the guernsey in 99 matches or less are urged to contact Tony De Bolfo – tony.debolfo@carltonfc.com.au or admin@spiritofcarlton.com– as the club plans a “coming home” function for Visy Park later this year.