Ozmale62
Senior List
Picked up the Daily Telegraph this morning and inside there was a 2014 mini mag has Buddy on the front cover and the usual predictions inside from "panel experts"
Inside there is a article which i found particularly interesting it focused on our past and the 1934 season where Pratt kicked 150 goals but we lost to Richmond in the GF it goes to say Pratt reckoned some of the players took bribes to play poorly and confronted them after the game.
JohnG,
Thought this might interest & I hope that I don't actually bore you with some history...
I actually had the pleasure to meet Bob Pratt & sit down with him & his wife Olive for a few hours at his home in 1996 or 1997, only a year or two after Mike Lefebvre released his book "Bloodstained Angels" which detailed the golden period of the Swans in Melbourne.
During our conversation on his playing & coaching memories of the 1930's to 1960's, he clearly stated that even then, he was still of the opinion that some of his teammates had taken a bribe to play dead in the Grand Final of 1934. One of his biggest gripes from that Grand Final, was that no-one was kicking to him irrespective of whether he had an opponent on him or when he was in the clear. It should be remembered that he had kicked 150 goals to that point.
What I found particularly interesting was that he went & pulled out his memorabilia that his daughter scrap booked for him & we noticed that he also scored 87 behinds that year also. Effectively meaning that he had 237 shots at goal that actually scored. Some of his results were amazing, where he had days of 10 goals 2 behinds & yet other days he had figures of 2 goals 7 behinds, if I remember the numbers correctly. What is also interesting is that Pratt kicked his 150 goals in only 21 games (18 Home & Away rounds & 3 finals), whereas when Peter Hudson equalled the 150 goals in 1970, he did in 24 games (22 Home & Away Rounds & 2 Finals).
Another couple of quotes that you may be interested from that meeting, was that he thought Laurie Nash was the most rude, arrogant, self centred player that was going around, but he also considered him the best player that he ever played with. He explained about one game against the Bulldogs where in the last few minutes of the game, Nash went into the Centre & proceeded to kick a long torpedo goal on his right foot. Running back to the Centre, the Dogs players said he couldn't do that again & Nash said he would do it on his left next time, which he proceeded to do & win the match. Amazing to hear about the exploits of a true champion of our game & makes one understand why Nash used to say that the best player he ever saw in his time in the game was the person in the mirror.
Lastly, Pratt said that had Johnny Leonard (Playing Coach in 1932) had stayed at the Swans in 1933 rather than going back to his native WA, then the Swans would have won back to back or possibly a three-peat of Grand Finals, such was his admiration of the little fella (Rover).
It was funny, upon arriving at his home, he said that he was contracted in regards to signing items however I was more than happy just to meet him & discuss the past. Eventually after hours of chatting to him, his daughter came by to take him & his wife out & he then signed everything that we took. He was a true gentleman, a person that at that time had a great recollection of everything & a real legend of our club & the game.
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