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Long time serving Oz PM Bob Menzies 1939-41 and 1949-66 was a Carlton man and in 1971 when he was he was frail from a stroke and 76 years old, Carlton built a ramp for him behind the northern end goals at Princess Park and his chauffeur drove his Bentley up the ramp and parked it so Bob could watch all Carlton home games.




The Heatley Stand, to which Carlton in their glory days of the early 1980s so often unleashed a torrent of goals, is a particular source of nostalgia for Blues fans.

It was the regular vantage point for former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, who after suffering a stroke in 1971, was afforded the benefit of a ramp built at the edge of the grandstand for his chauffeured car to drive up into the ground and still allow the incapacitated dignitary a superb view of the action.

De Bolfo, unable to resist a quip, is unable to confirm whether the driver was instructed to toot the horn when Carlton scored a goal, in accordance with local football tradition.




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Long time serving Oz PM Bob Menzies 1939-41 and 1949-66 was a Carlton man and in 1971 when he was he was frail from a stroke and 76 years old, Carlton built a ramp for him behind the northern end goals at Princess Park and his chauffeur drove his Bentley up the ramp and parked it so Bob could watch all Carlton home games.




The Heatley Stand, to which Carlton in their glory days of the early 1980s so often unleashed a torrent of goals, is a particular source of nostalgia for Blues fans.

It was the regular vantage point for former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, who after suffering a stroke in 1971, was afforded the benefit of a ramp built at the edge of the grandstand for his chauffeured car to drive up into the ground and still allow the incapacitated dignitary a superb view of the action.

De Bolfo, unable to resist a quip, is unable to confirm whether the driver was instructed to toot the horn when Carlton scored a goal, in accordance with local football tradition.




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fd6348871e20882d0fd96c2e44c98a7f51b707a0
Pig Iron Bob
 
Long time serving Oz PM Bob Menzies 1939-41 and 1949-66 was a Carlton man and in 1971 when he was he was frail from a stroke and 76 years old, Carlton built a ramp for him behind the northern end goals at Princess Park and his chauffeur drove his Bentley up the ramp and parked it so Bob could watch all Carlton home games.




The Heatley Stand, to which Carlton in their glory days of the early 1980s so often unleashed a torrent of goals, is a particular source of nostalgia for Blues fans.

It was the regular vantage point for former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, who after suffering a stroke in 1971, was afforded the benefit of a ramp built at the edge of the grandstand for his chauffeured car to drive up into the ground and still allow the incapacitated dignitary a superb view of the action.

De Bolfo, unable to resist a quip, is unable to confirm whether the driver was instructed to toot the horn when Carlton scored a goal, in accordance with local football tradition.




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Time flies as the old saying goes, particularly with the realisation the long haired girl with her arms folded would probably be in her mid to late 60's today.
 
Time flies as the old saying goes, particularly with the realisation the long haired girl with her arms folded would probably be in her mid to late 60's today.

Or was murdered by the dark haired kid in the skivvy.
 

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Ford Fairlane wrote in the Lets Talk Port's thread in his post about the 1980 season tweet, how good Mike Coward's writing is and that he's a proper journalist.

Was always a fan of Mike even though he was a Norwood man, both footy and cricket stuff - his written as well as his spoken words. He was light years ahead of nearly everyone when in the mid to late 80's he said Australian cricket players, administrators and fans have to embrace cricket of India and Pakistan more and not see it as a tour where you play cricket, bad umpiring and get sick. I had Indian friends from pre teen years and never got why Indian cricket was so poorly treated.

Got to meet Mike in Sydney in the late 90's at a cricket game, spoke to him, we had a couple of mutual friends, including one who was very sick and was trialling some new cancer drug and we kept in touch for a few years and kept bumping into each other at sporting events.

I found this video of Norwood's 1978 Centenary celebrations about 18 months ago, that Mike organised for Ch 7 to broadcast when 7 had the SANFL TV rights - well when it was ADS 7 then not today's SAS 7 ( 7 and 10 Adelaide swapped on proclamation day 1987 because Kerry Stokes and Robert Holmes a Court were building national networks).

Mike is in his sartorial splendour of 1970's safari suit and colourful shirt, and interviews 3 greats from the 1920's including the great Wat (Walter) Scott who had won 2 Magarey medals - was given a 3rd one retrospectively in 1998 for tieing in 1921 but losing on a countback, won 4 flags, 6 times B&F and 38 state games which was a record until I think Neil Kerley played 39.

When I watched this I thought how good would it have been for Port to have been able to do this in 1970 on our centenary or 1980 on 110th anniversary and have colour TV and interview blokes in their late 70's and 80's talk about their career from the 1920's.



I'm late to the party on this one, but I can recall when they first televised the Magarey Medal in the late 1960's when they were held in the Adelaide town hall and there were brief interviews with past winners, including Wat Scott and others, plus a bloke who may have been the oldest living Magarey Medallist at the time, Port Adelaide's Sampson `Shine' Hosking who was born at Glanville in 1888!

`Shine' won two Magarey Medals in the early 1900's, played in 4 premierships, 3 winning championship of Australia games against the Victorian premiers, wins against the WAFL premiers and SA state teams and coached the club to flags as well.

He was absolute Port Adelaide royalty who was rated in 2020 as the 5th best player in the club's history and was a guest for a couple of the early televised counts, but apparently tv stations regularly re-used tapes back then so it is unfortunately likely that none of those old black and white telecasts still exist.
 
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Time flies as the old saying goes, particularly with the realisation the long haired girl with her arms folded would probably be in her mid to late 60's today.
One of the most striking things about photos of that era is hardly an obese person in sight. Contrast that to what's going on today...

Must've been just before the food pyramid came on the scene and recommended everyone give up meat and eggs and consume 7 to 12 servings of cereals, breads and pasta o_O
 
One of the most striking things about photos of that era is hardly an obese person in sight. Contrast that to what's going on today...

Must've been just before the food pyramid came on the scene and recommended everyone give up meat and eggs and consume 7 to 12 servings of cereals, breads and pasta o_O
I wonder what the club diet is like now? I remember back when Burgess was here and we were outrunning other clubs, not looking stuffed all the time, it was lower carbs.
 
I will stick this here rather than in the Lets Talk Ports thread as i know where to find it but the new Footy Film SA youtube channel has the other day put up a "new version with superior footage" of the 1977 GF rather than that shitty grainy version that has been around for years.

But there is a catch. It's only newer footage for the first half as just before half time and just before Fred Phillis smacks Tim Evans in the head, its back to the old shitty grainy version.





I will never tire of seeing the bloke in the Glenelg coach's box smoking a pipe.

Or Bruce Light taking the wind out of David Holst in the last quarter (around 2.05.40). :D
 
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A few people liking the Bob Menzie stuff, got me thinking about some stuff re PMs and the influence of Aussie Rules in Canberra.

Post 1949 to 1991 most of the Oz PMs were from Aussie Rules heartland of Victoria and had a dominate influence in Canberra. Only Billy McMahon 1971-72 and Gough Whitlam 1972-75 were from Sydney.

Post Hawke most PMs have been from Sydney, ie Keating, Howard, Abott, Turnbull, Morrison and Albanesse, with Rudd from Qld and Gillard grew up in SA moved to Melbourne when she was about 23 and became a passionate Bulldogs fan.

When the game was less professional having footy PMs helped influence things, especially in the battle with rugby league to be the dominate footy code.

Now since the winning of Sydney Olympics hosting bid in 1993, politicans of both main parties throw money at sport especially infrastructure whereas before 1993, very little was spent outside the AIS programs.

Politicans have learnt the value of attaching themselves to sporting clubs, and the AFL has outsmarted NRL soccer, cricket, basketball and others and become the dominate sporting lobby group to gain federal government largesse and no longer need the PM to be from Victoria like the first 50 years after WW II.

I use the phrase the marketing horsepower of the AFL a fair bit, moreso away from these forums, and thats because the AFL has spread its tenticales far, wide and deep across the media, community, business and society in general and the politicans have latched on.

In its own way the AFL is becoming like the IOC and FIFA.
 
Found these 2 videos on Waverley Park last weekend. It got to 77,000 with standing room allowing record crowd of 91,000 in 1981.

The initial plan was to complete it with 157,000 seats. But the Vic government never built the planned railway to Glen Waverley.

Premier John Cain was against the VFL moving lock stock and barrell the GF to Waverley Park. He was no fan of the MCC and forced them in 1984 to give females full membership for the MCG rather than the somewhat restricted Ladies membership.

The MCC initially strongly resisted and then said ok, but they have to go to the bottom of the waiting list that was about 23 years back then. He's wasn't thrilled with that, but accepted it. He didn't do anything to improve public transport out to Waverley Park.

But in 1988 he banged the VFL's head and MCC's heads together, the MCG Trust, a government trust that owns the land the MCC have built the MCG on, and worked out the deal to build the Great Southern Stand for the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup and then the AFL get a 23,000 seat reserve to sell AFL membership and keep those monies and distribute it to the VFL club's via the club support tick a box process and the 40 year VFL GF rule at the MCG, which at the time said at least one game a week come finals time has to be played at the MCG.

It was a masterstroke for Victoria and it was Cain who 3 years earlier drove the building of Flinders Park which was renamed Melbourne Park tennis centre in 1996 by Jeff Kennett, to make a poorly ranked Australian Open the 4th tennis grand slam event, become the player's favourite grand slam event. Cain helped set up that whole Melbourne and Olympic Park precinct that would be added to for years after he left as premier and has helped give Melbourne that sporting capital of Oz/the world tag.


This 2 minute video from 2022 is just the relatively new 3d computer modelling of the proposed 157,000 design.




This one from 9 days ago, is 11 minutes with a lot more history and the 3d modelling from the above video.


 
This is the moment that I said 100%, SA has to put a team in the VFL.

I wanted it to be Port, but didn't know where we would find $4mil to pay the upfront for the licence fee, like West Coast and Brisbane had to pay and not the original $4m over 10 years.

In October 1986 I thought SA and WA have to stick together to get the best deal out of the Vics. Either both in or both out. But I didn't understand that WA footy was on its knees, selling players for transfer fees to survive, and not owning Subiaco Oval meant they couldn't hang on much longer, whereas as Footy Park provided SA footy with great financial rewards.

I spent almost 12 months in Canada - working and USA - travelling between mid May 1988 and late April 1989. After I got home and having observed and studied the North American sports, I told everyone back in Oz, its only a matter of time before SA joins a proper national league and the soon the better.

8 weeks later and after this state game thrashing it made me want it to happen for 1990. The gap had become too big and was only going one way. 86 point thrashing.

Bring back the mud!!


VFL AFL 20th Century History Photos Videos Memories

July 1 at 9.19am
Comments


Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton in the same forward line.

35 years ago today Victoria faced South Australia at the MCG in front of 91,960 - the largest crowd at a State of Origin game. There were legends everywhere!


 
This is the moment that I said 100%, SA has to put a team in the VFL.

I wanted it to be Port, but didn't know where we would find $4mil to pay the upfront for the licence fee, like West Coast and Brisbane had to pay and not the original $4m over 10 years.

In October 1986 I thought SA and WA have to stick together to get the best deal out of the Vics. Either both in or both out. But I didn't understand that WA footy was on its knees, selling players for transfer fees to survive, and not owning Subiaco Oval meant they couldn't hang on much longer, whereas as Footy Park provided SA footy with great financial rewards.

I spent almost 12 months in Canada - working and USA - travelling between mid May 1988 and late April 1989. After I got home and having observed and studied the North American sports, I told everyone back in Oz, its only a matter of time before SA joins a proper national league and the soon the better.

8 weeks later and after this state game thrashing it made me want it to happen for 1990. The gap had become too big and was only going one way. 86 point thrashing.

Bring back the mud!!


VFL AFL 20th Century History Photos Videos Memories

July 1 at 9.19am
Comments


Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall and Dermott Brereton in the same forward line.

35 years ago today Victoria faced South Australia at the MCG in front of 91,960 - the largest crowd at a State of Origin game. There were legends everywhere!



Some bloke called Darren Smith with 3 goals. Dunstall standing some bloke called Delaney.

Edit: Was this the only SoO game Cahill coached? He also coached the SANFL v TFL debacle in 1995 if I recall correctly. But he did manage to guide Port's win over the ACT that same season when we had a bye.
 
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Apart from the mud, the other thing that stands out is that nobody got in the hole to stop Lockett leading.

Lockett now days, at 191cns probably plays midfield especially at his current weight in the low 90kgs and not his playing weight of the 1990s of about 115kgs . He looks pretty trim in this game.
 

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