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By Tony De Bolfo

It’s nigh on 46 years since Maurie Fowler first donned the famous dark Navy Blue guernsey. It came in the opening round at Princes Park on Anzac Day 1966 – appropriately enough against Richmond, the team Carlton confronts at the MCG on Thursday week.

Recruited to the club from Kyabram in the Goulburn Valley, Maurie was one of three senior debutants for Carlton that day. Also named were Traralgon’s Max Thomas and Dalyston’s Ian Robertson, who would soon enough savour the Grand Final successes of 1968, ’70 and ’72 – as would Kevin Hall with whom Maurie shared the pine as 20th man for that match.

By the time he trudged from the field at Glenferrie Oval in the 9th round of ’66 against Hawthorn, Maurie had turned out for his eighth and final game, taking with him a lifetime of memories.

Those memories were recently rekindled for Maurie on his return to the Carlton Football Club, to the place that was home for an all-too-fleeting moment of his sporting career. In a quiet moment he found a corner of the players’ changeroom by the No.29 locker. The moment prompted him to reflect on his time at Princes Park and pen the following first-person account of what it was like to take to the field in the colours of Carlton.

This is Maurie’s story, My Time At Carlton, as told to Tony De Bolfo:

My Journey To Carlton

I was so lucky to get a game for Carlton. The club could quite easily have turned its back on me between 1963 and ’66, but for each of those years Carlton gave me another chance.

I first came under the club’s notice as a centre half-forward in Kyabram’s Under 17 premiership year of 1960. I felt comfortable playing at centre half forward, but because I was too short for this position at Carlton I had to try and make it as a rover, which I found extremely difficult.

Carlton first invited me to try out in 1962, after I’d played two games for the Kyabram senior side as a 17 year-old. From ’62 until ’65 included I’d take my holidays in February/March, come to Melbourne to train, play in the practice games and be lucky enough to make the final training list each year… only to return to Kyabram.

In ’63 I was actually offered 12 senior games at Carlton under coach Ken Hands, no matter how I played. I refused, basically because I was worried about relocating to Melbourne and had doubts about whether I could actually make it as a rover. In retrospect, by not accepting Carlton’s offer to play in those 12 games I probably ruined my chances of a long-term League career.

When Ron Barassi was appointed Carlton Captain-Coach in 1965 I was tempted to move to Melbourne, but again I returned home, hopeful of playing in a premiership side with Kyabram. Kyabram had been defeated by Shepparton, then coached by Tommy Hafey, in the 1963, 64 & 65 Goulburn Valley Grand Finals and I dearly wanted to be around to experience Grand Final success.

But in 1966, together with three other members of Kyabram’s 1965 Grand Final players Dick Clay (Richmond), Ross Dillon (Melbourne) & Frank Fanning (Footscray), I made the move to Melbourne to try my luck.

Although I only played eight senior games and about 14 games in the reserves and considering I did not capitalize on the opportunity I had been given, I regard my time at Carlton as an incredibly exciting time in my life.

Barassi was one of three coaches during my time at Carlton, together with Hands and Jack Carney. I have to say that playing under Barassi was probably the highlight of my entire football career. In those days the only access a country kid had to any League footballer was by way of the back page of The Sun and there was this intrigue with Barassi. I always believed, even back in ’66 that ‘Barass’ would coach Carlton to a premiership(s).

The Memories

I remember how apprehensive I was on that first night I went to training in 1962. As I was only 17, I used public transport to get to training from North Balwyn where I was staying with my cousin.

The late Allen Cowie, the Carlton secretary at the time, took me into the rooms and introduced me to some of the players. It was strange, because I knew all the players’ names, but no-one knew mine.

After these quick introductions I was invited to get changed and go out and train. I remember that I was so nervous that I struggled to run a couple of laps. I also remember wearing my Kyabram jumper (Essendon colours) with number 27 on the back and whenever I got the ball during training other players would call for me to kick to them by referring to me as “Essendon” or “27”. It was terrific when the practice games started and players began to remember my name. I was fortunate enough to show a bit of form in my first practise game and after that it was like I’d been at the club for a year or more.

It’s hard to convey the feeling I had when I heard I was selected to play in my first game in 1966 against Richmond. I still remember walking into the changeroom and opening locker 29 (my number) to prepare for that game. I looked to my left and beside me at locker 28 was the 6’6” Peter (Percy) Jones. To my right at locker 30 was strongman ‘Vinnie’ Waite and one up from him at locker 31 was Ron Barassi. I felt totally overawed and that “what the hell am I doing here?!!!” feeling was only accentuated every time I felt like a “nervous pee” and on the way to the toilet passed Serge Silvagni and John Nicholls who both had thighs bigger than my waist.

It’s nice to say that I was part of winning Carlton teams; that I kicked the winning goal against South Melbourne at Princes Park in 1966 and that I can still rattle off the numbers worn by the players in that year.

It’s also nice to experience a contentment and pride in later life, knowing my family and my grandchildren can say “my Dad/Pop played for Carlton”.

After Carlton

My time at Carlton provided me with an opportunity to experience a lifestyle largely supported and financed by football. I became a much-travelled player and for the next 15 years moved throughout south-eastern Australia thanks initially to my time there.

On leaving Prices Park, I, along with other ex-Carlton players Ian Nankervis & Bobby Lane, played with Williamstown in the VFA. After one season at “Willy”, which was also a great place, I was transferred in my employment to Shepparton where I played a season with Mooroopna in the Goulburn Valley League before going home to Kyabram.

I then embarked on a coaching career which took me to Palm Beach-Currumbin on the Gold Coast, Robinvale in the Sunraysia League, Hay (Mid Murray League) and Cobram (Murray League).

During my 13-year coaching experience the net return was 10 finals appearances for three Grand Finals, two Premierships and one runner-up.

The Return

I doubt that I could adequately explain how I felt the day I returned to Carlton. The honest truth is that it was quite incredible to think that the club would be at all interested in me, and how I viewed my time at Carlton.

I guess I’ve always thought that because I only played eight games I was never really part of the club after 1966. For that reason, the Carlton experience has remained more a personal feeling of satisfaction for me.

But having returned, it became a bit more than that. Now I think of the “not so famous” guys who played for Carlton, who would get a huge kick out of going back to the club and being treated like I was.

I actually left feeling “important” and thinking (for the first time in my life) that no matter how many games I had played, I was a part of the history of the Carlton Football Club forever.

I was most impressed with all the facilities including the Membership Shop & Bistro and the player facilities are sensational.

My reaction to seeing my old No.29 locker was to immediately include Heath Scotland in my Supercoach & Dreamteam sides! That’s true, but seriously it was a terrific feeling.

With regards to me giving any advice to young guys trying to make it in League football today, to do so would probably make me a bit of a hypocrite because the advice I would give today would be the advice I should have given myself 50 years ago.

But if asked, I would have to say that; “Your football career will be great for as long as you are playing but be aware that it won’t end there”.

“It will be with you for life”.

“Your football career provides so many positive personal, social and emotional benefits/feelings for you all the way through life”.

Harrison Hyundai in Melton are offering a great deal for Spirit of Carlton members.

This exclusive opportunity, only offered by Harrison Hyundai to past players and their immediate family members, is the equivalent of Government pricing on Harrison Hyundai’s great range of Hyundai Vehicles.

For further details and who to contact at Harrison Hyundai please download the letter using THIS LINK.

Don’t forget, if you haven’t got your Spirit of Carlton Membership yet it is not too late, you can download our membership brochure using THIS LINK.

Looking for the perfect excuse to enjoy the wonders of Tasmania in Autumn and still follow the Blues? The Spirit of Carlton Past and Present and the Carlton Football Club will be jointly hosting a function at the Welcome Stranger Hotel in Hobart on the 27th of April to coincide with the Blues big clash with Fremantle.

Attending the function will be Carlton past player superstars, Jim Buckley, Ken Hunter and David Rhys-Jones. There will be memorabilia auctions, speeches and lots of fun to be had when the Spirit of Carlton takes Tasmania by storm.

So if you live in Tassie or want to make the short hop across the straight please download the order form by CLICKING HERE and we will see you in April!

By Tony De Bolfo

Precious film footage of the final quarter of the 1969 round two match between Carlton and Hawthorn – when the Blues banged on 12.6 to record the historic scoreline of 30.30 (210) – has been delivered from oblivion and conveyed to the football club’s archive.

The matchday film, thought lost, was shot by the cameramen of HSV7 and featuring the commentary of Frank Adams and the late Jack Edwards. The film was discovered on one of two 16mm reels retrieved from a dumpmaster years ago after the network apparently saw fit to discard much of its home and away matchday footage.

This week, the reels were generously handed over by Carlton enthusiast John Dickens, who had kept them in his possession since 2004.

“I know this seems hard to believe, but it’s the truth. About eight years ago I was given the reels by a friend who told me he found them in a skip. He knew I had access to 16mm projectors and was a Carlton fan,” said Dickens.

“I was amazed when I saw the footage and arranged through a friend, who had contacts at a post-production house, to have them converted to video and then to disk. During the conversion I realized they were probably archival footage of old videotapes and I’ve had them kicking around for a long time.”

When asked why he had come forward with the film now, Dickens replied with a question of his own. “Who owns the footage?”.

“I think the people own it – the clubs, the players, the fans and no one individual – and any way that other people can get to see it has got to be a good thing,” he said.

The extraordinary film, in which the since-demolished Garton Street scoreboard and Robert Heatley Stand can be seen, features moments of sheer brilliance from the likes of Brent Crosswell, Adrian Gallagher, Alex Jesaulenko and John Nicholls.

Carlton’s three-time premiership coach David Parkin, at that time Hawthorn ’s besieged back pocket, also features in the film – as does full-forward Peter Hudson and the late Peter Crimmins.

The film ends with Ian Robertson’s towering mark over “Parko” and dramatic post-siren conversion – Carlton’s 12th goal for the quarter and 30th for the match – on an afternoon in which his team registered a 128-point win and became the first in League history to post a 200-point score.

Little wonder Jack Edwards is heard to say “I’ve never seen a side treat another side with such contempt”.

Robertson, whose 125-game career at Carlton encompassed three premierships, was delighted to learn that film footage of this momentous occasion in Carlton history had surfaced after all these years – not that time had dimmed his memory.

“I can remember that early on ‘Barass’ (Ron Barassi) told Brent Crosswell to man up on Des Meagher, because he was quickly booting the ball forward to (Peter) Hudson,” said Robertson, who himself called matches for the Seven Network.

“Brent did a great job and by three-quarter time we were a mile in front, so Barass gave Crosswell his head . . . and if you check the replay I reckon Brent’s kicked four goals in the last quarter.

“I do remember kicking goal number 30. I didn’t play on it, but I used to tell people ‘We kicked a record score and I kicked the 30th’.”

Carlton’s 30.30 (210) – a League record which stood for 20 years – bettered its previous highest score of 28.10 (178) amassed against Collingwood at Victoria Park in Round 12, 1943.

Today, almost 43 years after the event, it remains the highest score accumulated by a Carlton team.

The other reel generously donated to the club by Dickens is no less interesting. It contains footage of the first quarter of the Round 4 fixture between Carlton and Melbourne at the MCG, when the then captain-coach Ron Barassi, up against his former club, boots the first goal after just 90 seconds and John Nicholls poleaxes the Redlegs half-back Tony Anderson.

Bairnsdale’s Bob Edmond and the St Kevin’s schoolboy Peter Kerr, both on debut, can be seen on the bench in their dressing gowns waiting for Barassi’s nod, while Maffra’s John Leatham turns out for what would be his second and final appearance in a dark Navy Blue guernsey.

The Carlton team versus Hawthorn, Round 2, Saturday, April 12, 1969, Princes Park:

Backs: Ian Collins, Wes Lofts, Kevin Hall
Half-Backs: John Goold, Robert Walls, Barry Gill
Centres: Garry Crane, Syd Jackson, Ian Robertson
Half-forwards: Alex Jesaulenko, Brent Crosswell, Bryan Quirk
Forwards: Peter Jones, Ron Stone, Ian Nicoll
Rucks: John Nicholls, Sergio Silvagni, Adrian Gallagher
Reserves: Vin Waite, Peter Kerr
Coach: Ron Barassi

Carlton 6.6 13.17 18.24 30.30 (210)
Hawthorn 3.2 6.4 10.10 12.10 (82)

Goalkickers: Jones (7.3), Jesaulenko (6.12), Crosswell (4.2), Quirk (3.4), Robertson (3.0), Gallagher (2.3), Nicholls (2.1), Nicoll (2.1), Stone (1.1), Hall (0.1), Jackson (0.1), rushed (0.1)
Best: Jesaulenko, Jones, Gallagher, Robertson, Nicholls, Collins, Lofts
Reports: Lofts (striking), suspended four matches
Injuries: Goold (bruised hip), Stone (slight concussion)
Field umpire: Jeff Crouch
Attendance: 25,894 at Princes Park

Happy 97th Birthday to Don McIntyre today.

Don is the 3rd oldest past senior player for the Blues. Don played 100 games from 1935-42 and is a 1938 premiership player. 

Don McIntyre

Career : 1935 – 1942
Debut : Round 7, 1935 vs Footscray, aged 20 years, 95 days
Carlton Player No. 521
Games : 100
Goals : 2
Last Game : Round 15, 1942 vs Fitzroy, aged 27 years, 163 days
Guernsey No. 2
Height : 179 cm (5 ft. 10 in.)
Weight : 77 kg (12 stone, 2 lbs.)
DOB : 5 March, 1915
Premiership Player: 1938
Club Best & Fairest: 1937

He played exactly 100 games for the Navy Blues, and kicked all his career goals in one match. His first senior game ended in a draw, and he waited almost a year to play his second. He won his club’s Best and Fairest award before he had completed thirty matches, and he was an integral member of a Carlton team that waited 23 years for a Premiership. He is Daniel Gordon ‘Don’ McIntyre – the Blues’ back pocket dynamo for eight seasons in the era of World War II.

Born in Geelong, and a star full-back for the Pakenham Football Club by his late teens, McIntyre was not only residentially tied to Geelong under the VFL rules of the day, he was also a staunch Cats’ supporter. That was until Carlton slipped under Geelong’s guard, and convinced him that his opportunities were greater at Princes Park. Don began his senior career in round 7 of 1935 against Footscray at the Western Oval, when he lined up in a back pocket alongside Carlton’s resolute full-back Frank Gill. The Blues played all over the Doggies that afternoon, but wayward kicking for goal proved costly, and Footscray escaped with a draw.

McIntyre’s game on that windy afternoon showcased his potential, so Carlton approached Geelong seeking a clearance for him. By the time an agreement was reached however, a new season was well underway. Eventually, Don was named as 19th man against Collingwood in round 6 of 1936, at Princes Park, and marked his return by pushing forward and kicking his only two career goals, as the Blues lost a typically torrid encounter by one straight kick.

From then on, McIntyre made the back pocket in Carlton’s senior team his domain. A natural defender with good pace and superb judgement, he was courageous, and rarely lost his man. All of those qualities were on display when he appeared in his first VFL final in September, and Carlton lost a tight Semi Final to Melbourne by 9 points.

In 1937, one of the great last defensive lines of any era in Carlton’s history was formed when Don McIntyre, Frank Gill and Jim Park combined in the teeth of Carlton’s goal. Although the Blues missed out on the finals by two points, McIntyre’s consistent good form – boosted by his confidence in Park and Gill – won him Carlton’s Best and Fairest award and placed him among the elite players in the game.

By 1938, Carlton had endured a Premiership drought of 23 years, and it took the vision of a great administrator; Sir Kenneth Luke, to finally break it by convincing the club to appoint former South Melbourne champion Brighton Diggins as captain-coach. Diggins promptly galvanised a talented, but previously uninspired team, and when the Blues accounted for Collingwood in a classic Grand Final, Don McIntyre celebrated his 50th match in the best possible way. A massive, record crowd of more than 98,000 spilled onto the playing field that day, when a jubilant Carlton claimed VFL flag number six.

By Tony De Bolfo

Danny Halloran, who through his brief playing career at Princes Park took great pride in wearing the No.31 guernsey made famous by Ron Barassi, has died suddenly at the age of 57.

Danny joined Carlton from Kyneton where in 1938 his father, the former Melbourne and Footscray footballer Frank Halloran, was adjudged the Bendigo Football League’s best and fairest player. In those days he was a zoned player who made a go of it with the likes of Dunolly’s Wayne Deledio and Maryborough’s Russell Ohlsen.

It was 1975 and when Jim Buckley was recruited from Kyneton the following year, Danny acted as his chauffeur.

“Danny picked me up a few times and took me down to Melbourne. He was a real gentleman, well-respected – a good bloke from a lovely family,” Buckley said.

“He did his best for the football club too. He had legs on him like a grand piano. Massive they were. He was very solid.”

Danny was handed the No.31 guernsey for good reason according to his younger sister Louise. “He was a similar size and shape to ‘Barass’ and that was the thinking with the jumper,” Louise said.

“In those days they used to give us the Carlton jumpers to wash and you’d have to watch the No.31 when you hung it out on the line, otherwise it’d be pinched.”
Six days shy of his 21st birthday, Halloran completed the first of just 15 senior appearances for Carlton, in the 13th round of 1975. Named 20th man, his was a baptism of fire – Collingwood at Victoria Park – but he helped get the visitors home by 16 points.

Though his senior appearances were restricted to just four in that maiden season, Danny turned out for ten in 1976. He was adjudged Carlton’s best player afield against Footscray in the 11th round of 1976 on the day his travelling companion Jim Buckley completed his senior debut.

The four-time Carlton premiership player David McKay, remembered that Danny inherited the No.31 Carlton guernsey from Peter Hall (now the Nationals’ leader in the Victorian Legislative Council), who donned the jumper after Barassi’s retirement.

“Danny was a bull of a player,” McKay recalled. “He was a really strong, tough-at-the-ball type. He wasn’t the greatest mark or, obviously, the greatest kick, but he had good height and weight. His strength was his asset and he used it well.

“He’ll probably be remembered for the game where he missed a goal from about two metres out. He slammed the footy onto his boot, overcooked the kick and the ball hit the goalpost. As far as I know he’s the only Carlton player to have done that other than ‘Percy’ Jones who actually kicked the post.”

Members of Danny’s family fondly remember his days at Princes Park. Younger sister Louise recalled that she and her mother Carmel would make the trek from Kyneton to Carlton in the wee hours of Saturday morning to watch him play.

“We’d pack the thermos, queue up at the gate at the Royal Parade end and walk straight in . . . we’d sit on the wing on the city side, in front of the shed before it was all revamped,” Louise said.

“These were very exciting times. We’d watch the reserves and the seniors and be rapt if Dan played in the seniors. He had some great games and got votes in the Brownlow, so he did some good things even if they weren’t often enough.”

Ultimately, the opening round of 1977 – involving Geelong at Kardinia Park on a day in which Kennington’s John Tresize and Golden Square’s bespectacled Tony Southcombe first played – would regrettably prove to be Danny’s last. Circumstances of Danny’s departure are somewhat clouded, but Louise remembered that her brother suffered a broken ankle in an ice skating mishap from which he never fully recovered.

“It was an injury that never really healed and to the end he walked with a limp,” Louise said.

Danny kept an involvement with the game, chasing the leather in the Goulburn Valley League and assisting the former Fitzroy footballer Chris Smith with coaching duties at Mooroopna. He maintained a friendship with the former Carlton midfielder Ray Byrne and, according to his sister, got on well with Bruce Doull “and the more introspective characters”.

A physical education teacher by profession and a keen cycling enthusiast, Danny, whose father died of an aneurism at the age of 54, passed away last Friday – not far from the flat in Abbotsford Street North Melbourne where he first roomed in his Carlton days.

Danny’s cause of death remains unknown, but as Louise said: “Dan just went to sleep and never woke up”.

“It was all very peaceful. He was at his home, in an apartment in Plane Tree Way, just a drop kick from the North footy ground”.

Danny is survived by his former wife of 30 years Di, daughters Jess (a sports journalist for Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph), Lizzie and Fiona, and son Tom.

He is also survived by his mother Carmel, sisters Annemaree and Louise and brother Tom.

To the end, Danny kept a place in his heart for Carlton and of course, the No.31 now worn by Marcus Davies.

As his daughter Jess said: “He loved the fact that he wore the No. 31 . . . he was really proud of that”.

Danny’s funeral is expected to be held in Kyneton next week.

This year marks the anniversary of two tremendous Carlton premierships, 1972 and 1982 when the Blues tamed the tigers. We will be having the biggest Spirit of Carlton Luncheon ever to celebrate in August and throughout the year we will be highlighting snippets from each year to whet the appetite. Today, some highlights from each game.

 1972

1982

Please click this link to download the flyer for the upcoming AFL Combined Past Players bowls day.

By Tony De Bolfo

For every 100-game Carlton player there’s probably a hundred more who disappear into the ether just as quickly as they appear.

William Harry, a one-game back pocket who donned the boots for the Blues almost 106 years ago, could be considered amongst the club’s great forgotten.

Until now.

That Harry’s tale can finally be told is due to the dedication of his grandson Lynn Harry. A long-time member and supporter, Lynn was inspired by a recent article featuring another Carlton one-gamer, Bill Carmody, who later laid his life on the line at Pozieres during The Great War.

“I read that story and realized that the club was still interested in documenting the lives of those players who managed only one game,” Lynn said, “and with my father being the last living link with our one-game player I thought it important to pursue William’s story.”

Turn back the hands to July 21, 1906, to the day Harry turned out for his team in what would prove a landmark season for the Carlton Football Club.

This was the season in which the legendary coach Jack Worrall led his players to Grand Final glory for the first of three premierships in succession and the first since Carlton’s admission to the Victorian football League some nine years previous.

Harry’s maiden appearance came in the 11th round, against Collingwood at Princes Park no less. Named in a back pocket, he worked in tandem with Norman “Hackenschmidt” Clark and Doug Gillespie to safeguard the goals on the last line.

Though the home team comfortably accounted for its much-despised inner-city neighbor to the tune of 37 points, Harry never took to the paddock in a Carlton lace-up again.

But who was he? And what became of him?

William Richard Harry was born in the old gold mining town of Eldorado, 254 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, in 1878 – the first of 12 children reared by Elizabeth Ann (nee Wellington) and John Hammer Harry – a Cornish tin miner named who’d set sail from his native St Austell in search of gold in the mid-1860s.

When gold and tin mining operations ceased in Eldorado around the turn of last century, the Harry family relocated to Chiltern-Rutherglen, to where mines had been active since the 1890s. There, young Harry toiled for Great Southern Mines, during which time (1903) he also married a 23 year-old local Chiltern girl named Margaret Henderson.

By then, Harry had chased the leather for the local Great Southern, Miners and Rutherglen teams. An early Rutherglen team photo depicts William standing with his arms by his side in a sleeveless guernsey and cap and sporting a dark moustache. A younger brother George can also be seen lying on his side in the bottom left hand corner of the image.

The circumstances which led to Harry’s recruitment to Carlton may never be known, although his grandson, Lynn Harry can appreciate the trepidation his forefather surely experienced.

As he said: “I can now understand how he felt about coming down to Carlton at the age of 27 to play footy, with a wife and two young children under three years-old living back home in Rutherglen”.

“But Jack Worrall must have seen something in my grandfather,” Lynn said. “I’ve only read in the history books these past couple of days that Jack had a real eye for talent, so much so that he could spot it on the other side of the spectators’ fence . . . it would have been really nice to know what he actually thought about William.”

Following his all-too-brief Carlton foray, Harry returned to Rutherglen and kept playing. On hanging up the boots, Harry armed himself with a whistle and umpired for a number of seasons, earning the curious nickname “Tidylum” from the locals. Origins of the nickname are sketchy, but Tidylum is thought to be Cornish.

Harry continued to work the Rutherglen mines until the gold ran out in about 1920. Three years later he relocated with his family to Footscray in search of labor.

He ultimately found work with Port Melbourne Woollen Mills and carried through his duties with the company for a number of years until his untimely passing in 1943.

Though he lived in Melbourne’s western suburbs, Harry regularly returned to his beloved Rutherglen to indulge his favourite pastimes of fishing and duck shooting.

As Lynn said, “Harry really had this like for the bush and to be out on the river and Dad told me he was crack shot.”

Tragically, those very indulgences contributed to Harry’s untimely demise.

Harry was a man of 64 years when he drowned in the Murray River, apparently as he attempted to retrieve a duck he had just shot down.

The following obituary appeared in the local Rutherglen newspaper.

On Sunday afternoon, February 21, 1943, a drowning fatality occurred in a lagoon of the Murray River opposite Gooramadda.
The victim was Mr. William Harry of Footscray.
Deceased was well-known throughout the district, having lived at Great southern for many years prior to coming to Rutherglen to live. He went to reside in Melbourne about 20 years ago, paying many visits to Rutherglen in the meantime.
In his young days he was a prominent footballer for the district, playing with Great Southern, Miners and Rutherglen. Known familiarly as “Tidylum”, Harry played many sterling games for the above team. When he completed his football career he took up umpiring.
The late Mr Harry came to Rutherglen for a holiday on Monday of last week and, desiring to spend some time on the river, went out to board with Mr and Mrs H. Connell on Tuesday.
He was in good health on Sunday and after lunch said he was going for a shot, taking a gun and cartridges with him. Mr McConnell rowed him across the river and waited for him on the river bank while deceased searched for game.
Mr McConnell heard a shot and when Mr Harry did not return in reasonable time he got anxious and went looking for him.
On the bank of the lagoon Mr McConnell found his cloths and looking into the lagoon saw Mr Harry’s head under the water about five feet in from the edge.
He immediately went into the water but it was too deep; Mr McConnell then got a long stick and drew the body to the bank.
Efforts to revive him failed and Mr McConnell motored into town and notified the police.
It is thought that he went into the lagoon after the game he had shot and became entangled in the weeds.
The body was brought to the river bank where it was examined by Doctor Davis, and evidence of identification taken, after which an order for burial was granted.
Deceased was a native of Eldorado, and was 64 years of age. The remains were taken to Melbourne for interment.

William Harry and his wife raised nine children during their lifetimes, the first eight of them born in Rutherglen. Of the nine, only the youngest child – Lynn’s father Keith – is still living.

A grandson, Ian Harry, was later recruited to Carlton on the sayso of Ron Barassi and whilst not managing to break through with the Blues did complete a long and successful tenure as captain of VFA outfit Mordialloc.

Another grandson through marriage, Golden Square’s Ross Ousley, also represented Carlton in 23 senior matches from 1956-58.

As for Lynn, two cherished Carlton sites serve to perpetuate the memory of his grandfather . . . the very ground upon which William Harry once played and the trophy cabinet flanking the reception area at Visy Park.

“I never knew until now that my grandfather’s one and only game came in a premiership year,” Lynn said, “so I can now view the 1906 cup with a real interest and passion and can feel, in the slightest, tiniest way, that Harry has helped contribute to that Grand Final victory.”

Sit back, relax and enjoy the latest Spirit of Carlton video from our Youtube channel. Watch as David ‘Swan’ McKay remembers the old times with the boys from the Fox Footy show, Grumpy Old Men. This particular episode aired in 2003.

Dear Spirit of Carlton Member,

The executive wishes to place on record its sincere thanks to you, as a valued participant in the Spirit of Carlton Past & Present  (SoC) for supporting the cause over these past five years, as together we’ve contributed to the resurgence and reinvigoration of the Carlton Football Club (CFC).

As you may be aware, the SoC has undergone significant structural changes in the lead-up to the 2012 season – primarily to ensure that the SoC works more closely with the CFC to utilise the Club’s substantial resources as it strives for its 17^th premiership and nears the 150^th anniversary of its existence.

Accordingly, the SOC will now conduct its activities more along the lines of a past players’ association to help realise its and the CFC’s short and long-term objectives.

The 2012 Executive Team is as follows;

David Rhys-Jones (President); Geoff Southby (Secretary); Jason Reddick (Treasurer/Public Officer (CFC)); Matthew Hogg, Alex Marcou, David McKay and Dennis Munari (Exec Members/General Committee); Mandy Hunter (Marketing Support (CFC)); and Jamie Sanderson (Website Manager).

2012 Membership is available at a reduced annual cost of $50 ($30 for pensioner members), with a subscription form attached for your convenience.

As the SoC is reverting back to a past & present players and officials group, membership will no longer be available to supporters.  As such, the SoC encourages you, as a passionate supporter, to acquire a CFC membership package.

However, please note the SoC has set aside the match day event on May 6 for you to join past players and officials in a special SoC tribute to CFC supporters for contributing to the cause over the past five years. Ticketing and seating will be available to you at a cost on the day, with more details to follow.

Key events for 2012 are a Theme Lunch celebrating the 40^th & 30^th Anniversaries of the 1972 & 1982 premierships scheduled for Friday, August 3 at Etihad Stadium; and a Past Players’ Annual dinner scheduled for Wednesday, September 12 at Visy Park.

Two matchday events have also been confirmed for Etihad Stadium – a Past Player Father/Son & Daughter Day (Round 6, Sunday, May 6); and 1987 Premiership 25^th Anniversary Day (Round 8, Sunday, May 20).

The Golf Day and Dinner will not be staged in 2012.

The SoC can also confirm the distribution of funds to the following key categories in 2012 – CFC Players (new tech equipment and facilities for team and individual performance improvement); needy past player welfare & support; SoC/CFC history management; and administration & running costs

In closing, all at the SoC look forward to your on-going valued support in 2012 in what will unquestionably be an exciting season for the Mighty Blues.

Yours sincerely,

The Executive, SoC

Clear your calandars because we now have a date for the big Spirit of Carlton annual luncheon.

This year the function will be held on Friday the 3rd of August.

Join the 1972 and 1982 premiership teams as well as the entire current playing group to celebrate the 30th and 40th anniversaries of these momentous occassions when the Blues “Tamed the Tigers”.

Plannning is now underway for this event and we will keep you updated with information as it comes to hand.

So go to your calendar now and put a big circle around the 3rd of August  and we will see you there!

Kevan Hamilton

Career : 1956
Debut : Round 3, 1956 vs St Kilda, aged 22 years, 86 days
Carlton Player No. 703
Games : 11
Goals : 22
Last Game : Round 17, 1956 vs Richmond, aged 22 years, 191 days
Guernsey No. 5
Height : 180 cm (5 ft. 11 in.)
Weight : 81 kg (12 stone, 10 lbs.)
DOB : February 1, 1934
Club Leading Goalkicker 1956

Nicknamed ‘Icy’, Kevan Hamilton found his way to Princes Park in 1956 from McKinnon via Melbourne seconds. A tall rover-forward, he started his career impressively with eight goals in his first two matches, and by midway through the year was regularly selected as first rover.

But thereafter his form tailed off, and his goal-scoring opportunities dried up as opposition teams starved him of opportunity. While Carlton wound up fifth on the ladder and missed out on a finals berth by just two points, the lack of a consistently reliable goal-scorer proved the team’s main drawback – as shown by Hamilton’s total of 22 goals from only 11 matches. That was good enough to win him our club goal-kicking award, but it was one of the lowest tallies for the Blues in 50 years.

‘Icy’ finished up at Carlton after just that one season, and returned to McKinnon as captain-coach in the Federal League.

Stephen Edgar

Career : 1990 – 1991
Debut : Round 1, 1990 vs Sydney, aged 23 years, 58 days
Carlton Player No. 965
Games : 14
Goals : 1
Last Game : Round 9, 1991 vs Richmond, aged 24 years, 106 days
Guernsey No. 9
Height : 175 cm (5 ft. 9 in.)
Weight : 76 kg (12 stone, 0 lbs.)
DOB : 1 February, 1967

Edgar was drafted from East Fremantle, WA with Carlton’s selection 7 in the 1989 National Draft. A lightly-framed defender with good all-round skills, he had represented his home state against a VFA representative team in 1988, and impressed enough at WAFL level with the Sharks to convince Carlton to pick him up.

Edgar played his debut game for the Blues against Sydney at Princes Park in round 1, 1990. Stationed in a back pocket alongside Adrian Bassett and David Kernahan, he was travelling alright at half-time, when his team led by 45 points – but after that, Sydney came roaring back to squeeze out the Blues by 5 points in a tight finish.

Edgar was one of those to lose his place after that debacle. He wasn’t able to force his way back into the seniors until round 18, but then played out the season on the last line of defence as Carlton wound up an inconsistent year ranked eighth on the ladder. When the finals got underway, the Blues’ seconds – with Edgar solid in a back pocket – brought some optimism back with a good win over Melbourne in the Reserves Grand Final.

 
By Tony De Bolfo

Betty Austin has seen fit to right the wrongs about her late father. In doing so she’s made available some terrific images and documents to perpetuate the memory of Alex Doyle, Carlton’s 53-game player through the Depression years.

For some time it’s been incorrectly reported that Alex embarked on a career as playing coach of Tasmanian football club Cananore on the completion of his playing career at Princes Park.

Not so says Betty. To Cananore’s chagrin, the deal fell through when Carlton refused Alex a clearance.

Instead, she says her father maintained a long-term involvement with the game in and around the Melbourne metropolitan area, as he committed his energies to his employer, the Fire Brigade.

The son of John and Elizabeth Doyle, Alex was one of three siblings born in the Victorian wheat district town of Murtoa on July 29, 1904. He was but an infant when his father was transferred to Yackandandah with the railways and later Horsham, where Alex plied his craft as a junior footballer.

Alex represented the Wimmera with great distinction on a number of occasions during football’s equivalent of cricket’s country week. In 1926, he took part in a kicking competition then sponsored by The Sporting Globe and convened by its football writer “Jumbo” Sharland. Alex thought he’d taken the chocolates with a drop kick measuring 72 yards five inches, only to be trumped by Echuca’s fabled Chinese footballer Les Kew-Ming with a 75-yarder.

By now, Alex’s feats were prompting intense interest amongst the inner city clubs Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn and of course, the good guys. The following handwritten letter, penned by the then Carlton Secretary and all-time great Carlton footballer Horrie Clover in December 1926, attests to this fact.

“Mr. Doyle,

Dear Sir,

Having heard many favorable reports of your outstanding ability on the football field I have much pleasure on behalf of the Carlton Club in extending to you a cordial invitation to join our Club for next football season.

Trusting that you will give this matter your earnest and favorable consideration and hoping that you will favor me with a reply at your earliest convenience.

I am, yours faithfully,

Horrie Clover

Secretary.”

For whatever reason, Alex opted to delay his introduction to VFL football and it wasn’t until late 1928 that he resolved to commit to Carlton, together with Horsham’s Frank Gill and Warracknabeal’s Charlie “Snowy” Parsons.

“Of course it was around about this time that everybody was looking for work and all these people had written to Dad not only to place him as a footballer but to offer him a job as well. This played a big part in Depression times,” Betty says.

The following letter to Alex, penned on a Carlton letterhead dated September 6, 1928, sets the scene at time when coin was still being cast about despite the dire economic circumstances.

“Dear Sir,

I am instructed by my committee to advise you that Messrs Crone and Clover reported that they interviewed you in Horsham during the week and were successful in inducing you to throw in your lot with us next season.

I can assure you that we are congratulating ourselves in securing your services and I am sure that you will not regret the step you have taken and we think a few men of your stamp will help us to be the premier league side for season 1929.

We have not broadcasted the fact that you have signed up with us, not even to our Committee, until the commencement of next season.

If you should be approached by other League clubs for your services next season be careful not to sign up with them because if you do you will disqualify yourself not only for playing with Carlton but also Melbourne football owing to the fact that you have signed up with more than one club. I would suggest if you are approached (and I am certain you will be especially if you play in Melbourne in Show Week) to tell those who approached you that you are going to Carlton next season.

I am looking forward with pleasure to meeting you in Melbourne at that time.

On behalf of my Committee I desire to thank you for signing up with us and I hope that your association with the Carlton Football Club will be a successful one as well as a profitable one.

Hoping that I shall have the pleasure of meeting you in the near future.

Yours faithfully,

PJ Cain

Secretary

PS. To keep yourself free from complications you will have to refuse any offers of money that might be made to you by other League Clubs.”

Alex took up lodgings as a boarder at No.52 Garton Street in the shadows of the Legends Stand. In time he would meet his future wife “Nellie” Lannge who lived with her family in the house next door.

He fronted for the first night of training under the watch of resident Senior coach and lifelong friend Dan Minogue at the Carlton ground at 4.45pm on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 12, 1929. So began what was to prove a brief but beautiful friendship for player and club which would take in 53 senior matches over three seasons through The Great Depression.

Wearing the No.19 now proudly sported by Eddie Betts, Alex pitted his skills against the likes of Melbourne’s Ivor Warne-Smith and St Kilda’s Colin Watson, the two greatest adversaries he ever confronted.

He won the hearts and minds of all Carltonians from bottom to top and a glorious certificate of appreciation, signed by President David Crone and Secretary Newton Chandler acknowledges the high regard in which Alex was held.

But luck would not run with the Carlton teams in which he featured, with both the 1929 and ’31 outfits falling six points agonizingly short of Richmond and Geelong in the respective preliminary finals of those years.

Remarkably, Alex also fronted up for Wednesday League games during the late 1920s early 30s. in those days, games comprised teams from the Air Force, Victoria Police, Yellow Cabs, Red and Checker Cabs, Post and Telegraph, Railways, the Victoria Market, Waterside Workers and of course, the fire brigade.

“The football was good and attracted quite a following as well as a lot of newspaper interest,” a brigade scribe later reported.

“To say the games were rugged and the boys were fractious is an understatement, so much so that with all the fights it was inevitable the competition had to fold up and fold up it did.

“The brigade were in the Wednesday League for years and withdrew for a number of reasons, mainly because the brawls and bad language had brought the competition into bad odour.”

By then, Alex’s future as a fireman was already assured. In January 1932, after accepting an invitation to contest a vacant employment position within the brigade, Alex won the role.

Thirty-five years later, he would receive a letter from the brigade carrying a seal of recognition for 35 years service.

Alex’s commitment to the MFB didn’t curtail his football involvement though. Rather, it enhanced it. In seasons 1933 and ’34, for example, he represented the then VFA club Preston whilst headquartered at the North Melbourne brigade and in 1935 he took up a position as Essendon’s reserve grade coach. A stint with the Oakleigh brigade came later, during which time Alex hooked up with the local football club as a selector.

Of course, Alex’s wife “Nellie”, son John and daughter Betty dutifully followed husband and father from station to station and as Betty said: “Wherever we moved with the fire brigade he got involved with footy”.

For years until his retirement, Alex maintained his passion for the great Australian game and for the old dark Navy Blues. Failing eyesight eventually put paid to his attendance at Carlton games and his final years were spent quietly at a home in East Doncaster.

After suffering a heart attack, Alex died in nearby Box Hill Hospital on January 21, 1973. He is buried in Springvale Cemetery with his beloved wife who survived him by some six years.

Today, Alex’s legacy lives on through Betty – a greater Carlton supporter there never was – together with his many grandchildren and great grandchildren, many of whom will be there come March 29 to cheer Chris Judd and the boys on.

In the latest in our videos added to our youtube channel we get to see the other side of the famous Carlton Draught AFL centenary ads from 1996. As usual the Blues feature prominantly with past players such as McKay, Jesaulenko, Harmes and Sheldon taking part. Check out the blooper reel at the end of the clip!

Brendan Fevola

Career : 1999 – 2009
Debut : Round 17, 1999 vs Collingwood, aged 18 years, 185 days
Carlton Player No. 1034
Games : 187
Goals : 575
Guernsey No. 25
Last Game : Elimination Final, 2009 vs Brisbane, aged 28 years, 229 days
Height : 188 cm (6 ft. 2 in.)
Weight : 101 kg (15 stone, 12 lbs.)
DOB : 20 January, 1981
Coleman Medal 2006, 2009
All Australian 2006, 2008, 2009
Club Leading Goalkicker: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Victorian State Player: 2008
Allen Aylett Medal: 2008

Anthony Koutoufides

Career: 1992 – 2007
Debut: Round 13, 1992 vs Adelaide
985th Carlton Player
Games: 278
Goals: 226
Last game: Round 17, 2007 v St Kilda
Guernsey No. 43
Height: 190cm
Weight: 99kg
DOB: 18 January, 1973
Premiership Player: 1995
Leigh Matthews Trophy AFLPA MVP: 2000
Best and Fairest: 2001, 2005
All Australian: 1995, 2000
Leading Goalkicker: 1997
Captain: 2004-06

Anthony Koutoufides will no doubt be remembered for many things; Carlton Captain, his famous super-build, his ability to play in a number of positions and thrive, his outstanding fairness out on the field, his pay-packet, his ability to pick up and hold the ball with one hand, and for being a mildly spoken nice guy. But above all, “Kouta” will go down in history as a Club legend.

The 191cm right-foot star in the #43 guernsey came to the Blues via a zone selection, a form of recruiting replaced by the draft (he was recruited from Lalor, he also played at East Thomastown). Although it took a few seasons for Kouta the utility to take his place, Kouta began to dominate on the wing over 1994 and 1995 and he was unlucky not to win the Norm Smith Medal in our GF win of 1995. He came 2nd in the Club Best & Fairest in 1999, third in 2000 while he won All-Australian selection plus the Players Association MVP award, and then won the Club Best & Fairest in 2001 and 2005.

Kouta was unstoppable in 2000, including a run of games mid season in which we would dominate.

In later years he would play occasional key position roles, including 6 from Full Forward one day, plus rucking in his early days when we needed some mobility. Perhaps of most interest to the historians is Kouta’s change in game from strong marking midfielder to insider clearer, as Ratten’s demise and Kouta’s knees required a change in position.

Kouta’s influence was so important to the Blues that the Blueseum has utilised a ‘story by games’ of Kouta’s career, which highlights wonderful games of Kouta’s career from 1992 to 2007, and can be accessed here.

For a true understanding of Kouta’s potential in many roles across the ground, look no further than his ‘Stat Shot’ in side the Blueseum. From key position player, to midfielder, to extractor, to bit-part player as his age increased, you can see Kouta the player excelling in different areas of the game – from goals, to marks, to clearances, to tackles. His importance to the team in various roles would simply not decline as the years did – Kouta was / is a champ in many different areas of the game.

There was also Kouta’s fair share of injuries, with two major knee injuries in 2000 and 2001 plus a hamstring tendon injury that delayed his debut as captain in 2004. The 2000 knee injury was incurred in a mid-air collision with Bomber Johnson in Round 20 injuring his Posterior Ligament, not to mention our finals chances. The 2001 injury was even more longer term, and caused after Tiger Matthew Knights fell across his knee in the dour 2001 Semi-Final loss. Of course, Kouta tried to return early, playing 3 games with a mattress tied to his leg in Rounds 15-17 of 2002, before re-hurting the knee against the Swans and finishing his season early.

There are so many memories to Kouta’s play that it is hard to pick out the best. The 1999 Preliminary Final where Kouta was dominating at all parts of the ground simultaneously – think about that for a second – was as awesome a game of footy you will see from any one player.

Chris Pavlou, who blissfully committed more than 50 years of his life to Carlton as a senior footballer, runner, recruiter, coach, past players President and board member, died yesterday after a brave battle with cancer.

He was 72.

Chris died peacefully in the company of his family at his home in Frankston, the place from which he was recruited to the club way back in 1958.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years Mary, son Anthony, daughters Trish and Louise, and three grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are to be detailed in Tuesday’s Herald Sun.

The Chris Pavlou story had its origins in Foster, not far from where the rolling hills meet the Gippsland coastline, where he was born on August 18, 1939. Chris’s father hailed from Cyprus and his mother from Ithaka, his parents having migrated to Australia in 1922 and ’34 respectively.

In 1947, after the Pavlous relocated to Frankston to run a fish and chip shop, Chris was enrolled in the local Frankston state school and together with his older brother Con and younger brother George leant assistance to their parents on the premises. Later, Chris followed Con to the Frankston Football Club, turning out with the Under 17s at the tender age of 15.

“As a 15 year-old I didn’t really know much about football to be honest with you, because being of ethnic background I was with my parents working in the shop,” Chris said in a final interview with this reporter recently. “Football wasn’t really a priority because I had to work a bit.”

It was around this time that Chris pledged his passionate support to Carlton, which would linger until his last breath.

Why Carlton?

“Well I had a fight with my brother when Carlton was playing Essendon for the ’47 premiership,” he said. “Of course, Carlton won, but my brother wouldn’t let me listen to the radio, he was pushing me aside.

“Now Frankston wore the same colours as Essendon and we loved Frankston, but he wouldn’t let me listen to the footy . . . and it was a close game with Stafford kicking the goal for Carlton to win by a point, so I had a go at him and said ‘I’m going to barrack for Carlton from now on’.”

“The next day Mum went and bought me a Carlton jumper so I put that on and supported them ever since . . . and they’ve been my life really. For 51 years Carlton has been my life.”

It was at Frankston that Chris’s footballing talents were first identified by the late Carlton premiership player and coach Jim Francis.

“Jim Francis happened to live at Long Island in a holiday home at Frankston,” Chris recalled, “and he came along to watch us at training.

“I don’t know what prompted him to do that . . . whether he was going for a walk along the beach . . . but he headed up to the Frankston footy ground, saw us playing and having a kick, and the next thing I knew he asked me if I’d like to have a run at Carlton.

“At that time Carlton were looking for small, quick players. There was Bruce Williams from Morwell, Marty Cross, Johnny Heathcote, Barry Smith and myself – and ‘Handsy’ (Ken Hands) had this idea of getting some pace into the team. There was quite a handful of young quick players who helped get the ball rolling with pace . . . ”

Chris couldn’t believe his luck. “I just got such a buzz to be invited to Carlton – to go to the Carlton Football Club to play – because I barracked for Carlton,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe I had the opportunity to have a run around. I remember walking into the clubrooms and seeing Ken Hands, John Nicholls and Bill Milroy and I’m saying to myself ‘What am I doing here?’.

Chris also remembered Carlton as an accommodating club regardless of creed or religion.

“We just accepted eachother as footballers and friends,” he said. “There was no animosity between us in being Italian or Greek and there were a lot of the Aussie boys there.

“Vasil Varlamos didn’t get there until 1960, but my cousin, John Defteros was there in the under 19s at Carlton. He was about the only Greek connection I had, but in saying that, there were a lot of Greek supporters. A whole group of them used to gather around the wing at Princes Park to cheer the Greeks along.”

Vasil, the 44-game Carlton half-back flanker and perhaps Chris’s dearest friend from his playing days, said “Chris was a first generation Australian of Greek origin just like me, so that was a connection and we became very close”.

“As a player he was fast and he started out as a rover, but he wasn’t strong enough around the packs so they put him on a wing. In ’61 he was probably one of the best wingmen in the League because he beat all the top wingers he played on, Brian Dixon included,” Vasil said.

“He used to line up on a wing on Johnny James’ side of the ground and he played with such enthusiasm. He’d tell you if you did something right and I always remember his encouragement.”

In many respects, Chris’s playing career ended before it began. Completing his senior debut in the second round match of 1958 (he earned Allen Aylett as his maiden opponent against North Melbourne at Princes Park) Chris’s 31-game tenure as a rover and wingman ended in the 14th round of 1961, when in a match against Footscray at the Western Oval, he cannoned into the fence, sustaining a serious knee injury which he further aggravated after hobbling to the forward pocket.

Chris was 22 at the time, but would never again don the No.35 dark Navy Blue guernsey . . . and it hit him hard.

“It upset me that much because I was on the verge of something. I wish I could have played a couple more years, just to see where it had have ended up,” he said.

“We made the Grand Final in 1962, then Barassi came, then the great years of 1968 and 1970 . . . I didn’t get the opportunity to do those things and I often ask myself ‘How would I have gone?.”

In the aftermath of this personal setback, Chris embarked on what would be a five-year coaching career with East Launceston through the early 1960s, during which time he completed a playing comeback – only to suffer another serious knock to the knee.

But Chris was Carlton to the core and such was the depth of his admiration for the place and the lifelong friendships forged with men like George Armstrong, Jack Wrout, Ken Hands, Jack Carney and Bert Deacon that Chris inevitably returned to the mainland to renew club ties.

Appointed Under 19s coach in 1973, Chris was afforded the rare opportunity to develop burgeoning Blues of the calibre of Peter Francis and the inaugural Norm Smith Medallist Wayne Harmes (whom Chris actually recruited) and “Harmesy” was one of a number of former players to visit Chris in recent weeks.

Twenty years later, Chris was rewarded with Life Membership of the Carlton Football Club – only to further his commitment to the cause by championing the past players for 12 years and contributing at board level for almost two years through those dim dark days of the early 21st century.

Which came as no real surprise to those like Vasil Varlamos, who said of his former teammate: “I have never known anybody to love a football club like Chris”.

Anthony Pavlou said today that “Dad’s wish was to spend one more Christmas with his family”.

“He fought the hard battle to make Christmas and he achieved that,” Anthony said.

“Of course he loved Carlton too, but the Pavlou family days at the football, cheering on the mighty Blues, will never be quite the same without him, for that was part of our ritual every week.

Merry Christmas from the Spirit of Carlton Past & Present!

Blueseum contributor Peter McLean has reproduced an article from The Age in 1934 on the Blueseum. We reproduce it here for two reasons, to show how long Carlton players and officials past and present have been getting together and also to highlight the reference to the ‘spirit of carlton’ all the way back in 1934!

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