The 1976 Flag - The Bittersweet Premiership

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Talk about serendipitous.

I've just got back from an important function at a restaurant in Malvern (well, it was a 2-year old birthday party). And right there on the wall was a framed newspaper article from 35 years ago of Peter Crimmins tossing pizza dough at this very restaurant.

I took a fuzzy photo with my iPhone while juggling a child.

crimo.jpg
 
Grizz - I have known that there has been this photo at a Pizza shop but I havn't been able to find it - PLEASE tell us exactly where the shop is!!

I will be there in a shot:thumbsu:
 
The BIG X said:
Grizz - I have known that there has been this photo at a Pizza shop but I havn't been able to find it - PLEASE tell us exactly where the shop is!!

I will be there in a shot:thumbsu:
Click to expand...

You and HH could shuffle on down there for a pizza and pasta.
Rossini, 231 Glenferrie Road Malvern.
Note: the Glenferrie bit.

It's to the immediate right as you come in the front door.
 

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Thank you for a great write up on our 1976 triumph Rusty. I would like to add a little more history. In 1974 we had the wood on Richmond, Richmond had the wood on NM and NM had the wood on us. I have always lamented the fact that we were not good enough to advance to the GF because I have no doubt we would have beaten Richmond. In the final series we lost the qualifying final against NM 15.13.103 to 8.17.65 before belting Collingwood in the 1st semi final 21.12.138 to 13.10.88 [our Lethal chunky thighed little rover had 23 kicks and kicked 7 goals]. For the PF match against NM, Crimmo was not selected due to a "mystery virus" and we lost Knights and Hendrie on the morning of the match. We led a rain marred match 6.5.41 to 5.2.32 at half time before losing 8.8.56 to 7.9.51 after Kelvin Matthews failed to make the distance from 40 metres out with a very heavy ball in the last minute of the game. Richmond beat NM in the GF 18.20.128 to 13.9.87 and I'm sure the loss helped NM prepare for the 1975 GF.
 
grizzlym said:
You and HH could shuffle on down there for a pizza and pasta.
Rossini, 231 Glenferrie Road Malvern.
Note: the Glenferrie bit.

It's to the immediate right as you come in the front door.
Click to expand...


Really appreciate the address thanks Grizz - If they have Crayfish Pizzas Ho/Hu will be there in a flash.:thumbsu:
 
houdinihuddo said:
Thank you for a great write up on our 1976 triumph Rusty. I would like to add a little more history. In 1974 we had the wood on Richmond, Richmond had the wood on NM and NM had the wood on us. I have always lamented the fact that we were not good enough to advance to the GF because I have no doubt we would have beaten Richmond...... .
Click to expand...

Was and still is a great time to be a Hawthorn supporter.

After winning the flag in 1971 we slumped to be 6th and just out the top 5 in 1972. Sound familiar?

We went back one in 1973 before going 3rd in 74, 2nd in 75 and 1st in 76

later in 77 with a 2nd during home and away series before winning again in 78.
 
And here's a gem from a man we know well around the Hawthorn Board, Peter Hanlon, from The Age. This is from a series that the Sunday Age ran back in 2002 to "compile the top 50, and ultimately unearth the biggest moment in the history of the game."

"30. CRIMMINS AND THE CUP, 1976
John Kennedy's words to his Hawthorn players before the 1976 grand final were brief but pointed: "There are lots of reasons why you have to win today. Most of all, though, win it for the little fella."

Hawthorn has been styled as the family club, and it was never more of a family than during Peter Crimmins' last days.

He had a testicle removed in 1974 but returned as captain the following season, playing the first seven games before cancer again took hold.

He almost returned for the 1975 grand final, but the following January had part of a lung removed and by the time the Hawks took on North Melbourne his health was fading.

Deputy premier Lindsay Thompson's offer of chauffer-driven transport to the grand final had to be declined, and by the following Tuesday Crimmins was gone, aged 28."


http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/15/1031608345061.html


From Knights In Shining Armour, by Peter Knights:

"There had been a tacit promise that a few of us would visit him after we won the premiership. We arrived at the Crimmins house hold in Croydon around midnight, bearing a suitable quantity of champagne and the precious trophy. The scene that greeted us is something I'll never forget. None of us had seen him for several weeks and the change was a shock to us all. We had brought a photographer with us who recorded what is probably one of the saddest scenes in football history."


Cmon, Peter Hanlon, I know you're out there! In the spirit of this thread stop lurking and post something about Crimmins.
 
Senior 'journalist' at the Bin-liner (Herald Sun), Mike Sheehan, wrote a story on afl.com.au for the 2007 Heritage Round celebrations nominating "10 of the most influential news stories of the 1970s."

Who would have thought you'd actually find something worth reading on the AFL site? Mind-boggling, hey?

Mike's story is quite good. Full transcript here:

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/46716/default.aspx

And for those who'd prefer to let a hungry Cayman gnaw their leg off than go to the AFL site, I've quoted the relevant section below.

"The death of the ‘little fella’ Peter Crimmins

"There were some great pictures in the 70s, Jezza’s (Alex Jesaulenko's) mark, but for pictures off the ground, my most vivid memory is of those Hawthorn blokes who went to see Crimmo after the 1976 premiership.

"I do not have the slightest of doubts that Crimmins willed himself to live until they won that flag. I covered the funeral for The Age. It was a big story at the time. There were times after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, he seemed to get better.

"There were (health) updates every three, four, six months and you just knew he was going to get worse. I remember thinking, how can he die at 28.

"As it got closer, you thought; 'this can’t happen. a; he’s a footballer and he’s been a captain of the club and looks indestructible on the footy ground, and b; the science. How could this happen? And it did."

Oh yeah, if anyone out there has a digital copy of the photo where the players visit Crimmin's bedside with the Cup, please post it.
 

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houdinihuddo said:
Thank you for a great write up on our 1976 triumph Rusty. I would like to add a little more history. In 1974 we had the wood on Richmond, Richmond had the wood on NM and NM had the wood on us. I have always lamented the fact that we were not good enough to advance to the GF because I have no doubt we would have beaten Richmond. In the final series we lost the qualifying final against NM 15.13.103 to 8.17.65 before belting Collingwood in the 1st semi final 21.12.138 to 13.10.88 [our Lethal chunky thighed little rover had 23 kicks and kicked 7 goals]. For the PF match against NM, Crimmo was not selected due to a "mystery virus" and we lost Knights and Hendrie on the morning of the match. We led a rain marred match 6.5.41 to 5.2.32 at half time before losing 8.8.56 to 7.9.51 after Kelvin Matthews failed to make the distance from 40 metres out with a very heavy ball in the last minute of the game. Richmond beat NM in the GF 18.20.128 to 13.9.87 and I'm sure the loss helped NM prepare for the 1975 GF.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember this miss was due to Kelvin being unable to see properly, somebody had given him a mud facial massage.. Lethal light was a pretty good player in his own right, i saw him kick 8 goals back in 77 against Fitzroy from a half forward flank, on that day he was more lethal than lethal - and a terrible shame when he defected to the cats.

Crimmo was a fantastic player, an absolute terrier for the ball, and would never surrender. The play that sticks in my mind, and the one that really epitomises Crimmos style, was at Glenferrie oval. I dont remember who we were playing at the time, but the ball had been hacked deep into our forward pocket (there wasn't much precision delivery then...), all the players in the zone seemed to be just watching it and expecting it to bounce out of bounds, except for Crimmo... he kept running flat out and gathered the ball inches from the boundary line about 30 metres from the goals, threw it onto his boot deep in the sardine can pocket, and it floated through for a freakish goal. That was vintage Crimmo, the applause practically brought the grandstand down, you could almost sense the awe from the other players.
The Platten comparison is a pretty good one, very similar style.

It was a sad day for football when he passed away, and it was also a liearning experience for this young supporter. As a kid i was totally absorbed with football, it was my reason for being, i would shuffle around the names of my imaginary super team before selection night and compare it with the Hawks chosen team. Crimmins and Matthews were always the core of my super side, to me they were superhuman and indestructable, to see one of them as vulnerable flesh and blood was a real shock. I would have given anything to see him running around the field in brown and gold again, and in my mind we had paid a terrible price for the 76 cup.
 
Good to see you back, Mr Curly.

Check out the other flag threads too.
 
Sorry about the line down the middle.It is taken from a double page spread in the Hard Way.

I was shocked when I saw this photo.

I was in Townsville in 1976.In either 74 or 75 Crimmo came to Nth Qld on what I suppose was a recuperative holiday.

The Townsville bulletin did a story on him,probably similar to the one previously posted, and included a photo of him wading on a Nth. Queensland beach.He looked quite healthy in that photo and said that he was over his illness and looking forward to playing soon
[/B]

img093-1.jpg
 
I kept many news items and photos on the 76 Premiership,taken from the Townsville Bulletin,the Courier Mail and I suppose the Truth and Sun.Unfortunately they were lost in one of our moves.The removalists probably used them for packing. Anyway a few more from the Hard Way.




img098.jpg


Copyofimg101-1.jpg
 
They certainly were the dynamic duo.



img094.jpg
 
Congratulations Rusty,

An excellent detailed account of not just the grand final,but also the entire season, and the influence that the little fella' had on another Premiership.

This together with the 61 flag are the only ones that I never saw live.I listened to it on the radio and became very frustrated at how many shots for goal that we missed.Bomber Hendrie seemed to be the worst offender.

Some highlights that I remember was Geoff Ablett's kicking and an incident involving Don Scott and Crackers Keenan, and the superb performance of Peter Knights.

Firstly, the under rated Geoff Ablett (was his real nickname "Horse").He was a marvelous kick who could kick 55 metre plus goals off two steps.He also had pace to burn and always featured in the grand final half time sprint of which he won most.

He, together with Barry Rowlings and Rodney Eade formed the second best centre line that I have seen at Hawthorn,only surpassed when Terry Wallace joined the club and took the place of Rowlings.

For some reason, posters on this board are very unkind to Wallace.He gave his all for Hawthorn and I am sure that he will figure prominently in later Premiership stories.

The Scott/ Keenan incident.The way it was called on the radio is that Keenan punched Scott (it may be the incident often shown on highlights reels where Scotty is reeling away from a Keenan punch) and Scotty went down.

Only a few minutes later,the commentators called that Scott knocked Keenan down and "used him for a door mat".I have a video of this game and for some reason that incident has been deleted.

Rusty,can you recall this incident and is there anyone in cyber land who have some footage.

Can some of you computer know alls tap into the Townsville Bulletin and get the story on Crimmo.Also the paper featured Peter Knights as playing the last quarter like he did in the entire game against Norf in 75.

Once again a superb story on the 76 Grannie.

Just a little aside.

If Peter Hudson had not been injured in 72 and played in a team that included the aforementioned centre line and a rampaging Leigh Mathews delivering the ball to him with some degree of precision,then 200 goals in a season would have been a real possibility.
 
Lord Mud of Glenferrie said:
Just a little aside.

If Peter Hudson had not been injured in 72 and played in a team that included the aforementioned centre line and a rampaging Leigh Mathews delivering the ball to him with some degree of precision,then 200 goals in a season would have been a real possibility.
Click to expand...

There's no doubt in my mind that had Huddo not been injured, he would have set goalkicking records that would never have been beaten.
 
Thanks for going to the trouble with the pic Lord Mud, it certainly visualises the situation perfectly - bitter/sweet.

And yes, I echo Lord Mud, good write up Rusty, it certainly brought back some memories I never knew I had.

Now, there are some posters out there who really owe these threads some posts - kind of like a donation people: small, large, whatever you can give.

I'm calling you out TWITA... toss us a scrap... then, in turn, you call someone else to post.
 
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