Things were looking bleak for Jack Green at the beginning of the 1967 season.

Despite a family heritage that stretched back to the early days of the century, and three seasons with the under-19s and reserves, Jack had lost his place on the senior list.

But rather than be discouraged, he instead fought back with the determination his family had been famous for, and actually managed to play his first senior game by halfway through that year. It was a gutsy effort.

He followed with 17 more senior games over the next two years before his Collingwood career came to a close. When it did, it brought to an end one of the more remarkable family connections in football.

Jack’s father and grandfather had both played for Collingwood. That is rare enough in itself – but all three were named Jack Green! That created plenty of confusion for historians over the journey.

The ‘original’ Jack Green was a half-back who played 108 games between 1911 and 1918, including the 1917 Premiership. One of his sons, also named Jack, played 127 games for the Pies as a tough defender between 1938 and 1949. And one of his sons, also named Jack, was the one who continued carrying the family tradition in the 1960s.

He came to Victoria Park from Broadford in 1964, managing a single game with the under-19s that year. He played 15 more with the thirds in 1965, being part of a Premiership, and in 1966 added seven more at that level but also graduated to the reserves, where he played 10 games.

At this point it seemed like a fairly standard grounding of a young player, gradually making his way through the ranks. But his removal from the senior list at the start of 1967 changed all that.

Jack’s response – fighting back to earn a senior debut against Geelong in Round 12 – was typical of the fight for which the Green family was renowned. Jack’s dad was a tough and feared defender in the 1940s, and the younger Jack exhibited many of the same traits. He was also a defender, although he was tall enough to sometimes hold down a key post as well as a flank. He was tough as old boots, and never shirked any kind of contest – in fact, he sought them out. He was also a raking drop kick when clearing from defence.

But he never quite settled into the team after a promising 1968 season where he played 11 games. He managed only six more the following year, and left Victoria Park at the end of the season. He then went to Cooee in Tasmania for a year, followed by a couple of seasons with Preston in the VFA, before crossing to Epping in 1973. He would then return home to Broadford, where he became a legend of the Broadford Kangaroos and a key part of the club’s 1984 Premiership. A highly popular local known widely as ‘Sonno’, Jack was part of the club’s and community’s fabric.

The same was true at Collingwood, where three generations of Jack Greens had ensured the family a remarkable place in the history books – one that may never be repeated.