Club History Please Identify: South Melbourne Players 1946 and 1950s Seconds Coach

Yakas

Draftee
Aug 20, 2013
6
5
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
AFL Club
Sydney
Norm Duncan is definitely in the back row, far right. He was a big bugger and there's a family resemblance. I can confirm that he is in the back row, 3rd from the left in the round 3 photo from Junction Oval. I've also got the original full sized image that the Swans historic dept. sent me, so if anyone wants it, PM me with an e-mail address and I'll forward it on as it's too large to post here.
 

Michael Riley

Team Captain
Jun 17, 2012
394
350
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Brighton VFA
Thank you bandit55 and Yakas.

Neville Stibbard becomes pretty easy to identify as the player 4th from the left in the back row standing beside Ron Clegg, Much appreciated

Norm Duncan is harder.
Thanks Yaka's for posting that image, and I assume thanks to Barb Cullen at the club as the 1944 image is the photo that I mentioned earlier.

Yakas, you have identified Norm as the person 3rd from the left in the back row....could he be the taller guy second from the left?
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1944 copy of Norm Duncan compared to players 2nd and 3rd from left in the back row.
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Michael Riley

Team Captain
Jun 17, 2012
394
350
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Brighton VFA
I am not with the club...and am not sure. It is an uncommon name so there could well be a connection.
 

Yakas

Draftee
Aug 20, 2013
6
5
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
AFL Club
Sydney
Yakas, you have identified Norm as the person 3rd from the left in the back row....could he be the taller guy second from the left?

Yeah, second from the left. Sorry, I should have checked that before I posted, I've been looking at too many of these photo's... Barb Cullen sent me the original image, I'm going to try and track down family members in Ballarat but I think with these photo's it's a pretty solid identification. Thanks a lot for doing this, Michael. I don't think I would have found out as much as I have if I hadn't stubbled on to this thread.
 

Michael Riley

Team Captain
Jun 17, 2012
394
350
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Brighton VFA
Good luck Yakas.

I have been identify the player third from the left in the back row as Jack Dempsy. Once I checked the team list, it was fairly easy.

This leaves three faces unidentified. Accoording to AFL Tables these three people are
* Max Blumfield (174 cm), Rover, later Prahran and VFL Umpire
* George Perrett (180 cm )
* Doug Dowling (168 cm) Williamstown Rover

I did a search on Trove and found a couple of photos. But I am not sure. Maybe 2nd from the left is Dowling. But I am not sure about Blumfield.


tiki-download_file.php
 

Yakas

Draftee
Aug 20, 2013
6
5
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
AFL Club
Sydney
Based on those photo's, I'd say it goes Perrett, Dowling, Blumfield. The player crouching on the far left looks to have quite a strong receding hairline and the other 2 don't. Blumfield has a gap between his front teeth and it looks as though the player on the far right does too.
 

Michael Riley

Team Captain
Jun 17, 2012
394
350
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Brighton VFA
I did not notice the gap in the teeth. But it is obvious now you point it out.
I agree with that assessment.

I had come to the same conclusion because of the height and hairline.

One thing about these old photos is that it is not a one or two person project to work them out

Thanks Yakas.
 

anothergent

Draftee
Dec 20, 2018
3
0
AFL Club
Sydney
yep sounds like the right bloke... Gent used to play tunes on the speed ball at the pleasant sunday mornings including cheer, cheer the red and the white from what Ive heard., if anyone here has used a speedball they would understand the talent.. I remember that speed ball it was right as you entered the players rooms from the social rooms(many new balls later) right on the end of the old red lockers. Im told the old lockers are kept somewhere. I was always getting in trouble for swinging on it.. Gent was the taxi driver to all the players, no one ever jumped his taxi and no player ever paid a fare. I bet he has some great stories to tell and many secrets untold. I couldn't work out the link to Norm Gent and the inner sanctum of the club but I notice we have a William Gent that played for us years earlier, maybe related? He was suspended for 20 weeks for belting 'numerous' Fitzroy players, sounds like a fighter.. Sorry if I bore you and get off topic. This thread brings back some great memories.
 

anothergent

Draftee
Dec 20, 2018
3
0
AFL Club
Sydney
Norm Gent is my grandmother's uncle, sadly he died a long time ago. "Too much alcohol" my nan always said. I love hearing stories about him and she loves telling them too. I've found a lot of old articles and photos on him and his boxing career through online newspapers and archives. I'm starting to compile them. I found one the other day, from the Age in 1958, which had a photo of Normie when he became a trainer with South Melbourne. In the photo he was giving brownlow medalist Fred Goldsmith a massage. And Baja was right - Billy Gent was Norm's old man. There is a big framed picture of him at my grandparents house and a story from an old paper that says he was reported for life after a brawl during a game. The ban was lifted a year or two later I think. He was a rover, originally from Essendon if I'm not mistaken, although I don't think he ever played with the Bombers in the VFL.
If anyone has any other stories about Norm or would like me to point him out in a photo, just let me know :thumbsu:
 

anothergent

Draftee
Dec 20, 2018
3
0
AFL Club
Sydney
Hi baja norm gent was an uncle of mine my dads brother and billy gent that played with south was normies dad.From what i have heard billy was a great footballer but had a short fuse and at one stage was rubbed out for life after finishing fighting normy played a bit of footy for montague then became a trainer at south and the only south person to turn up to normies funeral was his best mate freddy goldsmith.My dad was wally gent and he coached montague to a flag in 1935.All the family came from around montague and port area.
 

Paul Gent

Draftee
Apr 17, 2019
2
0
AFL Club
Sydney
Hi baja norm gent was an uncle of mine my dads brother and billy gent that played with south was normies dad.From what i have heard billy was a great footballer but had a short fuse and at one stage was rubbed out for life after finishing fighting normy played a bit of footy for montague then became a trainer at south and the only south person to turn up to normies funeral was his best mate freddy goldsmith.My dad was wally gent and he coached montague to a flag in 1935.All the family came from around montague and port area.

Marlene?
 
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