Toast Memory Lane: Peter McKenna

[jonbe54]

I agree. I didnt mean to be disrespectful to McKenna. I honestly didnt like the way we focused on getting the ball to him. He was a champion player for his time.

Well Mark I don't like the way Trav sprays so many set shots but he is what we have to work with and the same applied to McKenna in his time.

Most teams have their structure and game plan moulded around a few outstanding players.

In the 70's that for us was Macca at full forward.

 

[domus]

I have a rather sad story about the legend. I loved him and still do and whenever I played my imaginary games in the backyard with my plastic footy I had the McKenna kicking action down pat. A few years after Macca retired Don Scott was writing for the now defunct Herald. One day I came across an article he had written where he labelled the current day players (of the 80's) soft and said that none of them knew how to win their own ball.

I wrote a letter to Scott care of the Herald. In the letter I happened to mention McKenna. I said he was a hero of mine but even I was aware that he was never a physical player and had in fact shirked the hard ball at times. I brought this up because Scott believed the players of the seventies were all rugged and brave. Anyway I never expected him to respond and didn't think much more about it after I posted my letter. I received a phone call about a week later from Don Scott himself. With my heart hammering I told him I was the author of the letter. He said he was ringing in order to get my permission to publish my letter in his next article with the idea that he would write a response to the points I raised. I excitedly gave him permission. The next week the article appeared-it even had a promo on the back of the paper promoting the debate!

As I read my letter and saw my reference to McKenna I felt upset. It was never meant to be read by anyone but Scott. Well, I put the article in a folder and life rolled on. About a month later I was swimming laps at the Kilsyth indoor pool when who do I see? Don Scott was in the lane next to me! I had never seen him at the pool before and couldn't resist swimming over to him. I told him I was the bloke who wrote the letter he had recently published. His reaction stunned me. He shook his head and said"That letter! You will never know the trouble it has caused me!" I asked him what he meant. At this time Scott used to co-commentate the Army Reserve games on Sunday afternoons with none other than Peter McKenna. He told me that McKenna had read the article and he was very upset with my comments and the fact that Scott had not refuted them. He said he walked out of the commentary box before the game started and said he would not commentate with Scott. Scott said he spent a number of minutes pleading with him to return to the box and basically told him that I had no idea what I was talking about (conveniently forgetting that he had agreed!). He said McKenna continued to talk about suing the paper. I felt sick. I had upset my hero. I asked Scott if I should write him a letter explaining what I meant and why I wrote it. I can still see Scott's eyes rolling and his head shaking-"NO! Just let it rest!" were his final words to me.

I am a teacher. A few years later I had a girl in my class who was the niece of McKenna. She said one night her mum was on the phone to Uncle Peter and in passing she mention my surname. He asked her if my first name was Mark and she answered in the affirmative. Apparently he mentioned the letter and was not happy!

Any way, I still love the man and memories of his glory days are still the highlight of all my years of following my beloved Pies.

 

[fabulousphil]

Was a great fan, magnificent drop punt of the ball, but the reason IMO is that he does not receive the plaudits he should, is because Collingwood won no premierships in his era.

Collingwoods other great FF Coventy played in 5, 6 (?) or maybe more premierships.

 

[Vampire013]

I think that Peter McKenna might be the reason I barrack for Collingwood. My first ever favourite player.
Have ran into him a few times at games and actually was standing next to him at AAMI after the 2010 GF win.
Lots of people forget that he lost a kidney playing for Collingwood.
Great bloke, player & Collingwood person.
Deserves respect !

 

[Magpie Girl]

Peter had to endure terrible tragedies and personal loss during his playing days.
His sister Marie, who was 2 years older, died from an epileptic fit just a few days before his 21st birthday.
Here are 2 excerpts from his bio on www.victoriapark.net.au for those interested


Peter is without doubt one of Collingwood's greatest sons and a superstar of his time during an era when Full Forwards were the pin-up boys of the league. However, Peter, like his long serving coach and mentor Bob Rose is also a man of incredible emotional courage and has had to endure what no man should. Peter has been down the same path that Bob had to walk and he did it with such dignity that we shall also pay tribute to the darkest moments in Peter's life and we will pay tribute the to his wonderful mother, Winnie.

Epilepsy affects millions of people in Australia. Whether they suffer the terrible symptoms themselves, or they are someone that is charged with caring and protecting that person. Peter's sister Marie had Epilepsy and was prone to accute seizures. Peter and Marie were the oldest of five kids and very, very close siblings. Marie would often serve up a footy lesson to younger Bomber brother Peter and it would always be a Magpie sermon. Marie went against the family trend by following the Magpies, when Peter followed Essendon and their father Kevin was a Carlton supporter. Peter ended up playing for the Pies and his first game in 1965 was a highlight for his fanatical older sister. From the day the letter arrived from Victoria Park inviting the young soccer fanatic to try out for Collingwood, Marie was just so proud of her brother. Eight days short of Peter's 21st birthday, Peter was getting ready for another game for Collingwood at Victoria Park when suddenly tragedy would strike the McKenna family early in the morning. Peter's mum, Winnie cried out for help, but it was too late. At just 23 years old, Marie had suffered another severe epileptic episode but this time it had claimed her life. Peter was in shock and rang the club to tell them he would not be playing. Local minister Father Mogg would convince Peter that it would be better if he did play and certainly Marie would not want her little brother to miss a game, least of all against arch-rival Carlton. Peter wept all the way to Victoria Park and contributed little to the game as he was an emotional wreck.



Within a few more years Winnie and the kids would be morning another loss. Peter's father Kevin was a diabetic and shortly after he watched his Blues miraculously beat his own Son's Magpies in the 1970 Grand Final he passed away. The family was again rocked to its very core. Peter was at the height of his powers on the field after kicking a whopping 147 gaols that season and winning the EW Copeland Trophy, but the year will forever be marked by the passing of his father.
Peter's younger brother, Gerard, was also a diabetic and needed to inject insulin every day. He was having a bath and self injecting as he always did when everything went terribly wrong. Gerard lost consciousness and drowned. After Marie’s and Kevin's loss Winnie was past the point of coping. She frantically rang her son and Peter arrived at the house before the ambulance. Peter held his brother's lifeless head, grief struck. Enough was enough. The idea of losing a child or a sibling is too horrendous to contemplate and Peter was left here with the impossible task of sorting what all this means, not to mention the effect this would have on his mother's fragile emotional state. Gerard's loss would push the devoted mother into a place so dark that it makes one question the very existence of a god.
It is incomprehensible to anyone what emotional depths the McKenna family plummeted too. To this day Peter finds it incredibly difficult to speak of the loss of his brother and sister. Peter thinks about his siblings every day and how unfair it is that they had their lives cut tragically short and these thoughts add meaning and purpose to his own life. To the day she passed away at 83 years old, Winnie never complained about the terrible things that befell her family. Peter too has not been able to express the degree of devastation that had gripped the McKenna family. However, Peter has had the courage to speak openly about Epilepsy and the 18th century style stigma that it carries to this day. He wants people to know what can be done. Perhaps a young life could be saved by someone armed with the right knowledge? To this end we invite all joffasfrontpage.com readers to visit the following links and help in our fight to educate the world on what Epilepsy means to sufferers and their families.

 

[wednesdaywarrior]

I find this thread fascinating as like many of us here I'm guessing, I've had the privilege of meeting Pete a few times although I never got to see him play.
What I'd say about him as a person is he is one of the friendliest, most down to earth Collingwood players I've met. He easily passes my number 1 character test - treats you with respect - and on top of that he is also riotously funny, especially after a couple of beers. I reckon he's fantastic and right up there with Len Thompson, Nathan Buckley, Scott Burns, Ray Shaw, John Greening and Billy Picken as players I most wished could have had a premiership to cap their career.
I actually felt really sorry for domus, as a fellow teacher and some time writer I know how easy it is to get yourself into these situations and then feel regret. I hope you get a chance to sit down with him one day and maybe try to atone.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Little known fact that Peter McKenna was the original member of Hey Hey Its Saturday, co-hosting its first eight episodes in 1971.

 

[rand corp]

Was a real superstar of the game at the time and every female pie supporter had a crush on him I think.

He was like a Beckham or a Beatle - that sort of superstar fame, he was a true celebrity of the game that -for a while- was bigger than the game itself. By the middle of his career -in the early 70's- he had already releases a pop song and his own book and was a regular on TV, such was his fame.

He lacked a yard but worked hard on his off-the-mark pace and was an exceptional mark on the lead. He was one of the most accurate kicks you could ever see and rarely missed with a drop punt inside what is now the forward fifty.

Dropped a bit of form in his final season at Collingwood then copped one in the kidney whilst playing in the reserves and had part of his kidney removed IIRC. When he came back after a year in Tasmania, he had financial issues, (Car yard went broke - again, IIRC) Collingwood were not prepared to pay him what he wanted so he went to Carlton who were but, with some sadness, he never really got going in the Blues jumper although, he still managed to average over 3 goals a game (11 games). A player heavily reliant on getting in front on the lead and holding a strong grab he struggled once his hammies and pace started to go.

However, at his best he was a phenomenon, a real champion player who would kick bags most weeks. People would go to the footy just to see him play. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to marry him.


"Many full forwards are quick on the lead, but the truly great ones seem to know instinctively how to get the maximum advantage from their leads by timing them to perfection. In this particular skill, McKenna has had few peers, and once he had gained possession of the ball, usually from a bullet stab pass from Barry Price or Wayne Richardson, he almost invariably finished things off with consummate precision, typically using a kick on which the jury, at the time, was still out – the drop punt.
McKenna topped the Magpies' goal kicking list for the first of eight consecutive times in 1967, booting 47 goals. Over the ensuing seasons he gradually improved, kicking 97 goals in 1969, before amassing an incredible tally of 143 the following year. In 1971 McKenna's tally was 134. From the start of the 1968 VFL season to Round 3, 1974, McKenna kicked at least one goal in 120 consecutive games, still a competition record.”

 

[rand corp]

Also, when my Grandmother brought me my first Collingwood jumper it was Peter's No. 6 she made sure was on my back. Remember being about 5 years old at the Royal Melbourne Show (1969 or 1970) - my head buried in a show bag when my father said "look up, whose that?" Looked up and standing there waiting for my answer was McKenna himslef, 'It's Peter' I blurted out and got a smile from the champ!

 

[jmac70]

I wrote a letter to Scott care of the Herald. In the letter I happened to mention McKenna. I said he was a hero of mine but even I was aware that he was never a physical player and had in fact shirked the hard ball at times. I brought this up because Scott believed the players of the seventies were all rugged and brave. Anyway I never expected him to respond and didn't think much more about it after I posted my letter. I received a phone call about a week later from Don Scott himself. With my heart hammering I told him I was the author of the letter. He said he was ringing in order to get my permission to publish my letter in his next article with the idea that he would write a response to the points I raised. I excitedly gave him permission. The next week the article appeared-it even had a promo on the back of the paper promoting the debate!

Thanks for sharing your story. It certainly takes guts to admit to this. If I were you however I would not be too hard on myself. The anger that McKenna expressed was deservedly aimed at Scott. He made the choice to publish your letter and must have known it would cause McKenna grief.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

Great thread, Mckenna was pretty much finished when I started following footy so I can't add anything.
Except to say my older brother, used to shake his head at me when I said Daics was a super star & the crowd goes nuts for him. He said along the lines of. "You don't know what "fandom" is unless you saw Mckenna play in front of those screaming fans. He also used to make the reference to the Beatles that others have mentioned too.

 

[noideaatall]

Great thread.

I only saw a few games in 77 so missed McKenna. Absolute legend, I wonder if he suffered the tall poppy syndrom, particularly being a pies hero. For every person who loved him there were two that bagged him out mercilessly in my childhood. Just seems to me like a few have posted he hasn't seem to have got the recognition he deserves.

 

[domus]

Eddie McGuire says McKenna was the reason he became a magpie fan. As for the noise when McKenna went anywhere near the pill-it was off the Richter scale. There was a manic, high pitched intensity to it which others have already appropriately compared to Beatles mania. I might add that there is a moment in that initial highlights clip at the start of this thread which had me rethinking my belief that Macca was a lead, mark kick goal player. He gathers the pill at his feet in one hand in the blink of an eye and snaps a goal over his shoulder. He also read the ball off the pack beautifully. Yep-very underrated.

 

[Markfs]

I felt so bad after writing a few criticisms of Pete earlier in the thread..... and then reading about the bad health in the family.... I decided to go to confession but when I got into the confessional in the church I found out that the priest was a mad Collingwood fan and he told me to say 100 Hail Marys.... and never to come back to his church again...evidently, I dont have much chance at the pearly gates

 

[DThomas]

Ah, Peter McKenna! My Dad's favourite player when he was a kid. He has some great stories and would always tell me what a champion he was. He gave me his footy card collection when I was younger and there are a lot of Peter McKenna ones in there.

I remember being amazed when my Dad would tell me how he saw McKenna kick 16 goals in one match and how they still couldn't stop him after putting more players on him. He was only two goals off the all-time record for goals kicked in one match. I wish there was video footage of that.

It was a great touch to have him present the premiership cup in 2010 as well.

 

[Maggie Greg]

The sad part about all this was McKenna lost a kidney playing CHB for the Reserves against Sth Melb at VFL Park in June 1975. He was dropped for the first time in 7 years after the QB game against Melbourne where he kicked 5 behinds from memory.

He played in Tassie in 76 where he made a successful comeback and Tommy Hafey once appointed new coach of Collingwood asked Peter to re-join the club, which he did.

Peter played all the practice matches and played very well, but the club wouldn't pay him what he was on before or close to it. He needed the money as he had a huge debt he needed to pay off where he had guaranteed a loan (similar to what John Newman did for Fred Cook).

Collingwood wouldn't come to the party and Carlton offered him a modest amount but enough to deal with the debt.

Ridiculous. The man lost a kidney for the club and had given huge service.

I have never forgiven John Hickey or Peter Lucas for that decision.

 

[Magpie03]

yeah I have to agree. Was lucky to get to know McKenna a bit as he came to Marcellin where I went to school after he retired. A ncer bloke you couldn't meet. I was in the grades above where he taught but my younger brothers and mum got on with him really well. The youngest brother, who was 10 + years younger than me, came home to mum just after McKennna started teaching. Said something to the effect the new teacher was good and also " geez he can really kick a football". We all laughed. He was born in 71 so didnt see the great man play.

Im a Carlton supporter but my grand parents were die hard Collingwood supporters from West Heidelberg. My old man grew up with a few blokes who ended up at the pies. My grand mother used to baby sit Peter when he was a baby and later taught him at kindergarten.

As a teacher he was great and yes a nice bloke - he made things enjoyable in his maths classes to people of all levels. He also stood up for his students - he didnt tolerate liars but if you said you didnt do something he always had your back. He was my home room teacher in years 7 & 8 as well as cricket coach in the under 13's. Im the same age as your brother so could have been in the same class.

I believe coaching young SOS in the art of being a full forward at Marcellin as well.

 

[jonbe54]

The sad part about all this was McKenna lost a kidney playing CHB for the Reserves against Sth Melb at VFL Park in June 1975. He was dropped for the first time in 7 years after the QB game against Melbourne where he kicked 5 behinds from memory.

He played in Tassie in 76 where he made a successful comeback and Tommy Hafey once appointed new coach of Collingwood asked Peter to re-join the club, which he did.

Peter played all the practice matches and played very well, but the club wouldn't pay him what he was on before or close to it. He needed the money as he had a huge debt he needed to pay off where he had guaranteed a loan (similar to what John Newman did for Fred Cook).

Collingwood wouldn't come to the party and Carlton offered him a modest amount but enough to deal with the debt.

Ridiculous. The man lost a kidney for the club and had given huge service.

I have never forgiven John Hickey or Peter Lucas for that decision.

One of many second rate decisions from that era Maggie, that was the start of the rot that sent us to the poorhouse.

 

[DThomas]

Im a Carlton supporter but my grand parents were die hard Collingwood supporters from West Heidelberg. My old man grew up with a few blokes who ended up at the pies. My grand mother used to baby sit Peter when he was a baby and later taught him at kindergarten.

As a teacher he was great and yes a nice bloke - he made things enjoyable in his maths classes to people of all levels. He also stood up for his students - he didnt tolerate liars but if you said you didnt do something he always had your back. He was my home room teacher in years 7 & 8 as well as cricket coach in the under 13's. Im the same age as your brother so could have been in the same class.

I believe coaching young SOS in the art of being a full forward at Marcellin as well.

Why does your username say "Magpie" then?

Closet supporter?

 

[Magpie03]

Why does your username say "Magpie" then?

Closet supporter?

I played with and now coach a black n white team (3 was my number) - my grand parents would find it ironic. More ironically I have a relative playing with Collingwood so I tend to watch all his games.

 

[the mighty T]

If it wasnt for Peter McKenna having a kick with my old man back in the 70's, i'd probably be a Saints supporter. Sparing me a lifetime of disappointment makes him a top bloke in my eyes

 

[Maggie Greg]

In 1972, Peter McKenna also appeared on the then new Ted Whitten hosted football show which aired in Melbourne live at 11 pm on Friday nights. Its was a copy of the Kevin Dennis Football Show on Ch 7 which previewed the following day's games.

Peter didn't start 1972 in great goal scoring form and Neil Mann blamed the late nights on Whitten's show for the lack of goals and force McKenna to not appear on the show.

The first week he didn't appear we played North at North in Round 5 and McKenna kicked 11 goals.

He didn't appear on the show again!

 

[Hinequarters]

Let's just have the courage to say it.. he was never the same player after he got married

 

[MarkT2]

Peter McKenna is my first Collingwood player memory from TV and his number 6 was on my first footy jumper. Black number on white background piece of plastic sewn onto a long sleeve wollen jumper. We also shared similar overhead marking prowess. He had me covered weith the drop punt. Mine struggled to get over the man (well boy) on the mark. His went straight through from in front of the Vic Park social club.

While Barry Price did supply a few to McKenna's chest Wayne Richardson didn't do a bad job either.

 

[swans9605]

Here's the song from Peter McKenna that was his most popular song, and in my view his best song, 'Smile All The While'.

He may not have been the best singer in the business, but in my view, this one song would top anything from Justin Bieber by a huge margin.

For someone who doesn't barrack for Collingwood and was born way after this was recorded, I actually like this song, in fact I've sung to this alone a few times, a bit embarrassing to admit haha!