Essendon Cricket Club marks 150th anniversary with inaugural Hall of Fame night
Essendon Cricket Club marked its 150th anniversary by bringing together legends of Windy Hill for an inaugural Hall of Fame induction.
Local Sport
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The legends of Essendon Cricket Club gathered at the MCG on Saturday night for a very special occasion.
Greats of Premier, state and international cricket came together to celebrate the Bombers’ 150th anniversary and induct the first 10 names into the club’s Hall of Fame.
Generations of stories were told as old teammates and friends reconnected.
Windy Hill’s best, old and new, celebrated the club’s storied history with a gala night and recognised some of the people that had given the most in black and red.
“The General” John Grant was honoured as the first inductee.
An 11-time club champion, dual Ryder Medallist and two-time premiership legend, Grant claimed 537 at 16.34 and hit 4030 runs in 191 games.
He also made 43 appearances for Victoria, taking 110 wickets and scoring 1172 runs.
Premiership teammate Keith Kirby was next.
Essendon’s all-time games record holder (262) and wicket-taker (623) took five wickets in an innings 39 times and was twice club champion.
Grant said he was lost for words.
“I’m very fortunate that my son and daughter and their partners are here. When you’re playing, of course, they’re not about so to have the opportunity to share something that I’ve enjoyed all my life is pretty special,” he said.
“We’ve been blessed, you hear the names read out of the people that have played cricket at Essendon, it’s amazing what a club like Essendon has done.
“I was 13 at the time and I walked in through the bowling club and there was a gentleman there, he said ‘g’day young fella, you looking for a hit’ and that was (Essendon captain) Noel Allanson.
“It wasn’t the best start, I played four games in the Fourths and made three ducks … the next year, a game against University and Gerald McPherson threw me the ball … and all of a sudden I became a bowler and I loved it, loved hurting them.”
Grant helped deliver Essendon its two premiership in 1963-64 and 1969-70 but remained disappointed there wasn’t another flag.
“We should have won three actually but that prick Bill Lawry stole the other one,” he joked.
“If I ever happen to ring him, which I do occasionally, he says to me ‘you’re still having nightmares aren’t you’. We should never have been beaten declaring after making 514.
“(Winning in 1963-64) unless you experience it, you don’t really understand how good it is and I know the boys in that team, we’re still good mates today.”
Only two standing ovations were given on the night, the first to Grant and the second to legendary scorer Michael Walsh.
Walsh arrived at Essendon in 1963-64, scoring for the Second XI, and has been a constant at Windy Hill ever since.
He has scored 730 First XI matches, including the club’s 1963-64 and 1969-70 premierships, seen 99 Tests, 228 One-Day Internationals, 186 First Class matches, 57 international and domestic T20s and saw Shane Warne’s “Gatting Ball” and Mark Taylor’s 334 in Pakistan.
Walsh was recognised for his services to cricket in 2021 with an Order of Australia Medal.
Arguably Essendon’s best modern-day products, Simon O’Donnell and Jamie Siddons were recognised for their contributions.
O’Donnell played 50 First XI matches for Essendon, scoring 891 runs and taking 83 wickets, as well as 83 First Class and 116 List A matches for Victoria and six Tests and 87 One-Day Internationals for Australia.
He was named International Cricketer of the Year in 1990-91 and was a member of the victorious 1987 World Cup squad.
Siddons, meanwhile, started out in Essendon’s Dowling Shield and became the greatest run-scorer in Sheffield Shield history.
The star batsman played 81 matches for the Bombers, scoring 2496 runs but scored 11,587 runs in 160 First Class matches for Victoria and South Australia, a record at the time and now third most.
The Robinvale native also scored 1755 runs in 70 List A matches and represented Australia in one One-Day International.
The pair were also the last of the generation to play both cricket and Aussie Rules at the highest level, O’Donnell for St Kilda and Siddons for Sydney.
O’Donnell said Essendon Cricket Club had allowed him to achieve so much in life.
“This sits a lot higher than the Test cricket record, because I was very ordinary at that,” he said.
“This is fantastic, I think as you get older you cherish even more what we went through and sitting with Peter McIntyre, Bruce Nunn, Graham Ross and Con Grapsis, it’s wonderful.
“There are five names that have been integral to my journey in cricket and life – Dixie Peters, Ronnie Hare is no longer with us, Geoff Tobin, Ken Collicoat was a super human and Graham Turner.
“Tonight, hearing stories from Granty and Kirbs and other wonderful players, if that helps some of our younger guys find something to go further in their cricket, then tonight’s done it’s job.”
Essendon’s all-time leading run-scorer Craig Berger was inducted and still plays today for Middle Park in Cricket Southern Bayside.
The stylish right-hander scored 7938 runs in 254 matches (second most in club history), took 229 wickets and was a six-time club champion.
Grant, Berger and fellow inductee Jack Stephens (6107 runs and 236 wickets) are the only players in club history to score more than 4000 runs and take more than 200 wickets.
Harry Nunn is Essendon’s greatest wicketkeeper, holding the club record for most dismissals (310) but was also club captain for eight seasons, club president for eight seasons and VCA delegate for 21 years
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George Davies (7303 runs) was a club president, VCA delegate for 34 years, Victoria state selector and Victoria’s ACB representative.
Victoria and Western Australia quick Matthew Inness made his Essendon debut as a 14-year-old and claimed 207 wickets in 102 games at an average of 16.54.
Such is the history of Essendon, the club could easily have inducted another 10 worthy greats.
No doubt, it will allow for more grand nights like Saturday in the coming years.
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