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Cats' 1951 flag found
Michael Auciello
25Aug07
A TWO-DECADE old mystery has finally been solved, with Geelong's missing 1951 premiership flag found.
The discovery was made on Wednesday by plumber Steve Kelly, who found the flag in a plastic bag while working under a house in Geelong.
Mr Kelly contacted Geelong past players' president Terry Fulton, who was at first sceptical of the find.
``He called me and told me what he'd found and I said `how big is it?'. He said `six metres' and I said it sounds like the real thing. No one's going to fake it and make a six-metre flag,'' Fulton said.
In perfect condition, the flag has been returned to the club and will now be pinned up to the ceiling of the past players' room at Skilled Stadium.
In another twist, Mr Kelly is the nephew of Tom Morrow, also a member of that `51 premiership team.
``We just pulled it out. It was in a plastic bag in an old box. The box just fell apart when we went to move it,'' Mr Kelly said.
``At first I thought it was a fake.
``It could have just gone to the tip, it was only luck that we pulled it out.''
Fulton, a member of the 1951-52 premiership sides, said he was on the Geelong committee when the flag went missing in the 1980s.
``We knew it was missing. We've been searching high and low. I've gone grey in the process,'' he joked yesterday.
Geelong's chief operating officer Stuart Fox said a replica had been made of the missing flag, but the club was excited to have the real deal back in its hands.
``It's a fantastic find. It's just an incredible story,'' he said.
``We've got a replica but now we'll be able to show it in our museum. We're rapt it got brought to our attention.''
Michael Auciello
25Aug07
A TWO-DECADE old mystery has finally been solved, with Geelong's missing 1951 premiership flag found.
The discovery was made on Wednesday by plumber Steve Kelly, who found the flag in a plastic bag while working under a house in Geelong.
Mr Kelly contacted Geelong past players' president Terry Fulton, who was at first sceptical of the find.
``He called me and told me what he'd found and I said `how big is it?'. He said `six metres' and I said it sounds like the real thing. No one's going to fake it and make a six-metre flag,'' Fulton said.
In perfect condition, the flag has been returned to the club and will now be pinned up to the ceiling of the past players' room at Skilled Stadium.
In another twist, Mr Kelly is the nephew of Tom Morrow, also a member of that `51 premiership team.
``We just pulled it out. It was in a plastic bag in an old box. The box just fell apart when we went to move it,'' Mr Kelly said.
``At first I thought it was a fake.
``It could have just gone to the tip, it was only luck that we pulled it out.''
Fulton, a member of the 1951-52 premiership sides, said he was on the Geelong committee when the flag went missing in the 1980s.
``We knew it was missing. We've been searching high and low. I've gone grey in the process,'' he joked yesterday.
Geelong's chief operating officer Stuart Fox said a replica had been made of the missing flag, but the club was excited to have the real deal back in its hands.
``It's a fantastic find. It's just an incredible story,'' he said.
``We've got a replica but now we'll be able to show it in our museum. We're rapt it got brought to our attention.''
