VFL legends John Coleman, Ted Whitten, Charlie Sutton in rare colour film of 1953 finals
THIS precious colour film shows footy legend John Coleman months before his career-ending injury and Footscray star Ted Whitten during a golden age in the sport.
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VFL FINALS fever, 1953-style, is the subject of a rare colour film featuring footy greats John Coleman, Ted Whitten and Charlie Sutton.
This silent colour film is held by the National Film and Sound Archive, was clearly shot by a Bombers fan, and shows Essendon and Footscray clashing in the first semi-final at the MCG in September 1953.
It begins with a shot of a young fan folding up his beloved Essendon jumper for the season, then cuts to a close-up of the Bombers, led by Coleman, running down the race and through the banner.
Captain Bill Hutchison came out last as his men formed a line of honour to acknowledge his Brownlow Medal win that week.
Coleman was the most prominent player in the film, which missed Coleman’s one and only goal of the day but shows him in many marking duels against Footscray fullback Herb Henderson, named as the Bulldogs’ full back of the century.
Some were presented in slow motion.
It was a tough day at the office for Coleman, who can be seen wearing his famous number 10 guernsey as he battled to take a grab in winds that gusted to 100km/h.
Footscray ran out the winners in the scrappy, low-scoring match 6.13 (49) to 5.11 (41) but neither side made the grand final that year.
Collingwood defeated Geelong by 12 points for the 1953 flag.
The semi-final match was to be Coleman’s last VFL finals appearance after premiership wins in 1949 and 1950.
The forward played 98 games for Essendon between 1949 and 1954 and kicked 537 career goals — an average of 5.5 goals a game — before a dislocated knee cruelly ended his flourishing career in round eight of 1954.
He was Essendon’s leading goal kicker six times — every season he played, including 1954, when he was forced out of the game only eight round into the 18-round season.
Coleman coached Essendon to flags in 1962 and 1965, but died aged 44 from a sudden coronary atheroma in 1973.
Coleman was named at full forward in Essendon’s and the AFL’s team of the century.
Ted Whitten can be seen flashing through several packs in the film.
Then a youngster in his third season, Mr Football went on to a stellar 20-season career that ended in 1970 with 321 matches (then a VFL record), 360 goals and 29 State of Origin appearances.
He was in Footscray’s 1954 premiership side, was its captain-coach from 1957 to 1967, and from 1969 and 1970, when he retired as a player, and its coach in 1970 and 1971.
He was also a popular commentator on the game through the 1970s.
Whitten was also Coleman’s captain in the AFL team of the century.
He lost his battle with prostate cancer in 1995.
The great Footscray captain Charlie Sutton would have to wait another year for premiership glory.
He can be seen late in the film giving away a free kick to Essendon’s Lance Mann after tackling the wingman with backman Angus Abbey.
This game was Footscray’s first finals victory from seven finals appearances since 1938.
They were cleaned up by Geelong in the 1953 preliminary final, losing by 26 points.
Sutton served as a player from 1942 to 1955 in 173 games, as captain coach from 1951 until the first two games of 1956, his last as a player, and coach in 1956 and 1957, before he dumped mid-season for Whitten.
Whitten was relieved of coaching duties in favour of Sutton in 1967, serving until 1968.
He played for the Big V 18 times.
Sutton died in 2012, aged 88.
The footy film not only represents a golden age in the VFL, but shows glimpses of the MCG before the 1956 Olympics.
A crowd of more than 68,000 people packed the ground for the game in one of the three biggest attendances of the year.
Close-ups of footy fans and sweeping long shots of the old members and northern stands demonstrate the colour and comparative lack of comfort footy fans of the 1950s enjoyed.
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