Vale John Elliott

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Respect and sympathies to his family.

A good Carlton man.

The quote attributed to him about a pigs nether regions was never said by Jack.
Yes, but like many historical misquotes the legend of it fits the man and adds to his colourful image.... ;)
 
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Vale John Elliott.

So very conflicted.

He oversaw a great carlton period, but also played a significant and direct role in the horrors of the last 20 years. I met him many times away from the footy club and had both great and terrible discussions and arguments with him as the only things we shared were Carlton and a certain Melbourne “establishment” And beyond that we were on the opposite side of everything

that said my dominant memory is watching carlton games at the medallion club using my work tickets in the 2000s and 2010s, with big Jack in the seat behind me. At first i was very “here we go”, especially given our past acrimony, but he was always on the money about the footy. Incredibly astute, he would tell his acolyte sycophant mates to shut up when they where being stupid, and would slap me on the shoulder agreeing when i said something smart.

he was a man of his time who had the misfortune of seeing the tides of change come rolling over the era he so well represented and raged against the dieing of the light, to the detriment of much that he loved, most of all, the Navy Blue.

all that said, a life lived to the fullest. ive already raised a glass of good coonawarra shiraz to him. RIP John
 

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Big Jack did a lot of good for the club... stabilised us for 20 years... it's a pity that the bad he did to the club is more recent.

RIP Jack

And that's all I have to say about that.

Now a lot has been written on the topic since 2002, and a lot more will in coming days and when history looks back on early 21st century era CFC.

My take is this, the club was way too Elliot centric by the end, and largely addicted to the same methods to get success as 35 years ago, this unhealthy legacy lives on via the Pratt’s and Mathiesons.

However Big Jack was a very smart operator and did a lot of very smart things from his rise from the early 70s to late 80s.

But a bit like Icarus flying too close to the sun, and hubris, laziness or whatnot, he was no longer that same sharp operator as the 90s went on.

Now there are many different interpretations to this and so many interesting discussion points out of his tenure and our subsequent 19 years beyond that, which I don’t think are disrespectful to discuss.

Jack is a massive part of our history, good and bad.
 
What on earth are you talking about? He was never even in parliament.

Was about to be drafted in as liberal candidate for Higgins around 88, then sitting member changed their mind. Would of almost certainly been elected to parliament, then a good shot to be leader with the merry go round between Howard and peacock for the LNP leadership at that time.
 
Was about to be drafted in as liberal candidate for Higgins around 88, then sitting member changed their mind. Would of almost certainly been elected to parliament, then a good shot to be leader with the merry go round between Howard and peacock for the LNP leadership at that time.
Hated Howard with a passion supposedly, so he was definitely not all bad that`s for sure.
 
My old man was a "classmate" of Big Jack at Carey Grammar. Judging by my dad's personality vs Jack's (complete opposite) I'm pretty sure Jack would have given him heaps at school. It certainly wouldn't have helped my dad's case that he was a complete nerd.

An old family tale has it that they both actually crossed paths at the airport during Jack's CFC presidency. The story goes that Jack recognised my dad and called out to him to have a drink with him in the airport lounge. Being my father, he politely declined the offer claiming that he had no idea who he was.
I have an airport story about Big Jack as well, as I was in Bangkok airport on my way to Germany in 1994 and saw him walking towards the East European flights section of the airport. I approached him asking if he was John Elliott and he jumped back a bit, as he must have thought I was one of his aggrieved investors that had lost $$$ in one of his failed companies and was about to dong him!!! But I said that I had been in Bali & had not heard the result of the Blues v Magpies match the night before, but someone had said that we lost....to which he answered in his best John Elliott guttural voice "No, it was a great victory by 45 points, great victory!!!" I don`t know about him but it made my night, or morning as it was about 2:30am.:cool:
 
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Rip John Elliott. Was too young to remember you, but from interviews/videos ive seen, i could see you were very passionate and had that were carlton f the rest attitude, which i absolutely adore.

Absolutely share your hatred of the dopers, i would love to hear what he said after the 99 prelim, is there any footage of that or does anyone vaguely remember what he said?
 

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So sad, larger than life character who loved Carlton. Should not be judged on what happened when we all know everyone else was doing the same thing. Was singled out by Demitriou to be punished because he never supported him running the AFL. The players and supporters loved him and he symbolised the swagger and arrogance that made Carlton great.
 
“Character” and “Larger than Life” are comments thrown around often but for this bloke in his day they were apt.

Love him or hate him and for most of us they both applied over the years he loved Carlton and did what he felt was best for the Blues. The world and football changed and he quickly became out of touch but it did not stop his passion for the place.

If I recall I was at the BnF the night he called out Hamill. The memory does dim with time but it was quite a night.

RIP Jack.
 
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he sold the family home without informing his wife, Amanda.............shows a certain sense of style..............
Imagine doing that and living, let alone still being on speaking terms afterwards.

Reminder: bluster & swagger are not business strategies.

On the other hand, imagine a chartered accountant revving the side up before the 99 prelim like he did.
 
he sold the family home without informing his wife, Amanda.............shows a certain sense of style..............

Definitely one to tell the Grandchildren.
 
Vale John Elliot..

I remember big Jack being the typical 'larger than life' character around the Carlton Social Club in the early to late 90's.
He was always up for a chat..

My story involving Jack was one night after a game, I was in the SC having a beer with a former St.Kilda 'hard man' and Jack hit on my wife.

Knowing Jack being Jack, I politely reminded him she was there with me, but the ex Saints player was going to deck him.. it definitely caused a commotion in the place and in true Jack style, he laughed it off and bought us all a drink 😆😆
 
Whilst I have my misgivings about Elliott, I sat next to him on the day of Andrew Walker's debut at Princes Park. He couldn't have been better company and considering he had plenty of people wanting his attention, always included me in conversations. For all his arrogance, he had manners.

At the breaks we went outside the ground for a smoke and he had time for all of the supporters who came up to him.

Yes, he left the club in bad shape, but I comfort myself that it was with the best of intentions.
 
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