Your Sentimental Memories of Arden St

[Twinkletoes]

Originally Posted by Mr Reliable
I saw one Collingwood game at Arden St where Peter Daicos kicked 6 goals on Doug Smith in the third quarter. And another where half back flanker David Twomey got the ball in front of us (near the old press box, half back flank) and proceeded to run diagonally across to the half fwd flank near the scoreboard (dodging opponents and breaking tackles) from where he slotted a 50 metre goal. I think it may have been goal of the year.

Good memory again Mr R........it was indeed Goal Of The Year. Bloody good goal too, even if it was against us.

T'toes

 

[Lidge]

Got a couple more...and will keep these ones clean (save Shinners the hassle of editing )

Was lucky to play one game of footy there just after North made the MCG our (then) home ground. Was in 1984 playing a Herald Shield game against St Joseph's Nth Melbourne.

The only downside, was we had to use the visitor's change rooms, but other than that, I reckon I spent the full 2 hours 'pretending' I was a Kanga's legend out there for the duration of the game. The stands, terraces & scoreboard etc were still intact then. I also played a few games at other VFL venues (Western Oval, VFL Park, SCG & Windy Hill), but nothing came remotely close to the buzz of playing on Arden Street.

Back in the late 1980's and early 90's used to go to the social club after games for a few sherberts. Used to love it down there, having a few grogs with the players and mates, amongst the memorabillia and premiership cups adorning the walls and cabinets and thinking how great it would be for the club to have another era like the 1970's - which I was too young to appreciate. That's an aspect definitely missing from our facility down at Telstra Dome (having the pictures, pennants and cups on display).

Little did I know what was about to happen a few years later.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Originally Posted by Lidge
Was lucky to play one game of footy there just after North made the MCG our (then) home ground. Was in 1984 playing a Herald Shield game against St Joseph's Nth Melbourne.

Ahhhhhhhhhh..........a great year for playing Herald Shield was 1984, eh Lidge?

Originally Posted by Lidge
Back in the late 1980's and early 90's used to go to the social club after games for a few sherberts. Used to love it down there, having a few grogs with the players and mates, amongst the memorabillia and premiership cups adorning the walls and cabinets and thinking how great it would be for the club to have another era like the 1970's - which I was too young to appreciate.

The classic thing which stuck in my mind from the Social Club visits of the late 80's to early 90's was exactly that too..........and the fact that the entire place seemed stuck in a time warp from 1979. It was great in it's day, that's for sure.

T'toes

 

[myty]

Began going to Arden St as a kid at the age of 4 or 5 in the early 70s. Standing in the North Social Club area where even there there were "blues" most week. I remember several times at least where I was suddenly grabbed by the shirt by my Dad and thrown up onto the seats to get out of the way.

During the 80s we moved onto the seats behind the North bench. Every week we'd get there before opening time to ensure we got the same spot on the fence. We'd have a cassette player going and a large group of us kids would meet there.

Also the eskies full of beer is something you just don't see getting carried into the ground anymore.

 

[Lidge]

Ahhhhhhhhhh..........a great year for playing Herald Shield was 1984, eh Lidge?

Not really. 1985 was a much year better as you would know

 

[ssreid]

You guys don't realise how lucky you are living so close to the grounds.I have been a north supporter for 25 years, the closest I have come to the boys is watching them play when they come to Perth.Any way Its good to hear the memories of Arden St.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Originally Posted by Lidge
Not really. 1985 was a much year better as you would know

Touche.... I'd somehow forgotten that one!!!! Our '84 win was even more memorable for a certain someone who was "celebrating" under the house of one of the teammates' folks, with one of my teammmates (legend), afterwards at the party.........you could say she "could be so lucky......lucky lucky lucky".

T'toes

 

[Fogarty]

Nice one sross.

Does anyone here remember attending games at Arden St when the dog track was still in place? It had certainly gone by the time I started attending in the early 70's.

T'toes

I don't remember it, but my uncle won the melbourne cup for dogs at arden presented by the queen, I think its name was rustling breeze

 

[palisades]

Tragically i never saw a game there, its one of my biggest regrets.

We lived in Geelong and went to Kardinia Park for all the Geelong games and occasionally to VFL park for a Kangas game. Dad always said he'd take me to Arden St for a game but we just ran out of opportunities.

We did go to training one night, and I remember Jimmy Krakouer on the rub down table, and I went to say g'day. I can't remember what he said but all I remember is his hardcore homemade tattoo with his initials, J.K., on his forearm.

 

[Fogarty]

My memories of arden st is sitting back on the couch with a can and listening to dad tell the stories of the games he saw from the 40s till the 2000s.
He saw them all, Sel Murray,Jock McCorkell,Les Foote, Kevin Dynon, Jock Spencer, Vic Lawrence,John Brady,Mick Aylett,John Dugdale,Noel Teasdale,Laurie Dwyer and all the modern day players that you would know.
R.I.P. My Dad (66 Munster T )
P.S He said that Keith Greig was the best that he had seen.

 

[kangaroo7]

Nice one sross.

Does anyone here remember attending games at Arden St when the dog track was still in place? It had certainly gone by the time I started attending in the early 70's.

T'toes

Yes. I vividly remember playing "end to end" on the dog track with other young supporters from both sides. People in the front row (the only row) of seats would scream at us to sit down so they could see the game. You could get a good close view of the game if you were prepared to sit in the sand on the track.

 

[kangaroo7]

Denchy streaming out of defence from the social club end and running through the centre, bouncing, fending off, crashing through tacklers! Schimma's courage- how did he not get killed??

One of my favourite Arden St games was when we played Essendon in Paul Salmon's first year. He was averaging about 8 goals a game at that stage and our coach (can't remember who, might have been Barry Cable?) played a very unfashionable ruckman at fullback on him- Bill Berry. Kept Salmon goalless or maybe he got a late one, as we won easily. Best game big Bill ever played for North.

I once saw Dench get the ball at full-back, handpass it when he got to the centre, get it back and then kick a magnificent goal.

I believe that game against Essendon with Berry keeping Salmon to 1 goal was at Windy Hill in 1984. One of the few matches I attended there.Essendon won that day but North kicked their highest ever score to date against Essendon, albeit a losing one. The one that North won easily was the following year (1985) at Arden St. Berry played only 1 game that year.

 

[PJK]

I only saw one game at Arden St. In 1978 I was at Uni in Sydney and I visited my brother who was at College in Ballarat. We caught the train to see North play Carlton at Arden street and stood at the Western end. Arnie Briedis took a screamer in the first 5 minutes and we were going well. After that Carlton thrashed us. But at least I saw one game at Arden Street.

 

[windsock]

I believe that game against Essendon with Berry keeping Salmon to 1 goal was at Windy Hill in 1984. One of the few matches I attended there..

It was at Arden St.

 

[kangaroo7]

It was at Arden St.

Nope--Windy Hill. Berry played for North in 1984 and 1985. Out of the 4 matches played North won only 1---at Arden St in 1985. Berry played only 1 game that year and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the one. I remember him lining up on Salmon and punching the ball away from him all day. But Essendon won that game with only 1 goal contributed by Salmon.

 

[mighty mick]

went to the games from the age of 6 and the 2 that stand out in my memory were:

1. the day kekavich kicked ten against south melbourne and we were all hanging over the social club fence chanting for north to kick its 30th for the day, we got 29.

2. the day francis bourke got cleaned up and came off in front of us with blood streaming down his face.

i wonder how many bf kids used to sit next to each other along the fence in front of the social club.?

 

[Jimmy's Hot Dogs]

So many fantastic memories of Arden St. Even now when I come to the city I make sure I drive past and my kids get to see the Rooboys in action.

A couple of memories that stand out were North v Carlton when Xavier Tanner got tripped up as he was streaming out of defence with the Kangas a few point down in the last quarter. I remember we lost. I'm sure that cost us the game.

After the 96 GF going around to the social club side of the ground after the presentations. The players were heading vack to the bus and had to walk the gauntlet of supporters. It was fantastic to tell my mates who had been to the game with me but hadn't arrived at Arden St that we had patted all the players on the back and touched the GOLD premiership cup.

 

[Fogarty]

Went down to Arden St. the day after the Grand Final ( can't remember which one now I think 77 ) and it was a big day, B.B.Q, Lingerie Ladies on the back of a truck, the players fronting up Etc.
The B.BQ. was started up but the lead to the gas bottle hadn't been tightened up and away it went with flame everywhere.
I worked on Furnaces at the time and had a pair furnace gloves in the boot of the car, by the time i ran out and got them the handle to turn it off had melted away, anyway i wrapped one glove around the flame and was able to turn off the bottle by turning the axle that held the handle.
Everything settled down and I put the gloves back in the car, well, stuff me,
whoever was in charge changed bottles and relit the BarBee and away it went again same scenario as above.
This time I said effing hang on a minute and I went to the car and got out the tool box and tightened everything up before it was lit again.
Heh, Heh I'm halfway through the first sausage sanger donger and the bloody fire brigade turn up to put out the fire. ( what effing fire we said )
It was years later that I saw the result of a gas bottle exploding in a crowd of people and I shuddered and I still shudder when I think of what may have happened.
Next time I get the kids out of there before I run for the gloves.

 

[Sco]

I'm too young to have ever have seen a VFL match played at Arden St.

But my fav memory would have to be as a kid in a clinic with Wayne Carey, just to see him in the flesh near his #18 locker and Schwatta and Arch, Sholl all cooling down after training. Seems very basic but something I'll never forget.

Another thing, does anyone here remember a Barn night in that doddy looking tin shed (where the players park for training) in i think 1993? I remember everyone dressing up for the night and the boys being on top of the ladder, a real fun and happy night!

 

[Cororoo]

i wonder how many bf kids used to sit next to each other along the fence in front of the social club.?

I used to sit there MM!

My parents always watched the game either from the social club or as close to the bar as they could get!
So I was left to watch the games from the fence.

The coach of my local footy team was the coach of the little league team in the 70's and I got to play many games for the Kangas in the SSB little league at half time.Many of these were at Arden St. I used to wear # 23 because Denchy was my boyhood hero.

I remember one time we were huddled in the race before half time when North was playing Carlton. The ball came down our way and Croswell who was playing for Carlton et the time flew for a mark over Keka. Slamming Sam let fly and crunched Croswell and the claret flowed freely from a surely broken nose.

Croswell was taken straight up the race by Carlton trainers and left us little leaguers stunned with some colorful language that some of us had not heard before

The old trainers used to host a session of party pies and soft drinks after each little league game at Arden St. and we were not allowed to get stuck into the pies or drinks until we had sung the North theme song.

When ever we formed a Guard of Honour to cheer the senior players out after our game had finished Doug Wade would always ask us if we had won.

Much later on , my wife and I had our wedding reception at the social club in the late 80's (Down stairs where the pokies once were) It was a top night and Robert Smith did a fantastic job as the emcee.

 

[Groucho]

Nope--Windy Hill. Berry played for North in 1984 and 1985. Out of the 4 matches played North won only 1---at Arden St in 1985. Berry played only 1 game that year and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the one. I remember him lining up on Salmon and punching the ball away from him all day. But Essendon won that game with only 1 goal contributed by Salmon.

Just looked it up in my "Every game ever played" book as I had a feeling it was at Arden street. Yep,definitely Arden Street. Final score North 15.16.106 to Ess 16.12.108. If I recall further ,Salmon's only goal was the winning one.

 

[Aussie_Roo2]

My parents had reserved seating in front of the old press box, but we used to get to the games early, so we could sit on the fence, with all the other kids whose parents also had reserved seating.

I remember one time, I was about 6 or 7, and I got separated from my father in the crowd, and found a policeman, who walked me around the boundary line until I saw my parents.

One of the best memories though was sleeping in the back of the old station wagon parked behind the old grandstand whilst my parents queued for finals tickets on a Saturday night / Sunday morning after a finals win.

 

[mighty mick]

i was picking up finals tickets from the club in 99/96? and came across dennis, said hello and good luck for the game, annis pats me on the head like a kid and says " thanks sonny.

i was thirty at the time?

 

[GoNorth]

Another thing, does anyone here remember a Barn night in that doddy looking tin shed (where the players park for training) in i think 1993? I remember everyone dressing up for the night and the boys being on top of the ladder, a real fun and happy night!

Would Alex Ischenko still have been playing then? Because I went to some barn dance thing that the players held and I danced with Alex! I'm pretty sure we had beaten Essendon the night before. Would that be right?

 

[GoNorth]

Reading through all these posts just makes me even happier that the North Board decided against moving to Optus Oval.