Melbourne’s 1964 premiership team was not full of stars, but it was united behind the great Norm Smith

MELBOURNE’S 1964 premiership team was not full of stars, although it had its share, but it was united behind the great coach Norm Smith.

Reunion, 50 years on, of 1964 Melbourne Premiership team Picture : Mike Keating

MELBOURNE’S 1964 premiership team was never regarded as the greatest collection of football talent ever assembled.

Legendary coach Norm Smith’s brother Len, also an eminent coach, told him it was the best of his six Grand Final triumphs “because you didn’t have a bloody side”.

Be that as it may, the surviving members of the Demons’ last successful campaign will not be short of points of pride _ on and off the field _ to discuss when they reassemble for their golden anniversary at the traditional Queen’s Birthday encounter with Collingwood today.

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And they will be well within their rights to conclude that, hey, they were scarcely scrubbers, either.

In many eyes Smith was and remains the greatest coach ever — immortalised by a statue at the MCG — and the captain, Ron Barassi, was a superstar player who became a great coach and is arguably the most famous name in the game.

Barassi, Brian Dixon and Hassa Mann made All-Australian teams, while Frank Adams, Don Williams, Tassie Johnson, Brian Roet, Tony Anderson, Neil Crompton, Barry Bourke, Bryan Kenneally, Ray Groom and Frank Davis played for Victoria.

* Key averages for premiership team members.

For some, footy wasn’t their only claim to fame.

Dixon, an AFL Hall of Famer, was elected to State Parliament during that season, going on to become the Minister for Sport, while Groom, who missed the Grannie with injury, became Premier of Tasmania and emergency Bob Miller spent seven years in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

Crompton played 45 first-class cricket matches and Graeme Watson five Tests.

Kenneally, one of the organisers of the reunion, has researched a fascinating document that serves as a reminder of what a very different world it was 50 years ago _ and not just for footballers.

Sir Robert Menzies was Prime Minister and Sir Henry Bolte was Premier, the Beatles were on tour, ATV0 (now Channel 10) went to air, Eddie McGuire, Dermott Brereton and Mark Taylor were born _ and ballet legend Sir Robert Helpmann persuaded Barassi to help him train his dancers.

1964 premiership teammates Brian Dixon (left) and Bluey Adams sharpen up their handball at training.

The 12 VFL teams played only on Saturday afternoons — except when the Demons played Collingwood on the Queen’s Birthday holiday — and the players all had jobs. The Melbourne list included eight salesmen, nine clerks, five teachers, three plumbers, two architects, two farmers and one doctor.

Centre half-back Brian Roet’s medical studies often meant he would work in a hospital all Friday night and catch up on his zeds as he was being rubbed down before the game.

The Melbourne players were all paid the same — 10 pounds, soon to become $20 — with a little extra for the captain and vice-captain, with a provident fund top-up after five years and 50 games. Some preferred to retain an amateur status in case they wanted to pursue athletics or tennis, which were still lilywhite.

Missed training sessions because of work were common but there was a limit to what you could get away with. Smith once dropped Dixon because he played in a semi-social University match during the week.

There was one field umpire, coaches were allowed onto the ground at quarter-time for the first time and there were no 50m penalties or frees for kicking out on the full.

“If you kicked the ball backwards it probably meant you were suffering from concussion and would miss two games to recover,” Kenneally says.

Players’ reunion, 50 years on, of the 1964 Melbourne premiership team. Picture: Mike Keating

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Originally published as Melbourne’s 1964 premiership team was not full of stars, but it was united behind the great Norm Smith