Universal Love Down Memory Lane

[Blues177]

But the extraordinary night was when the Carlton faithful gathered to decide the fate of George Harris and Alex Jesaulenko. I'm not certain now why it came about. It was clearly a power struggle that was gladiatorial in nature. George was never a shrinking violet and believed Carlton owed him an eternal debt as a result of his 15 years in charge. I think the opposition was led by Ivan Rohrt (but I'm happy to be corrected). Why Jezza sided with Harris is a mystery as well? I know I was confused as we had just won the Premiership and fighting was a curse for lower clubs. Speeches were made and a vote taken. Harris was out and Jezza left as a result to join St Kilda. I often wonder what could have been if Jezza had continued as coach. 1979, 1981 and 1982 is impressive but, without the fighting, 1980 could have been in the display cabinet at Princes Park.

Ivan Rohrt took over from a jaded George Harris after the 1974 season when we missed the finals. A revitalised Harris then came back in 1978 keen to shape up the place again.

After 1979 Jezza was not happy with the likes of Wes Lofts who wanted to recruit some big name players without consulting him. I think Graham Teasdale was targeted if my memory is correct.

There may have been tension at board level during the 1979 season while the players were steamrolling their way through the season on the field. Other members of the board were not happy that Harris wanted the club to diversify in other business ventures.

It was sad that Jezza got involved in the politics.

It was actually Ian Rice who led the opposition and took over the presidency.

 

[Dramoth]

He's like the boy with the barrow, he's got it all in front of him!

Heard that one (paraphrased) a few times on the 3AW broadcasts of the footy as well... things that suddenly popup!

 

[thylacine60]

Was at the first PP game 1980 when Ian Rice unfurled the flag.

 

[Big Sim]

Me and my best mates from school watched the 72 GF on TV in Hobart. We were 13 years old and from memory I was one of the few Carlton supporters among us which meant I got six all round (six punches of the arm from all there) each time we scored a goal. What a game to choose to go through that ritual with the Blues kicking 28.9.177...and only won by 27 points, with Richmond having more scoring shots. The shoot out to end all shoot outs. One of my mates with us that day was Michael Young.

Mick Young, who was the star athlete, footballer and chick puller of our year at school, went on to play in the next Carlton premiership side, in 1979. He was only 20 and had not played much senior footy that year but came in for an injured Ashman in the semi against North Melbourne and played the game of his career, with 27 touches, towelling Stan Alves in the process. So he got picked for the GF, where he was cleaned up by Rene Kink in the opening minutes and played out the match with concussion, but managed a goal and a premiership medallion in front of 113,000.

He had his 21st not long after and quite a few of his younger team mates were there, including Wayne Harmes, and I am proud to say that I shook the hand that knocked the ball back into play for the winning goal.

Not much of a claim to fame, I know, but its all I got and I will dine out on it til the day I die.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

Me and my best mates from school watched the 72 GF on TV in Hobart. We were 13 years old and from memory I was one of the few Carlton supporters among us which meant I got six all round (six punches of the arm from all there) each time we scored a goal. What a game to choose to go through that ritual with the Blues kicking 28.9.177...and only won by 27 points, with Richmond having more scoring shots. The shoot out to end all shoot outs. One of my mates with us that day was Michael Young.

Mick Young, who was the star athlete, footballer and chick puller of our year at school, went on to play in the next Carlton premiership side, in 1979. He was only 20 and had not played much senior footy that year but came in for an injured Ashman in the semi against North Melbourne and played the game of his career, with 27 touches, towelling Stan Alves in the process. So he got picked for the GF, where he was cleaned up by Rene Kink in the opening minutes and played out the match with concussion, but managed a goal and a premiership medallion in front of 113,000.

He had his 21st not long after and quite a few of his younger team mates were there, including Wayne Harmes, and I am proud to say that I shook the hand that knocked the ball back into play for the winning goal.

Not much of a claim to fame, I know, but its all I got and I will dine out on it til the day I die.

Great story!!!

Also fantastic to see this thread back up and running, good work Robbo!

 

[Bluesince62]

He had his 21st not long after and quite a few of his younger team mates were there, including Wayne Harmes, and I am proud to say that I shook the hand that knocked the ball back into play for the winning goal.

Not much of a claim to fame, I know, but its all I got and I will dine out on it til the day I die.

Where was Harms that day ? I think the filth have him currently 4 rows back, I could be out by 10 rows.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

Where was Harms that day ? I think the filth have him currently 4 rows back, I could be out by 10 rows.

Put it this way I was sitting 20 rows back that day right near where it happened and he managed to steal a chip and take a bite out of my pie after he knocked it back to Sheldon!!

 

[Robbo's my hero]

Ivan Rohrt took over from a jaded George Harris after the 1974 season when we missed the finals. A revitalised Harris then came back in 1978 keen to shape up the place again.

After 1979 Jezza was not happy with the likes of Wes Lofts who wanted to recruit some big name players without consulting him. I think Graham Teasdale was targeted if my memory is correct.

There may have been tension at board level during the 1979 season while the players were steamrolling their way through the season on the field. Other members of the board were not happy that Harris wanted the club to diversify in other business ventures.

It was sad that Jezza got involved in the politics.

It was actually Ian Rice who led the opposition and took over the presidency.

Thanks for the information Blues177.

And as the mad scientist with the God complex once screamed "it's alive!"

 

[Robbo's my hero]

Was at the first PP game 1980 when Ian Rice unfurled the flag.

The first game of the 1980 season remains one of my favourite games and I've seen a few. It was a re-match of the 1979 GF at Victoria Park. Collingwood were red hot favourites to win the game as Carlton had a number of players missing from the GF team and a new coach. It was a great team effort and confirmed the special quality of this team. Make no mistake this 1980 team was as good as any that Carlton put on the park. I've got an inkling that the Collingwood team was feeling pretty cocky as well. My recollection is the Blues poured on the pressure from the first bounce and Collingwood was chasing backside all day. They would have seen number 7 a few times that day. Johnno played lots of great games but this was probably his best. 7 goals at Vic Park. Does it get any better? I also remember Bruce Doull was sensational as well. I loved Doully. Serious man love. To watch this man defend and then be first to the loose ball. No better defender in the history of the game. I miss beating Collingwood on its dung heap

 

[thylacine60]

The first game of the 1980 season remains one of my favourite games and I've seen a few. It was a re-match of the 1979 GF at Victoria Park. Collingwood were red hot favourites to win the game as Carlton had a number of players missing from the GF team and a new coach. It was a great team effort and confirmed the special quality of this team. Make no mistake this 1980 team was as good as any that Carlton put on the park. I've got an inkling that the Collingwood team was feeling pretty cocky as well. My recollection is the Blues poured on the pressure from the first bounce and Collingwood was chasing backside all day. They would have seen number 7 a few times that day. Johnno played lots of great games but this was probably his best. 7 goals at Vic Park. Does it get any better? I also remember Bruce Doull was sensational as well. I loved Doully. Serious man love. To watch this man defend and then be first to the loose ball. No better defender in the history of the game. I miss beating Collingwood on its dung heap

TIA.

 

[Bluesince62]

Bruce Doull, the only player I know who spoiled to advantage. Didn't always aim to punch it over the fence. He had a great awareness of numbers around the ball and aimed his punch accordingly. The only player who could better him on a regular basis was Peter Daicos. Their clashes were priceless for supporters of both sides.

 

[Robbo's my hero]

1978 started badly. We'd hired a nut as coach whose communication skills led to a Robert Walls left hook and his departure from the club. The nut suffered a heart attack which was the better of the two options. A hessian bag loaded down with rocks was the second choice. Serg Silvagni stepped in and Carlton searched for a new coach. Ironically the only other choice had gone to Fitzroy and Jezza was appointed coach.

I had been lured out of retirement and hadn't seen a Carlton game in 1978. As luck would have it the skies opened up that weekend and all the Essendon District games were called off. Our senior coach decided he'd like to replace the scheduled game with a training run. I saw the near queue and sent the coach to the far queue and snuck off to Jezza's first game as playing coach.

As luck would decree it was at Victoria Park so me and a mate made a beeline for the home of the arch enemy! We found a spot in a big crowd not far from the scoreboard. The ground was a bog and it was no place for the feint hearted. The Pies under Teeshirt Tommy had resurrected itself into a top side after the spoon in 1976. Good enough to be runners-up in 1977

The Blues still had a number of champs in the side and Jezza had been an inspirational figure to his teammates and fans for more than a decade. It was a tight game from start to finish but we answered every challenge. I remember a Pie supporter menacing us during the game because we barracked loudly for Carlton. He obviously thought Vic Park was a Collingwood fans only venue. We thought about the consequences for a millisecond and commenced barracking a little louder than before the threat.

We won the game in what would become the march to the 1979 flag win with Collingwood adding another second best in show to the cabinet. From not being able to win a game at the start of 1978 Jezza had steered the Blues to a lot of wins and very few losses when he and Percy held the cup aloft in 1979 (32 wins 7 losses comes to mind). So I was in the crowd the day the Blues beat the Pies in 1978

 

[mediumsizered]

1978 started badly. We'd hired a nut as coach whose communication skills led to a Robert Walls left hook and his departure from the club. The nut suffered a heart attack which was the better of the two options. A hessian bag loaded down with rocks was the second choice. Serg Silvagni stepped in and Carlton searched for a new coach. Ironically the only other choice had gone to Fitzroy and Jezza was appointed coach.

I had been lured out of retirement and hadn't seen a Carlton game in 1978. As luck would have it the skies opened up that weekend and all the Essendon District games were called off. Our senior coach decided he'd like to replace the scheduled game with a training run. I saw the near queue and sent the coach to the far queue and snuck off to Jezza's first game as playing coach.

As luck would decree it was at Victoria Park so me and a mate made a beeline for the home of the arch enemy! We found a spot in a big crowd not far from the scoreboard. The ground was a bog and it was no place for the feint hearted. The Pies under Teeshirt Tommy had resurrected itself into a top side after the spoon in 1976. Good enough to be runners-up in 1977

The Blues still had a number of champs in the side and Jezza had been an inspirational figure to his teammates and fans for more than a decade. It was a tight game from start to finish but we answered every challenge. I remember a Pie supporter menacing us during the game because we barracked loudly for Carlton. He obviously thought Vic Park was a Collingwood fans only venue. We thought about the consequences for a millisecond and commenced barracking a little louder than before the threat.

We won the game in what would become the march to the 1979 flag win with Collingwood adding another second best in show to the cabinet. From not being able to win a game at the start of 1978 Jezza had steered the Blues to a lot of wins and very few losses when he and Percy held the cup aloft in 1979 (32 wins 7 losses comes to mind). So I was in the crowd the day the Blues beat the Pies in 1978

I was there too. I don't know how, but I managed to convince my older brother to take me, despite the inclement weather (he brought his then girlfriend along as well). We huddled under one umbrella, but realistically I was standing in the rain. It didn't matter though because the Blues put in an inspired performance, with Ashy kicking a couple of goals in the last quarter to give us the break needed. I still remember Jezza's excitement when the siren went. He was not one for great celebrations, but this win meant so much after our poor start to the season (1-5 after the first six games).

 

[Robbo's my hero]

I started following Carlton in 1964, our 100th year anniversary.

I was destined to be a Carlton supporter with my father being born on the right side of Nicholson Street in 1924. My mum had been born on the other side of the world in Celano, an Abruzzese town and about 80 ks east of Rome. Like a lot of Italian families my grandfather settled his family in North Queensland in a little town called Edmonton which was for many years separated from Cairns by 15 ks. My mum knew nothing about Australian Rules football until she met my dad who was stationed there during WWII. They married in April 1945 and my mum recounted the image of my Dad running up the road waving a paper above his head whooping "we've won the Flag!" She confessed to me that she couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Boy did that change. The next story my mum told me related to her being pregnant and being gently lifted over the fence at the MCG as the ground was packed. My oldest sister was born in 1948 so the GF was the famous 1 point victory over Essendon in 1947.

We fast forward to 1964 when as a family we started attending the football. This was at a time when Fitzroy still played at the Brunswick Street Oval, Richmond still played at Punt Road, St Kilda's home was the Junction Oval and the Lake Oval still stood at the other end of the Lake. Ken Hands was coach and Carlton, despite being competitive, finished a lowly tenth winning, I think 5 games in an 18 game season. Melbourne went on to win the flag and have not won another.

1965 was a watershed year with Barassi arriving as Captain-Coach. It was only a matter of time for the next Blues flag having not won since 1947. When Barassi arrived Big Nick, Serge and Gags were the first ruck combination. Not too much to fix there! Ragsy Goold and Wes Lofts were the key defenders who would last the distance with the '64 Brownlow Medallist, Gordon Collis, suffering a foot injury which curtailed his career. The other defenders of the time were all hard nuts, the Gill Brothers, John and Barry, and the man who has never been far from our thoughts, Ian Collins, he of the sharp elbows. There were plenty of others but I'll mention one more, John Lloyd, father of Matty Lloyd. Say what you like about the son but the father was a gentleman. He boarded with a friend of my mum, Vonnie Curtain, in a Coburg house. I spent a bit of time there and her boarders included Lofts, the Kekovich brothers Brian and Sam, Percy Jones and plenty of other new recruits. It was a fun house and the card games involving the two older ladies and the boys were unforgettable. But I've digressed.

An amazing array of talent descended upon Carlton around that time. Our famous centreline of Quirk, Robertson (my hero) and Crane arrived in the mid sixties. Vin Waite and Kevin Hall were young bucks then. Ken Greenwood gave up and went to Footscray and Percy Jones, a huge man was initially happy to be the forward pocket specialist. The centre half forward was a man from the bush with the moniker of Wild Bill Bennett. Spasmodically brilliant and as tough as nails. Brian Kekovich arrived from Myrtleford in 1966 and became a goal kicker. A great mark and a reliable kick. Denis Munari and Ian Nichol were the back up small men at the time. Nichol was faster than Speedy Gonzalez. Another regular around this time was Neil Chandler, a triple premiership player for Carlton.

Two teenagers arrived on the seen in 1968. The boy from Coburg Robert Walls and the already flamboyant Brent Tasman Crosswell from Campbelltown Tasmania. The team was complete for a tilt at the flag in 1968. Strangely enough the runner for the team in 1968 was pretty famous also. Sydney Jackson, the champ from WA, stood out the year so he could come to Carlton.

There were plenty who fell along the way as Barass was pretty ruthless. Apart from the players already mentioned I can recall many others of the era. Cliff Stewart, John Kemp, John Bennetti, Frosty Miller, Berkley Cox, Ricky McLean, Jim Pleydell, Terry Board, Graeme Anderson, Ron Stone, Ron Auchitel and plenty of others.

Grand Final day was sunny and blustery. It was a low scoring affair but when the siren went I was up on my seat as excited as my dad had been in 1945. My mum was totally converted to the game now and was a dancing a tarantella. It was the start of a golden era for the Blues and my love affair with the club will last forever

 

[thylacine60]

Rmh is my hero. Certainly a resource this place can be proud of - and the flawless punctuation!

 

[Bluesince62]

Anyone remember the old night series played post-season at Lakeside Oval by the teams that missed the final 4. A lot of retribution was handed out in the murky light. I was there in 1971 (Barassi's last game as coach) when we played in dark shorts and Syd Jackson ran around smacking everyone in sight. I knew it was Syd as he smiled after each whack then disappeared into the dark. A favourite of mine was Syd, never shirked a battle.

Exactly a week later I was heading off to Puckapunyal on National Service with the prospect of facing real snipers in Vietnam.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

I started following Carlton in 1964, our 100th year anniversary.

I was destined to be a Carlton supporter with my father being born on the right side of Nicholson Street in 1924. My mum had been born on the other side of the world in Celano, an Abruzzese town and about 80 ks east of Rome. Like a lot of Italian families my grandfather settled his family in North Queensland in a little town called Edmonton which was for many years separated from Cairns by 15 ks. My mum knew nothing about Australian Rules football until she met my dad who was stationed there during WWII. They married in April 1945 and my mum recounted the image of my Dad running up the road waving a paper above his head whooping "we've won the Flag!" She confessed to me that she couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Boy did that change. The next story my mum told me related to her being pregnant and being gently lifted over the fence at the MCG as the ground was packed. My oldest sister was born in 1948 so the GF was the famous 1 point victory over Essendon in 1947.

We fast forward to 1964 when as a family we started attending the football. This was at a time when Fitzroy still played at the Brunswick Street Oval, Richmond still played at Punt Road, St Kilda's home was the Junction Oval and the Lake Oval still stood at the other end of the Lake. Ken Hands was coach and Carlton, despite being competitive, finished a lowly tenth winning, I think 5 games in an 18 game season. Melbourne went on to win the flag and have not won another.

1965 was a watershed year with Barassi arriving as Captain-Coach. It was only a matter of time for the next Blues flag having not won since 1947. When Barassi arrived Big Nick, Serge and Gags were the first ruck combination. Not too much to fix there! Ragsy Goold and Wes Lofts were the key defenders who would last the distance with the '64 Brownlow Medallist, Gordon Collis, suffering a foot injury which curtailed his career. The other defenders of the time were all hard nuts, the Gill Brothers, John and Barry, and the man who has never been far from our thoughts, Ian Collins, he of the sharp elbows. There were plenty of others but I'll mention one more, John Lloyd, father of Matty Lloyd. Say what you like about the son but the father was a gentleman. He boarded with a friend of my mum, Vonnie Curtain, in a Coburg house. I spent a bit of time there and her boarders included Lofts, the Kekovich brothers Brian and Sam, Percy Jones and plenty of other new recruits. It was a fun house and the card games involving the two older ladies and the boys were unforgettable. But I've digressed.

An amazing array of talent descended upon Carlton around that time. Our famous centreline of Quirk, Robertson (my hero) and Crane arrived in the mid sixties. Vin Waite and Kevin Hall were young bucks then. Ken Greenwood gave up and went to Footscray and Percy Jones, a huge man was initially happy to be the forward pocket specialist. The centre half forward was a man from the bush with the moniker of Wild Bill Bennett. Spasmodically brilliant and as tough as nails. Brian Kekovich arrived from Myrtleford in 1966 and became a goal kicker. A great mark and a reliable kick. Denis Munari and Ian Nichol were the back up small men at the time. Nichol was faster than Speedy Gonzalez. Another regular around this time was Neil Chandler, a triple premiership player for Carlton.

Two teenagers arrived on the seen in 1968. The boy from Coburg Robert Walls and the already flamboyant Brent Tasman Crosswell from Campbelltown Tasmania. The team was complete for a tilt at the flag in 1968. Strangely enough the runner for the team in 1968 was pretty famous also. Sydney Jackson, the champ from WA, stood out the year so he could come to Carlton.

There were plenty who fell along the way as Barass was pretty ruthless. Apart from the players already mentioned I can recall many others of the era. Cliff Stewart, John Kemp, John Bennetti, Frosty Miller, Berkley Cox, Ricky McLean, Jim Pleydell, Terry Board, Graeme Anderson, Ron Stone, Ron Auchitel and plenty of others.

Grand Final day was sunny and blustery. It was a low scoring affair but when the siren went I was up on my seat as excited as my dad had been in 1945. My mum was totally converted to the game now and was a dancing a tarantella. It was the start of a golden era for the Blues and my love affair with the club will last forever

Incredible Robbo!!

You just reminded me that Cliff Stewart was my art teacher in year 7 of high school. An odd bloke that was very quiet but could fly off the handle and when he did it was not pretty. I had no idea who he was as it was before my time but one day my Dad asked me who my teachers were and when I said Cliff Stewart he asked me did he have blonde hair etc and then went on to tell me he was a Carlton premiership player. He never once spoke of his football days and was very humble in that regard.

Strange indeed that a mad Carlton supporter was being taught by a club legend and I had no idea!!

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

Anyone remember the old night series played post-season at Lakeside Oval by the teams that missed the final 4. A lot of retribution was handed out in the murky light. I was there in 1971 (Barassi's last game as coach) when we played in dark shorts and Syd Jackson ran around smacking everyone in sight. I knew it was Syd as he smiled after each whack then disappeared into the dark. A favourite of mine was Syd, never shirked a battle.

Exactly a week later I was heading off to Puckapunyal on National Service with the prospect of facing real snipers in Vietnam.

Wow, really? Some of the folk on this board have some amazing stories to tell!

 

[thylacine60]

I'm actually a woman trapped inside.........nah, that ain't gonna fly.......

 

[FootyGeek]

Incredible Robbo!!

You just reminded me that Cliff Stewart was my art teacher in year 7 of high school. An odd bloke that was very quiet but could fly off the handle and when he did it was not pretty. I had no idea who he was as it was before my time but one day my Dad asked me who my teachers were and when I said Cliff Stewart he asked me did he have blonde hair etc and then went on to tell me he was a Carlton premiership player. He never once spoke of his football days and was very humble in that regard.

Strange indeed that a mad Carlton supporter was being taught by a club legend and I had no idea!!

 

[Robbo's my hero]

Incredible Robbo!!

You just reminded me that Cliff Stewart was my art teacher in year 7 of high school. An odd bloke that was very quiet but could fly off the handle and when he did it was not pretty. I had no idea who he was as it was before my time but one day my Dad asked me who my teachers were and when I said Cliff Stewart he asked me did he have blonde hair etc and then went on to tell me he was a Carlton premiership player. He never once spoke of his football days and was very humble in that regard.

Strange indeed that a mad Carlton supporter was being taught by a club legend and I had no idea!!

Thanks for the kind words.

I had the joy of Ted Potter as a PE Teacher for a couple of years at high school. I never heard a word that he said because I would see the vision of his errant hand pass to Barry Breen which cost Collingwood the 1966 GF. Breen's response, a feeble punt which dribbled through for the behind, won St Kilda the game. I reckon Ted must have played in at least three losing GFs. Pretty standard for a lot of Collingwood players. In its own way this was better than having an ex-Carlton player as a teacher

 

[thylacine60]

Think Rene Kink may have played in 5!

 

[Blues177]

1978 started badly. We'd hired a nut as coach whose communication skills led to a Robert Walls left hook and his departure from the club. The nut suffered a heart attack which was the better of the two options. A hessian bag loaded down with rocks was the second choice. Serg Silvagni stepped in and Carlton searched for a new coach. Ironically the only other choice had gone to Fitzroy and Jezza was appointed coach.

I had been lured out of retirement and hadn't seen a Carlton game in 1978. As luck would have it the skies opened up that weekend and all the Essendon District games were called off. Our senior coach decided he'd like to replace the scheduled game with a training run. I saw the near queue and sent the coach to the far queue and snuck off to Jezza's first game as playing coach.

As luck would decree it was at Victoria Park so me and a mate made a beeline for the home of the arch enemy! We found a spot in a big crowd not far from the scoreboard. The ground was a bog and it was no place for the feint hearted. The Pies under Teeshirt Tommy had resurrected itself into a top side after the spoon in 1976. Good enough to be runners-up in 1977

The Blues still had a number of champs in the side and Jezza had been an inspirational figure to his teammates and fans for more than a decade. It was a tight game from start to finish but we answered every challenge. I remember a Pie supporter menacing us during the game because we barracked loudly for Carlton. He obviously thought Vic Park was a Collingwood fans only venue. We thought about the consequences for a millisecond and commenced barracking a little louder than before the threat.

We won the game in what would become the march to the 1979 flag win with Collingwood adding another second best in show to the cabinet. From not being able to win a game at the start of 1978 Jezza had steered the Blues to a lot of wins and very few losses when he and Percy held the cup aloft in 1979 (32 wins 7 losses comes to mind). So I was in the crowd the day the Blues beat the Pies in 1978

1978 turned out to be a good year. We recruited well and the development of players such as McConvillle, Sheldon, Buckley and Harmes helped the team regain the spark we had in 1976, especially in the second half of the season. We beat both Nth Melb & Collingwood twice and had a win against the hawks. You could sense in the second half of that season that the blues were on the way to another great era.
Our poor start with the coaching instability and the off day we had against the saints at Moorabbin in round 22 in the infamous Collins / Muir incident cost us the double chance - and the chance to cause some damage deep in the finals. Before the saints game we were in 3rd spot behind eventual grand finalists Haw & North. Our win against the cats in the elimination final was our first finals win since the 1973 second semi against Collingwood.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

Think Rene Kink may have played in 5!

I like to refer to him as Tank O'Donohue!!

 

[HBF]

I like to refer to him as Tank O'Donohue!!

Handpass Tank