Speaker 1: Good and welcome to conversations. Really excited about today's guests
Speaker 1: because I love talking to old footballers and legends of
Speaker 1: the game from maybe from another year, played against this
Speaker 1: guy in state games. He's a legend of the Collingwood
Speaker 1: Football Club, captain of the Collingwood Footy Club and Collingwood
Speaker 1: Team of the Century. In the Australian Football Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: Dere's Tuddenham joins us studdy, how are you?
Speaker 2: Yeah, good Grahame, thank you?
Speaker 1: How are you going these days? What's what's happening in
Speaker 1: Tuddenham's life in this day and age.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I'm still working, still run my scrap metal
Speaker 3: business here in Melbourne, still doing my training, still enjoying life.
Speaker 3: And I got my family and my grandchildren are all
Speaker 3: good and nine grandchildren.
Speaker 2: One great gwen daughters or good Grahame.
Speaker 3: Everything's terrific, in good health and everything's going fine.
Speaker 1: You're eighty two and you're still I mean you're if
Speaker 1: you were known as a fitness fanatic. What should what's
Speaker 1: your day look like these days in terms of fitness wise?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you get up a morning and I'm inclined boarding
Speaker 3: to me, I do four hundred sit up to there
Speaker 3: in morning. Then I I gave the beach and have
Speaker 3: a run in the sand, I do a Cliver Young shuffle.
Speaker 2: And have a swim.
Speaker 3: And I'll probably go the gym maybe four or five
Speaker 3: times a week.
Speaker 2: At the boxing gym.
Speaker 1: Oh okay. And still you don't know you're not You're
Speaker 1: not getting knocked around though, surely in the boxing gym.
Speaker 3: No, No, I do the speedball, I don't. I don't
Speaker 3: do the other stuff.
Speaker 2: But it's I enjoy it. I'm very lucky. I enjoyed
Speaker 2: my training and it's not a chore for me. I've
Speaker 2: always enjoyed my training and I love being fit. If
Speaker 2: I wasn't fit, I wouldn't have made I wouldn't have
Speaker 2: made a league.
Speaker 3: Football if I was a bit slower and I had
Speaker 3: to get a bit quicker.
Speaker 1: How's your body in terms of injuries and things like that?
Speaker 1: Are they knees and ankles? How are they standing up?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Pretty good.
Speaker 3: One had knee replacement and doctor Baller did that and
Speaker 3: it's good. I've had that now for probably six seven years.
Speaker 3: And yeah, that's why I run in the sand. You know,
Speaker 3: I'll keep moving anyhow, but no, no otherwise, Yeah, very good.
Speaker 1: Can we go back to the start. I'm always intrigued
Speaker 1: a journey that footballers go on from the from the
Speaker 1: early days. Now. You're from a large family, aren't you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, one of nine, seven boys and two girls.
Speaker 1: From a place called Ross Creek. Can you tell us
Speaker 1: about Ross Creek?
Speaker 3: Ross Creek is just out of ballaratte be for doing
Speaker 3: probably twenty five k's out of Ballarat. We were brought
Speaker 3: up on a farm, sheep and cattle and cause milking.
Speaker 2: Cows in those days and when we're young. My dear mum,
Speaker 2: she's a wonderful woman.
Speaker 3: She performed in the sun area many times. And dad
Speaker 3: was a counselor and yeah, they served the community at
Speaker 3: the same time and bringing up nine children, you know.
Speaker 3: So we're a very close family and it was a
Speaker 3: wonderful I think what it does is you get up
Speaker 3: the morning, you have to milk the cows and then
Speaker 3: you run to school.
Speaker 2: And yeah, it's good discipline.
Speaker 3: And I think that's where it all came from, to
Speaker 3: be honest, and you have wonderful respect for your parents.
Speaker 1: See as somebody listened to this then, like a young
Speaker 1: person listening to this would have no idea about milking cows.
Speaker 1: Did you do it by hand?
Speaker 2: Yeah? We did.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm a twin and my twin brother and I
Speaker 3: I'd get the hard cows and he get the easy ones.
Speaker 3: I used to tell him. But yeah, we'd milk by
Speaker 3: your hand. Then we'd carry the milk and separate the milk.
Speaker 3: And I think one of the I used to carry
Speaker 3: the milk probably maybe eight hundred meters to the to
Speaker 3: the pig side, and I think it really held my
Speaker 3: shoulders and under. Now you're getting strong as you're walking
Speaker 3: along carrying them carrying the milk buckets.
Speaker 1: So of the nine children, where were you in terms
Speaker 1: of on the third last? The third last? So you
Speaker 1: were elder brothers, elder sisters.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but yeah, there.
Speaker 3: Were seven boys and two sisters one two of them
Speaker 3: passed on and my eldest sister has passed on. So yeah,
Speaker 3: otherwise you know we're still still together fairly well.
Speaker 1: See big brothers and notoriously hard on the little brothers.
Speaker 1: Did that make you tougher?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: When we actually we always went a mess of Sunday
Speaker 3: and come back home and we have our roast lunch
Speaker 3: with mom and dad and then the seven of us
Speaker 3: to get down have a game with footing and they
Speaker 3: were they were making it very hard for me all
Speaker 3: the time, but it probably was a good lesson and tough.
Speaker 2: With me up with it.
Speaker 1: Were they good footballers?
Speaker 2: Your older brothers, they all played better road football.
Speaker 3: And my brother David, he trained at Collingwood and probably
Speaker 3: would have played in the reserves. And yeah, Rose he
Speaker 3: was going to playing, but he did his angle the
Speaker 3: follow week.
Speaker 2: If he would have made it, I'm sure he would
Speaker 2: have gone on a beautiful.
Speaker 3: Left foot kick, and Andy a bit quicker than maybe.
Speaker 1: So, so it was just what were your schooling years?
Speaker 3: Like?
Speaker 1: You talk about how far away was the school You
Speaker 1: said you run to school? How far it.
Speaker 3: Would have been probably two and a half mile. We'd
Speaker 3: run to school and run home up and down the hills. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it was a good grounding.
Speaker 1: What was school footy?
Speaker 3: Like?
Speaker 1: We were dominant as a kid.
Speaker 3: We only only played very very limited amount of football
Speaker 3: then and we'd play maybe two or three matches a year.
Speaker 2: But yeah, and I used to play some half back
Speaker 2: and then, so yeah, it was okay.
Speaker 3: But probably when I started with the WU in battle
Speaker 3: Rat that that's where I started to you know, I
Speaker 3: didn't I didn't really start foot well until I was
Speaker 3: probably thirteen and a half, for before I started playing
Speaker 3: real competitive football.
Speaker 1: Now there's a story that five of your brothers played
Speaker 1: in the same cricket team. Is that was that right?
Speaker 2: We did? Yes? I used to open the bowling and
Speaker 2: come in last for bedding.
Speaker 1: What's of bawl? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I played the country ree cricket in nineteen sixty one
Speaker 3: before I came to Collywood.
Speaker 2: And it's interesting, Graham went. I went and played country
Speaker 2: rear cricket.
Speaker 3: We played at Collingwood this particular day and I think
Speaker 3: we played Wangaretta and after the game, of course there
Speaker 3: was Ken Hans and Noel McMahon and Bobby Skilton all
Speaker 3: came to see me that day.
Speaker 2: And of course Collywood got.
Speaker 3: An interest the same well you must be you know
Speaker 3: want and played bleue footy. So of course I buried
Speaker 3: for Collywood and I went up in the rooms and
Speaker 3: met Ray Aperton and Murray Whedham and so that was
Speaker 3: a thrill.
Speaker 2: And they came to the farm on the Sunday and my.
Speaker 3: Gordon, carl On and Jack Burns and we're dipping sheep
Speaker 3: and dad, my mom come in, said the people from
Speaker 3: Collingwood to see you this and and Dad said, tell
Speaker 3: them to come back next week.
Speaker 2: We're dipping sheep.
Speaker 1: He came back next week. What's the story about the
Speaker 1: Carlton footy club? You could? You would have signed for Carlton.
Speaker 2: With hands came to the farm and he came to
Speaker 2: the farm.
Speaker 3: And when we finished chatting with mom and dad and
Speaker 3: he came to the out of the car.
Speaker 2: I went out of the car to see.
Speaker 3: Him off, and in the in the boot of the
Speaker 3: carry had four brand new footballs and I said, can
Speaker 3: give me those footballs? And I was signed for Carlton.
Speaker 3: He said no, these were training tomorrow night.
Speaker 2: They didn't do.
Speaker 1: So for four for four footballs that cost you your signature.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: So Collingwood came along obviously, can you did you get
Speaker 1: a signing on fee or can you remember?
Speaker 2: No? No, what they did?
Speaker 3: Jack Burns came to home the following week and I
Speaker 3: signed and they paid me paid me one shilling a
Speaker 3: mile to drive from Ballarat to Melbourne to compensate me.
Speaker 1: Petroel, what do you was that?
Speaker 2: That's a nineteen six coming on to nineteen sixty two.
Speaker 1: Okay, so one shilling a mile? Have we hamm is
Speaker 1: sixty or seventy miles, isn't it?
Speaker 2: Here is about eighty two eighty five miles.
Speaker 3: So I was getting it more money playing driving up
Speaker 3: and back than I wasn't playing football.
Speaker 1: There's Touttenham's my guess. We'll take a break, We'll get
Speaker 1: him started on this illustrious footy career back shortly. My
Speaker 1: guest on conversation today is there's Touttenham. The AFL great
Speaker 1: or VFL great in those VFL days. Legend at Collingwood
Speaker 1: if you just tuned in, he grew up on a
Speaker 1: farm with one of nine kids, signs with Collingwood. They're
Speaker 1: going to pay him a shilling a mile to drive
Speaker 1: from Ballarat or ross Creek down to the training. Can
Speaker 1: you you remember your first training session at Collingwood?
Speaker 2: Yes, I do.
Speaker 3: And I went to training and I ran on the
Speaker 3: Grand and Graham fellows and was running around the ground
Speaker 3: and I joined in with Graham and we did a
Speaker 3: couple of lefts with the Grand fellows and yeah, so
Speaker 3: I remember that night.
Speaker 2: Of course, was Mary Gia and all.
Speaker 3: Those players here and Billy Saroon and told Merriton, you know,
Speaker 3: they were all at the club, and of course I've
Speaker 3: become oh Harry Collier become great friends with him.
Speaker 2: So that period of.
Speaker 3: Time there with Collingwood here and Fonts kind of course
Speaker 3: was coach at that.
Speaker 1: Time, Great Fonts kind Murray Wham of course, settled into
Speaker 1: how Australia has very good friends to a lot of
Speaker 1: us over here. What was it like meeting him because
Speaker 1: he wasn't really he was an absolute star at the time,
Speaker 1: wasn't he.
Speaker 2: He was great, lady, wonderful player.
Speaker 3: I played my first well I did play my first
Speaker 3: game at North Melbourne of four game.
Speaker 2: I sat in the bench at for long, but then
Speaker 2: I got a game.
Speaker 3: And Murray with him. You know, he's so helpful to you.
Speaker 3: You tell you where to push your body and get
Speaker 3: in and you know I was lucky enough.
Speaker 2: To first kick him in lead football. I kicked the goal.
Speaker 3: So that was the North Melbourne So that Murray was,
Speaker 3: you know in those times it was a great leader.
Speaker 2: And fitness wise, no, no good.
Speaker 1: Were You're always a fitness fanatic. I mean you're renown
Speaker 1: in your time as a player and when you coached
Speaker 1: and now you're renowned as a fitness fanatic. But when
Speaker 1: when did that start to develop. When did you realize
Speaker 1: you could push yourself a bit harder than what was
Speaker 1: normally expected on a training track.
Speaker 3: Well in after my first year in sixty two and
Speaker 3: Jack Burns, yeah, Jack Byrne said come to me and said, look,
Speaker 3: you son.
Speaker 2: You're going to get quicker. You're too slow.
Speaker 3: If you don't if you don't do that the training,
Speaker 3: I don't think you'll make it, you know.
Speaker 2: So it was good advice. And I went back to Ballarat.
Speaker 3: And because I was playing cricket then and with Rex Hollyoat.
Speaker 3: Do you know the Hollyoak family is a great cricketing family.
Speaker 3: We just lost next. He was a great example of
Speaker 3: fitness and leadership. But then I started running with Belle Stewart.
Speaker 3: I took it, gave our cricket and took on foot
Speaker 3: running and to get faster, get quicker, and which I loved.
Speaker 2: And so Bell Sewart was enormous help to me in
Speaker 2: bellaratte So he's.
Speaker 1: Was here an athletics coach, was he?
Speaker 2: He He was a professional coach here part tom of course.
Speaker 3: But in those days, but and then I started doing
Speaker 3: professional running, the pro running.
Speaker 2: I did the circuit with the bell and.
Speaker 3: I run the four hundreds and the half miles, and yeah,
Speaker 3: that was a difference. It made an enormous difference and
Speaker 3: my game and my fitness.
Speaker 1: Want you won a few of those races, didn't you?
Speaker 2: I did?
Speaker 3: I did, yeah, And then I won the Wangaretta, I
Speaker 3: won the four hundred, eight hundred and the mile. So
Speaker 3: I finished up when that time I ran four twenty
Speaker 3: for a mile, which is pretty good.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, A bit of skullduggery goes on the pro
Speaker 1: running now in terms of betting and the like. Did
Speaker 1: you get involved in any of that sort of stuff,
Speaker 1: Not me personally.
Speaker 3: And then then when I came to Melbourne, I joined
Speaker 3: through John Tolman, a great mate. I got the opportunity
Speaker 3: to train with Bill Mitchell with Bob Skilton train for
Speaker 3: many years and Bill was renowned for his unique fixing
Speaker 3: your players and injuries and all that in South Melbourne.
Speaker 3: And I got to training with him with and that
Speaker 3: was that was fantastic.
Speaker 1: You started in sixty two at Collingwood, you won the
Speaker 1: best and first in sixty three. Tell us about that.
Speaker 1: She's so much potential at Collingword, but they didn't win
Speaker 1: the premiership in those years. What what was the problem,
Speaker 1: do you think.
Speaker 3: Well, I sixty two, of course, and then I had
Speaker 3: that year, and then sixty three was fons Coin and
Speaker 3: Fonse was.
Speaker 2: You know he was he was on the old traditional guys.
Speaker 3: You'd have to that that asked for everyone be quiet,
Speaker 3: and he'd stand up on a still an address you
Speaker 3: with his take his hat off. You know that was
Speaker 3: that was a tradition, sitting in your spots on the ground.
Speaker 3: Then of course Bob Roys came in sixty four, and yeah,
Speaker 3: Bob was. You know, we got us going and a
Speaker 3: good team work. But I think my opinion is all
Speaker 3: the way through that we collectively weren't fit enough. Bob
Speaker 3: was a great man, a great coach and a good tacticianist,
Speaker 3: but he wouldn't train the players hard enough, in my opinion.
Speaker 3: You know, you said train and then I'd go past
Speaker 3: Richmond and then I'd go and run the Botenda gardens.
Speaker 2: You know, I run eighteen miles there after training.
Speaker 1: Tell us about Bobby Riise, I mean, I don't think
Speaker 1: I've ever ever met the man, but everything I read
Speaker 1: about him and hear about him is so glying as
Speaker 1: a as a person. I mean, you talk about the
Speaker 1: fact that he didn't train your hard enough. But just
Speaker 1: tell us a bit more about him, because he I mean,
Speaker 1: he had to suffered terribly when his son was injured
Speaker 1: later in life. But give us, give us a snapshot
Speaker 1: of Bobby Rose.
Speaker 2: Well, Bob Rose was. He was loyal.
Speaker 3: He of course he loved Collingwood, being a great player himself.
Speaker 3: He was an outstanding footballer.
Speaker 2: It was fair you played for him, and you know,
Speaker 2: I would love to see him.
Speaker 3: I used to say that would come some on, you know,
Speaker 3: give me a free and he said I can't do that,
Speaker 3: but I wanted to say, look, the other players don't know.
Speaker 2: But you know he was that.
Speaker 3: He was a kind man and yeah, and overall he was.
Speaker 3: He was very unlucky, he was. He had his foot
Speaker 3: on then till every time. You know, in sixty four
Speaker 3: when Ray Gabig's friend in the ground and actually kicked
Speaker 3: the ball to Gabbo that day when he was bouncing
Speaker 3: the ball and he nearly lost it about five time game.
Speaker 1: But it's legendary.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And then he said to me about I think
Speaker 3: end of season fifty said I I realized, He said,
Speaker 3: I hope I was running the right way.
Speaker 1: Well, he said, like a real character. Tell us about
Speaker 1: some of those characters, of those of those eras. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's the sixties when footy was.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, of course you had you had ray Ya,
Speaker 3: which he was. It was a great star, you know.
Speaker 3: And when when I his come to Collywood and he
Speaker 3: had players like in the sixties he had Lorrie Hill
Speaker 3: and Kenny turn and played with us and Errol Hutchinson
Speaker 3: and and of course he had Big Jobber, great Gray
Speaker 3: gablish Aud Graham, Fellows Graham.
Speaker 2: They called him job because of his elbows or whatever.
Speaker 3: But yeah, they were great, great, great players, you know,
Speaker 3: great icons around Collingwood, you know. But my first time
Speaker 3: there and we lost Maryweedam and in the end of
Speaker 3: sixty three and he went coaching up at Aulbry.
Speaker 2: But had we kept him, you know, the club should
Speaker 2: have kept him.
Speaker 3: And I think that's one thing over the years that
Speaker 3: Collingwood the administration was really strong enough to hold.
Speaker 2: Their great players. And the amount of money went he
Speaker 2: got up there.
Speaker 3: We could have doubled the money at Collingwood at that time,
Speaker 3: but they didn't do it.
Speaker 2: They did him go. And if he had played in
Speaker 2: sixty four, with doubt we would have.
Speaker 1: Won sixty six, of course, the one point lost to Securita.
Speaker 1: What were your emotions like that after that?
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course when you lose the game, but of
Speaker 2: course when your captain.
Speaker 3: And I played well in the second semi and not
Speaker 3: not boasting, but I did kick seven from the flank
Speaker 3: that day.
Speaker 2: And then of course I knew they were.
Speaker 3: Going to tag me with someone and I wanted to
Speaker 3: play in the center on Ian Stewart and Bob Rose
Speaker 3: would let me. But yeah, well I had the ball,
Speaker 3: we hit, we hit the front and then you know
Speaker 3: we're surely we're going to hang on here. But of
Speaker 3: course the ball went down and Barry Breen and Potter
Speaker 3: were contesting the ball and they gave Brien no no,
Speaker 3: they balled up, you know, but I still think pot
Speaker 3: of market.
Speaker 2: But then again it's it's but in here.
Speaker 3: Briene kicked it and then I was running down the
Speaker 3: ground and I had one.
Speaker 2: More bands probably I shoot for goal, and.
Speaker 3: And I kicked it down by Murray and Ian Graham
Speaker 3: and by Murray marked it and kicked it out and
Speaker 3: the winging the sron went.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it was really disappointing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, probably the most famous point in Barefield history that
Speaker 1: point of Barry Barry brains and then that's the only
Speaker 1: flag they've ever won. That's amazing when you think about it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is so. Yeah, I think even caboy Neil
Speaker 3: that day. I think I know that Breen gets all
Speaker 3: the all the praise for it. Kevil Nil kicked five goals.
Speaker 3: He is a great player. And yeah, so I think
Speaker 3: that's a very unique photo too, gram which we dropped.
Speaker 3: We swap jumpers and bulldog and I bulldogs in the
Speaker 3: colle jumper with thick cap, which amazing.
Speaker 1: Have you still got that jumper?
Speaker 2: Yes, I have.
Speaker 1: You've got Darryl Bolldock's Securita jumper.
Speaker 3: Well, I put it this way, I had it and
Speaker 3: that and a friend of mine turned forward and she
Speaker 3: was man man Seld. I gave him the jumper and
Speaker 3: she had the wisdom to give it to Seculda. It's
Speaker 3: in the museum there now. And Bullock before we pass away,
Speaker 3: he sent a jump my jumper back to me and
Speaker 3: I have my jumper.
Speaker 1: Oh well that's great. The famous fight of people haven't
Speaker 1: seen it. You've swapped jumpers sett in the cup and
Speaker 1: I love those stories. Des Tuttenham is my guest folks,
Speaker 1: we'll take a break back shortly. Welcome back to conversations everybody.
Speaker 1: If you just tuned in, we're chatting with Des Tuttenham.
Speaker 1: Des Tuddenham, one of the legends of the Collingwood Football
Speaker 1: Club and member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: Young fellow grew up in just outside of Ballarad and
Speaker 1: one of nine kids in a family, comes down and
Speaker 1: plays for the team. He barrick for Collingwood. Was captain
Speaker 1: of Collingwood and the sixty six Grand Final when they
Speaker 1: lost by a point to Saint Kilda. You were captain
Speaker 1: for a couple of years, Des, But tell us about
Speaker 1: the being widely reported, of course, but tell us about
Speaker 1: the wage dispute that you and Len Thompson had with
Speaker 1: the club, can.
Speaker 3: You He had elaborate and that was nineteen sixty nine,
Speaker 3: end of the nineteen sixty nine and I had a
Speaker 3: solicitor and at the time he was managing Bob Skilton
Speaker 3: and Bob Skoot was getting probably three times amount of
Speaker 3: money that I had I was getting and he said, well,
Speaker 3: captain of the greatest club, you should be getting more money.
Speaker 3: And so I took it on board with him, and
Speaker 3: then Len Thompson came with me. We asked for maybe
Speaker 3: six thousand dollars a year on the table. Of course,
Speaker 3: the the committee wouldn't discuss it with my solicitor. I
Speaker 3: had to manage it myself because they said, no, we
Speaker 3: don't have any outside.
Speaker 2: Managers, you know. So anyhow, as.
Speaker 3: It worked out and they wouldn't pay that money and
Speaker 3: they stood me down as captain.
Speaker 1: So that was about it would have been about child
Speaker 1: and fifty dollars a week, is that right?
Speaker 2: That's right?
Speaker 1: Okay? And you were what were getting.
Speaker 3: Well, I was probably getting around about three thousand a
Speaker 3: year before then, you know, so, but I was going
Speaker 3: to sign for four years, so that would have been
Speaker 3: but that would have been a.
Speaker 1: Steel So there was a bit of druggers. Peter Eggans
Speaker 1: came over from w Way and he was being paid
Speaker 1: a lot more.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it wasn't really to do with Peter. Peter and
Speaker 3: I were good mates and a lot of people confused
Speaker 3: themselves over that, and it was on my decision, not
Speaker 3: nothing to do with Peter, because what he was getting
Speaker 3: he was a good player and a good guy and
Speaker 3: we've always been great friends.
Speaker 2: And it was it was my decision probably now.
Speaker 3: Looking back, Graham, if if I'd had my time over again,
Speaker 3: I wouldn't have done it, because I think it probably
Speaker 3: stopped my career a little bit in the fortune of
Speaker 3: Collingwood as far as my opportunities were concerned. If I'd
Speaker 3: have if Golly and Frank Gobelly had a won in
Speaker 3: sixty nine, we had an election at that year and
Speaker 3: we got beaten, and I campaigned for Frank because we
Speaker 3: needed needed Frank. He would have been a young Idio
Speaker 3: McGuire like he would have had Collenward going and would
Speaker 3: have done anything for Collingwood because he just loved Colin.
Speaker 1: So he was he was a lawyer, wasn't it lawyer?
Speaker 1: And he was still still for president.
Speaker 3: Lovely man, all the family for years that have been
Speaker 3: the traditional Collingwood.
Speaker 2: He'd walk in when he's entourage before a game.
Speaker 3: He was just a beautiful man with it, you know,
Speaker 3: and he'd say, cutting them, you're going to win the day,
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 2: He was just a wonderful man.
Speaker 3: But anyhow, if he if he had won, he was
Speaker 3: going to make me playing coach of Clayvid in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 1: Oh, okay, did you get your Did you get a raise?
Speaker 1: Did you actually get a raise in pain?
Speaker 2: No, I didn't.
Speaker 3: I played We played on in sixty six in seventy
Speaker 3: without any extra money. You know, you had to play
Speaker 3: foot once you once you down, run down the race
Speaker 3: and put money. Money doesn't come into it. It's your game,
Speaker 3: it's your sport and the team, you know, or what
Speaker 3: you want to do for yourself and the team. So no,
Speaker 3: I took it on board away. We went and trained
Speaker 3: pretty hard in nine at the end of seventy or
Speaker 3: trained like man, you know, because Bobby Bobby Rose is
Speaker 3: going to make me captain again the following year, but
Speaker 3: he got airfraded by the committee.
Speaker 1: Committee weren't happy with you asking for more money by
Speaker 1: the sounds.
Speaker 2: Of that, No, probably not so.
Speaker 1: Were you and led good mates then Thims.
Speaker 2: And were then then and I a great friends.
Speaker 3: Yeah, of course we ran together with John Tolman when
Speaker 3: Bill Mitchell stopped John Toleman.
Speaker 2: We trained at the Corfield Racetrack every night. You know.
Speaker 2: We had Sam Kekey.
Speaker 3: Rich and we had Big McK nolan and John Murphy
Speaker 3: and Robert Dean and and Carmen trained with the Phil
Speaker 3: Carmen and you know, so and Tom I trained with
Speaker 3: us all the time, ran Corfield, very Goodingham.
Speaker 1: Even trained with us simply just running. I can't imagine
Speaker 1: me Coland doing too much running.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we used to move along. He kept going and
Speaker 3: he was he was. He was a fronty man, lovely
Speaker 3: man because.
Speaker 2: She would have known him.
Speaker 1: Remember clearly at North Melbourne night, bra Brass made us
Speaker 1: to ten laps and and Mick well, he trailed the
Speaker 1: he trailed the team, but he just kept plugging along.
Speaker 1: And I had an admiration for him because he didn't
Speaker 1: It was such a big man. He didn't. He didn't
Speaker 1: give up. He finished the ten laps.
Speaker 3: But yeah, no, he trained, he trained, He trained terrific
Speaker 3: and just a quick story on meck. He trained with
Speaker 3: us and he'd lost I think probably about twelve or
Speaker 3: ten kilos. With John, we used to run three or
Speaker 3: four lefts, which was probably six seven mile every night
Speaker 3: and Mick used to do that. Anyhow, he didn't drink
Speaker 3: for about two months and he asked John, I'm going
Speaker 3: back home to see me a fameric and I have
Speaker 3: a drink. And John wade him and say he was
Speaker 3: one hundred and twenty kilos. And when he came back
Speaker 3: on the Monday. He was one hundred and thirty one. Again,
Speaker 3: what and John Toyman said to him, He said, oh,
Speaker 3: he said, he said, I I did to have a drink.
Speaker 2: He said, yeah, but not two barrels.
Speaker 1: So John Toman, he was an athletic.
Speaker 2: Leticach year and any great runner himself. You know he's
Speaker 2: still he died last year, but he you know, good mates.
Speaker 3: We trained together every day in the summer and he
Speaker 3: worked for Audadats too. He did all the footwear promotions
Speaker 3: for Adadadas at the football clubs, so he was very
Speaker 3: much involved with football too.
Speaker 1: Tell us a bit more about Lenn Thompson. I mean
Speaker 1: those of us who knew him and played with him,
Speaker 1: it was just a wonderful athlete, great player. But tell
Speaker 1: us as a as a teammate. Give us a perspective
Speaker 1: of him for a younger generation who would not have
Speaker 1: seen him play.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, if he's playing today like he was so
Speaker 3: quick and so magile for his hid. You know, he
Speaker 3: could bend down and he could even touch his toes
Speaker 3: and picked the ball up on the run.
Speaker 2: And he was he was just a good, good competitor.
Speaker 2: You know that there was no Nats in his in
Speaker 2: him he was fair.
Speaker 3: All the time and he was a beautiful mark and
Speaker 3: a good kick. And he's one of those players who
Speaker 3: very reliable every week. He was a good he'd play
Speaker 3: every well. You rely on him doing well from the sender.
Speaker 3: Like all the road Wayne Richardson and Pricing and all
Speaker 3: those guys, they just love Tom Array like he was
Speaker 3: just a beautiful rutman, you know, the way he palmed
Speaker 3: the ball and in the day's game, he'd just be
Speaker 3: a super player.
Speaker 1: So I had to sell all these medals in the end,
Speaker 1: though I always thought that was a bit sad.
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, well he run in a few bit the
Speaker 3: hard times at the end then and actually worked for me.
Speaker 3: He worked for me at the end of his probably
Speaker 3: the end of his career. He's working for me when
Speaker 3: he unfortunate when he had the heart attack. And yeah,
Speaker 3: so he was with me for probably five years and
Speaker 3: I was very happy about it. Was helping him and
Speaker 3: support him over the last few years. And his family,
Speaker 3: all his children get on terrific with them, and you know,
Speaker 3: so they were they're very close to my family.
Speaker 1: So they stripped you of the Collingwood Captain c. But
Speaker 1: I played against you in nineteen seventy one at the
Speaker 1: MCG and you were the Victorian captain. How did that happen?
Speaker 3: Well, thanks Tommy Hafey. He was Jim Crowe was chairming
Speaker 3: and selected from Commingwood and of course I wasn't captain
Speaker 3: and Jim asked Tom Avey, said who are we going
Speaker 3: to make captain? And tom said there's only one good
Speaker 3: captain in Australia. He said that's studdy. He said, well,
Speaker 3: he said he's not captain of their club. And Tommy
Speaker 3: Havevey said that said e f and silly you guys are,
Speaker 3: and he made me captain, Tom Hayfey. So that's where
Speaker 3: I got. And Tommy was a beautiful man, lovely coach
Speaker 3: and a good man.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: Well you we liked his fitness regimen. It sounds like
Speaker 1: you're doing pretty much the same stuff that Tommy used
Speaker 1: to do every morning. You're running and your push ups
Speaker 1: and you Yeah.
Speaker 3: I started with Tommy in nineteen seventy two after the
Speaker 3: state came that I was leaving in Mentor and we
Speaker 3: went down there and I started and he started me
Speaker 3: on the way with that morning regime and it's been terrific.
Speaker 3: You know, but Tommy was straightforward. She's demands were good
Speaker 3: and that everyone just played for him, because I think
Speaker 3: he said a wonderful example himself, in his own character
Speaker 3: and his own presence.
Speaker 1: Graham Tuttenham's my guest, folks back shortly we're speaking with
Speaker 1: Des Tudenham. One of the greats of the game is
Speaker 1: in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. Is in the
Speaker 1: Collingwood Team of the Century Collingwood captain, although when he
Speaker 1: asked for a bit more money they took the captaincy
Speaker 1: off him. Captain Victoria, you moved to Essendon there for
Speaker 1: a while. What caused that?
Speaker 3: Well, so Tommy's credit game in We were playing state
Speaker 3: football in Perth in prior to the game, and of
Speaker 3: course Big John Nichols. This is a team that there,
Speaker 3: John Nichols and Wedley, Matthews and Sheedy and all those.
Speaker 2: They run to me.
Speaker 3: And tom maybe asked me to address the players before
Speaker 3: the game. I did, and Alan Hurd was there, the
Speaker 3: president of at that time James father, and he listened
Speaker 3: to me. He speaks to the players and address him.
Speaker 3: And probably a week later he gave me a call
Speaker 3: and said you're instant Coachingdon and that's where it started.
Speaker 1: Joe Have was it to leave?
Speaker 2: It was hard?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I probably at that time Conny would I think
Speaker 3: they pointed neil Man will neil Man compared to my
Speaker 3: regime in football and fitness and was a long way away.
Speaker 2: And I would love to coach Connie at that time.
Speaker 3: That's a great players like mckinna and Carmen, which some
Speaker 3: brothers and Potter and all those great players you know.
Speaker 3: And mckinna of course, he was just a grateful forward
Speaker 3: and and by the way, a very good friend of mine, Peter.
Speaker 3: So that's where yeah, I went to went to and
Speaker 3: Jim Matthews and David Shaw because David played for Incident
Speaker 3: and they got.
Speaker 2: Me into Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3: I didn't enjoy the time. There was wonderful the time
Speaker 3: of rebuilding.
Speaker 1: But you went back to Collingwood. How did it end?
Speaker 1: It was?
Speaker 2: I went back to Collingwood as captain.
Speaker 3: That was in nineteen seventy six when Murray Whedon was
Speaker 3: of course coach. That was that was That was when
Speaker 3: they won the Wooden Spirit the first time. So I
Speaker 3: had a great corrector Wooden Spiren. But thankfully legit Nathan
Speaker 3: Backley got one later. But yeah, mate ledhaman was he was,
Speaker 3: he had no no go when he was a coach,
Speaker 3: he had no idea and Murray knew that and he
Speaker 3: always said, you know, so sorry, I could go forward
Speaker 3: and that nearly during the year ern Clark and Marry
Speaker 3: Whedham when they had to dispute the president of ern
Speaker 3: Clark and I was hoping the ended Murray, Murray get
Speaker 3: the flick and I get the job, and yeah, that
Speaker 3: would have been good.
Speaker 1: When did you know it was the end?
Speaker 3: Well, the Tom Tommy came in seventy seven and then
Speaker 3: I played three games, three games with Tom down sin
Speaker 3: Kilda and I did my need and I'm sorry they didn't.
Speaker 3: I might have been ready for the I would have
Speaker 3: got ready for the Grand Final, the finals, you know
Speaker 3: it would have been But no, that was the end.
Speaker 2: You knew straightaway go and that was the end. And
Speaker 2: I hung on the boots up and that was it,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: And did you play afterwards in the completely?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I gave away. Yeah, a few few clubs wanted
Speaker 2: me to play. But now I've done. You know, you
Speaker 2: know when you're done. And now I gave it away
Speaker 2: and that was that was it, you know.
Speaker 3: And I coached the local team that put Melbourne Colts
Speaker 3: and for two years and yeah we went all. I
Speaker 3: brought all the young boys up and we won a
Speaker 3: premiership undefeated actually the second year.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I enjoyed befooting.
Speaker 3: And I'm still now involved with the Life Members AFL
Speaker 3: Life Members. I've been president of that now for number
Speaker 3: of years and I enjoy that mensely.
Speaker 1: So your son Paul played for Collywood.
Speaker 2: Too, Yes he did. Paul played forty three.
Speaker 1: Games and what of the sort of pressure he was under.
Speaker 3: I always wanted him to go maybe another club isn't
Speaker 3: or something like that, but he wanted to play Collingwood.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was probably had He handled it pretty well.
Speaker 2: I never went near him, you know.
Speaker 3: It was his choice and I never interfered him. Only
Speaker 3: once his boots at home one morning and said throw
Speaker 3: him on the roof and he said, what are you doing,
Speaker 3: d I said, you'll never make league football on is
Speaker 3: you train hard?
Speaker 2: And John Toleman.
Speaker 3: He went and trained with John Tolman and did the
Speaker 3: running a game too and made the difference. And he's
Speaker 3: done well in business. He's on the board actually now
Speaker 3: at Collingland on the committee.
Speaker 2: So he's doing a.
Speaker 1: Great jobs a hotel here, is he not?
Speaker 3: He buys the properties and leases them out he has. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so he's been property development for another years. And yeah,
Speaker 3: I've done all his demolition work for him. No freed
Speaker 3: back yet.
Speaker 1: I want to go back to you through his boots
Speaker 1: on the roof.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well if he didn't, he was too slow and
Speaker 3: he was a beautiful reader of the game and and
Speaker 3: and a beautiful kick, but he wasn't quick enough and
Speaker 3: he took on the running and that's where that's where
Speaker 3: he went forward.
Speaker 1: How did he get the boots down?
Speaker 2: Probably? Still?
Speaker 1: So you went into business after foot heat, did you not?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah I did.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, I've been in scrap metal for a number
Speaker 3: of years now, you know, buy and sell in Melbourne.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good industry. I love it.
Speaker 3: I really enjoy it still every day involved in and
Speaker 3: you meet wonderful people and you know, probably opens the doors,
Speaker 3: but you still have to do the work.
Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. But did you have not have a plastic
Speaker 1: manufacturing business as well?
Speaker 2: Yes? I did. Yeah.
Speaker 3: We made plastic football for for three or four years
Speaker 3: Irons on Soul, but I used to sell the coals.
Speaker 3: We used to do the ones that weren't the heavy
Speaker 3: projection ones. We used to do injection molding with the
Speaker 3: bit heavier one. But yeah, we used to sell seventy
Speaker 3: eighty thousand footballs a year.
Speaker 1: What did you know about plastic football making?
Speaker 2: Nothing? Nothing.
Speaker 3: I just bought it and one of the guys that
Speaker 3: worked there was very talented and very capable and taught
Speaker 3: me how to run the machines or whatever you get.
Speaker 1: So do you go to the footy? Do you watch
Speaker 1: the footy?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, go go each week, go with my family.
Speaker 3: They my daughter Megan and her family and of course
Speaker 3: Paul Goes been on the committee.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I go to football every week.
Speaker 3: My friend in Melbourne's Carlton, So I go and watched
Speaker 3: the Carlton games too.
Speaker 1: So I that that can be frustrated watching Carton play
Speaker 1: at times it is.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't say much, but I am we watching
Speaker 3: Mois years.
Speaker 1: What do you think of the modern game?
Speaker 3: I Graham, the football never change. When I say never change.
Speaker 3: If you haven't got the football, you can't win. And
Speaker 3: I know it's a running game and the movement game.
Speaker 2: And not as positional as what it was.
Speaker 3: And I just at the game the other the night
Speaker 3: with colly Wood and port Adelaide, and.
Speaker 2: I said, they don't I look at the look at
Speaker 2: the look at the ground.
Speaker 3: You know, from the center square up there is no one,
Speaker 3: you know, so we'd probably like to see players drop
Speaker 3: back a little bit.
Speaker 2: But yeah, the game is still good to watch. I
Speaker 2: enjoy it. I'm a modern thinker.
Speaker 3: I don't think of the past, and you've got to
Speaker 3: and the young players that playground, the terrific guys you know,
Speaker 3: like the Going and all those guys you meet, they're
Speaker 3: terrific guys and they're part of our community. And I
Speaker 3: know their game is really good still and I like it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they have to be fitter, faster, stronger,
Speaker 1: skills have to be better. But it's I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: a bit the other way. I mean, I mean I
Speaker 1: liked them the modern game. Obviously we watch it, but
Speaker 1: I mean I love talking about the old days. I
Speaker 1: love the nostalgia footy as it used to be. And
Speaker 1: we'll speaking to someone like yourself. I mean, it's a
Speaker 1: that's a great interest to me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 3: I'd love to see you full forward saying that square
Speaker 3: once you know, just and they have to go mind him,
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 2: Now they're all there.
Speaker 3: Robots as such, you know, they just up and down
Speaker 3: the ground. But yeah, in our time was terrific. You
Speaker 3: had to go and play on like our the peoples
Speaker 3: for instance, that incident, you know, like the cooker barrow.
Speaker 3: He never stopped talking and you pick up a player
Speaker 3: each week and Francis Burke he wouldn't say word, but
Speaker 3: he wouldn't like a.
Speaker 2: Leech on you. So those days are terrific.
Speaker 3: But now, of course tagging and all that stuff, Yeah,
Speaker 3: it is there, but not as much as when we
Speaker 3: play ground when you.
Speaker 1: Catch up with old teammates. What's what's the crowd look like?
Speaker 1: Who do you? Who do you? Who's in the crowd?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 1: Yeah, of old teammates, Yeah.
Speaker 3: Wayne Richardson and Peter mckinner And sometimes one of your
Speaker 3: emouth comes out over he's a character of his characters ever.
Speaker 3: And but yeah, I see a lot of the pass players,
Speaker 3: if you you know. And of course we're them involved
Speaker 3: with the life members too, Big John Nichols on our
Speaker 3: committee and we're good friends.
Speaker 2: And Collins and you know all the players.
Speaker 3: That David Park and although yeah, I get the mixes
Speaker 3: them a lot, and you know, get the opportunity to
Speaker 3: meet Andrew Dillon and as chairman the CEO, and he's
Speaker 3: very good to communicate with.
Speaker 2: He's fantastic to the game. So yeah, I'm still involved
Speaker 2: in all that, which is it's a great interest for me.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't I don't want to harp on the past.
Speaker 1: But if you had one memory, if you've got one,
Speaker 1: one memory, one great memory of your of your time
Speaker 1: in footy, just as we wrap it up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, probably you know, Captain of Victoria.
Speaker 3: I think I was the first way ever to be
Speaker 3: Captain of Victoria, not Captain Rige Club.
Speaker 2: But that was a great shrill from my mom and dad.
Speaker 3: I think that's a film for your family and you know,
Speaker 3: to run down the race and the big brillion. Prior
Speaker 3: to the game, Tom Hovey got my dad in and
Speaker 3: he took him around introducing all the.
Speaker 2: Players and said this is a captain you know, like
Speaker 2: to see dad do. That was a marbles thrill for me,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: So yeah, And of course Captain of Collingwood and played
Speaker 3: a few games, had had a wonderful time in football
Speaker 3: and logs of Ted Whitten and Knuckles Curly and I
Speaker 3: were great mates, and Barras all those all those guys
Speaker 3: you know, skills to really time and I think you'd
Speaker 3: probably highlight one. But we're very lucky. In our time
Speaker 3: it was on television. We did everything together with Mirke Wimson,
Speaker 3: so that period of time was amazing.
Speaker 1: It's been a great career Tuddy. So it's great to
Speaker 1: see you in such good health. I mean, eighty two
Speaker 1: years young, you've still got all your hair, still doing
Speaker 1: all that fitness work. It's a it's an amazing career
Speaker 1: and thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2: It's a great pleasure, Graham.
Speaker 1: I've enjoyed immensely just Tuttenham was my guest. Folks, thank
Speaker 1: you for joining us.