Collingwood Forever

Guy Moore

Moore was recruited to Collingwood from the Coburg Juniors. Do you know more about Guy Moore’s time at Collingwood? If you have any further information, please email the team at Collingwood Media on forever@collingwoodfc.com.au.

Murray Murrell

Ex-East Coburg.

Jack Carroll

From St Pats College, Sale.

Ernie Eiffler

Ex-Subiaco.

Laurie Gallagher

Rarely can a one-game player’s career have been as drama-packed as that of Laurie Gallagher. Gallagher, a burly, bustling half-bank flanker/utility player, had crossed to Collingwood from Fitzroy before the 1945 season. He had spent 1944 with the Maroons without cracking it for a senior game, having previously played with Abbotsford in the sub-district competition. He played the first four…

Peter McLaren

Sometimes it just takes the smallest twist of fortune to shape a promising football career one way or the other. And in the case of Peter McLaren, that twist may well have come behind the wheel of his car. It was back in May of 1945, and McLaren had just made his senior debut for the Pies in the Round…

Len Fitzgerald

Len Fitzgerald remains one of the youngest men ever to play League football, first pulling on a jumper in the seniors just days before his 16th birthday. He had played more than 90 games with the Magpies before his 21st birthday, and had already won a reputation as one of the most versatile and valuable players in the game. Many…

Neil Mann

It seems hard to believe of a player who ended up captaining Collingwood, winning the Copeland and twice placing in the Brownlow Medal, but Neil Mann never really thought he would make it as a League footballer. He was born at Diamond Creek – what Collingwood fans like to think of as ‘Coventry Country’ – the youngest of nine children.…

Bill Twomey Jnr

It was only one line in a tiny, single-paragraph story in the Sporting Globein May of 1943. But the brevity of the reference shouldn’t disguise its significance. “On Saturday, the 15-year-old son of former Magpie Bill Twomey, former star wingman, signed up [with Collingwood].” That piece of news was significant for two reasons. The first is that it represented a…

Ray Riddell

From East Brunswick and Northcote. Riddell only played five matches in a VFL career interrupted by the Second World War, but he had a front row seat to one of the most bruising finals on record. He was Collingwood’s 19th man in the 1945 preliminary final against Carlton at Princes Park. Playing only his third match, and his only one…

Allan Brown

When Allan Brown made his debut for Collingwood in 1945, optimism was finally returning to Victoria Park. The Second World War would soon be over. So too, thankfully, would one of the Magpies’ bleakest periods on record – the years from 1940-44 had been desperately difficult. But 1945 was the start of that changing, and Allan Brown was a part of…

Bill Dalkin

Ex-Wonthaggi ruckman/defender.

George Nelson

Dave Newman

Newman was recruited via Fitzroy District.

Charlie Utting

Has there ever been a player more committed to Collingwood – not only the football club but also the suburb and its people – than Charlie Utting? For a start he was a third generation local lad with strong connections to the football club. His uncle Ern had played 16 games for the Pies in the early 1920s and was…

Phil George Ryan

Ryan was a handy ruckman and forward from Preston Churches.

Mac Holten

A classy half-forward flanker and centreman from Old Scotch, Holten had an unobtrusive style, and was an excellent mark and a fine kick. Holten was also a fine cricketer with Melbourne and later became a Federal MP. In 1947 when Collingwood was enduring a lean trot, Holten, Jack Burns and Lou Richards called a players’ meeting, but when club secretary…

Len Hustler

A vigorous ruckman from Abbotsford, he was the subject of controversy when coach Jock McHale chose to leave him in the forward pocket in the 1945 preliminary final rather than relieve the tiring Alan Williams. The Magpies lost the game.

Des Negri

Ex-East Melbourne CYMS and CBC Victoria Parade. He made his debut as an 18 year-old.

Kevin Wade

From Northcote CYMS, Wade started as a half-forward then developed into a steady half-back flanker.

Tom Wallis

In 1946 there were few bigger names in football than Essendon’s triple Brownlow Medallist Dick Reynolds. So when Collingwood finished second on the ladder that year, and faced up to the Bombers in the second semi-final, the Magpies knew that if they were to have any chance, they’d need to find a way to keep Reynolds quiet. And that’s where…

Ken Herbert

Ex-Collingwood District and Collingwood Schoolboys.

Pat Dalton

Dalton was recruited from the Ivanhoe Amateurs. Do you know more about Pat Dalton’s time at Collingwood? If you have any further information, please email the team at Collingwood Media on forever@collingwoodfc.com.au.

Jack Burns

A winger, Burns’ main claim to fame came after his retirement. As a recruiting officer, he suggested the Magpies play Barry Harrison in the 1958 Grand Final, and it famously proved a winning move. Burns also served as Collingwood’s secretary in the early 1960s.

Lou Richards

Lou Richards was almost certainly the mostly widely known – and most loved – footballer that Collingwood has ever produced. Even those with little interest in football knew of Little Louie, thanks to his career on radio, television and in the press. In fact, he became so well known as a media personality that it was easy to forget what an…

Ron Smith

While they might never have captured the same attention as their contemporary colleagues the Richards, the Twomeys and the Roses, there is no questioning the dedication, commitment and talent shown by Collingwood’s less-famous Smith brothers in the 1940s and ‘50s. Ron, Stan and Jim Smith all gave great service in different ways. But of those three, Ron’s career stands out…

Harry Mears

Mears was recruited to Victoria Park from the Alphington Amateurs. He was a lightly built player who played in the forward pocket/ second rover position.    

Ron Carruthers

Carruthers was a a centreman/ wingman from Abbotsford and the father of Ron Junior.

Jack Green

The second of the three Jack Greens to pull on a Collingwood jumper, he gave the Magpies great service. He was 19th man in the losing 1939 Grand Final side and was used in a variety of roles that ranged across ruck, full-back, and centre half-back. Jack was the son of Jack W. Green, who played in Collingwood’s 1917 premiership.…

Don Balfour

Balfour played in defence in Collingwood’s losing 1938-39 Grand Final sides. He was the nephew of 1890s player and long-serving club official Bill Balfour.

Gordon Hocking

In days gone by – and not that long ago – representing your State was one of the greatest honours that could be bestowed upon a player. For those born in Victoria, pulling on the Big V was almost invariably a career highlight. So when Gordon Hocking captained a Victorian side that played Western Australia in Perth in 1951, it…

Alan Williams

Williams came from Parkdale Amateurs and Chelsea and was a strong, hard-working type of footballer. He rucked in the 1938 Grand Final and the following year was centre half-back in the team that was runner-up to Melbourne. He crossed to the VFA in 1946 and captained Williamstown.

Herb Naismith

The son of Wally Naismith, Herb was a follower recruited from the Alphington Amateurs.

Des Fothergill

Sometimes, when talking about players of the past, it is too easy to rhapsodise about their qualities: every player can easily, and perhaps undeservedly, become ‘one of the greats’ when viewed through the rose-coloured glasses of history. But every so often, the raw facts of a player’s career are so jaw-droppingly extraordinary that they render any argument about his greatness…

Jack Murphy

It’s generally well known that Collingwood’s legendary mentor Jock McHale coached his son, John, later known as ‘Jock Jr., in the early 1940s. But what is less widely recognised is that McHale’s nephew was also a part of the club during its most difficult decade – as a consistent defender and follower. His name was Jack Murphy, and he played…

Marcus Boyall

Some players make their mark in League football from the very beginning. Others take longer to find their feet at the top level – and some, of course, never do. Every player takes his own path to the top. But Marcus Boyall’s story is one of the most peculiar and perplexing in Collingwood’s history. He struggled to get a game…

Alby Pannam

Alby Pannam, more than most, should have felt right at home in the Collingwood change rooms. After all, his father had been a legend of the club in its earliest days, and oldest brother Charlie had been a star just a few years before he arrived there in the early 1930s. But Alby was small and slight, standing just 170cm…