Almanac Footy: It was 50 years ago today…..the blackest day in my Collingwood life – John Greening
Fifty years ago today, a Collingwood player was cut down in his prime.
It affected me as a 14 year old at the game and still does, almost as much the 1970 Grand Final still affects me
It was Round 14 July 8 1972 and St. Kilda played Collingwood.
On the Friday evening of 7 July 1972, I was watching the Kevin Dennis Football Show hosted by Mike Williamson on Channel 7 where they previewed the games for the following day. It always used to go to air at 7 o’clock but this year (in its last year) it had been moved to the 10.30 pm timeslot).
As the Collingwood game against St. Kilda at Moorabbin came up for discussion, I remember looking at the St. Kilda line up and thinking, “We can beat this mob”. I was concerned as the Saints had had the wood over us in the last three games and were vying with the Magpies for a spot in the Five. It was a big game.
The preview by Bluey Adams then turned to the Collingwood side which was strengthened by the recent inclusions of Len Thompson and Peter McKenna from state duties. Adams said the Magpie defence would be crucial to the outcome of the game as would the Magpie centre line and on ball players. He also mentioned Collingwood’s big star in the centre for 1972, John Greening who was leading all the awards, would also be crucial to the outcome. That was like saying Nathan Buckley will have an influence on the game.
John Greening had been having a stellar season and at that stage of the year (after 13 rounds) John had 14 Brownlow votes and was surely going to be the Magpies’ next Brownlow Medallist.
Our family had this year moved to the south eastern suburbs just 5 minutes from Moorabbin, a ground I had never been to before. But the three of us (Dad, older brother and I) were ready to go to the big game.
We positioned ourselves under the main scoreboard on the outer wing and waited for the game to commence.
From the opening bounce, John Greening got a free kick and booted the ball deep into the forward line at the Nepean Highway end. As the players fought for the ball, I heard someone yell, who is that on the ground?
We turned and saw the crumpled figure of a Magpie lying face down on the turf in front of the player’s race. Jostling started between the players as trainers rushed frantically to the fallen figure.
Someone yelled, “It might be John Greening” and my stomach turned. It was John Greening. One St.Kilda player came over for a look gave him a prod with his foot as if Greening was a dead dog. After some minutes during which time Greening had not moved a muscle, he was taken off on a stretcher and up the race.
Everyone was upset and the Collingwood fans in the outer were momentarily hushed. Our thoughts were that John would have concussion and miss the next week and be back the week after.
No one had seen who had felled John behind the play or the circumstances behind it. But the hush turned to loud and angry screams as the Collingwood crowd turned on any St. Kilda player within earshot.
As soon as John was taken off the game recommenced with some of the most vicious football I have ever had the misfortune to view. There was sniping, elbows fighting and scuffles that littered the next three quarters. As a result it was a very low scoring game not helped by the fact that it was a windy day. Player were constantly looking over their shoulders and who could blame them
It was a battle of defences with McKenna being held quite comfortably by Cowboy Neale up to three quarter time.
Collingwood’s backline was superb. They were ably led by Ted Potter at centre half back on Barry Breen, Ross Dunne in the back pocket on the resting ruckman, and Con Britt in the other back pocket on the resting rover. Britt was starring in the back pocket in 1972 after earlier in the year asking for a clearance to the VFA as he thought his race was run.
At three quarter time it was 4.11.35 to 3.12.30 with the Pies holding a slender lead going toward the South road end in the last quarter.
In this quarter the Magpies took control of the game kicking 5 goals (all McKenna) to St. Kilda one goal and running out winners by 30 points. Len Thompson dominated Carl Ditterich in the ruck, with 21 kicks, 15 marks, 12 hit outs and 4 handballs. The other inspiration was from Wayne Richardson the Collingwood captain.
We left happy knowing the Pies were in the five again and also hoping Greening would only miss one week.
When we got home my Dad told me to ring Collingwood and I asked why. He said he was concerned with the fact the John Greening had not moved at all from the time he was felled to the time he went up the player’s race. I did ring the club and to my astonishment someone answered. I asked if John Greening was OK and they said yes he was fine and only in hospital under observation.
My Dad felt relieved. Seeing my Dad was concerned though made me worried.
The next day on World of Sport we heard that Greening was still in hospital. OK we thought, it must be a heavier concussion and he wont play next week.
Neil Mann the Collingwood coach came on Club Corner and when asked whether Greening would play next week, answered, “not only don’t we know if he will play again this season, he may not play again at all”. Mann revealed that the Collingwood doctors had actually feared for John’s life. One of the Collingwood club doctors stayed in hospital the entire Saturday night to be by John’s bedside. Allan Jeans fidgeted nervously in the chair next to Mann.
Mann also said that although he didn’t see what happened he knew who was Greening’s opponent at the time, though he didn’t mention his name. We all know now it was Jim O’Dea.
Neil Mann went on to say John Greening was a true sportsman and did not deserve that type of treatment. “He is a complete ball player. There is serious doubt that John will ever be able to play football again.”
I couldn’t speak after hearing this and we all got very upset. We couldn’t believe it.
During the course of the day news reports came through on the radio that there may be a police investigation into what happened and that the AFL may launch their own inquiry seeing as no on was reported on the day.
On the Monday morning in The Age, Peter McKenna who was a guest columnist for the game for the day wrote:-
“What a rotten, dirty, filthy bit of business that was at Moorabbin on Saturday. Poor John Greening just didn’t know who, or what, hit him. There he was passing the ball into the forward line one moment, the next he was lying on the ground motionless.
“King hit. Unconscious. Awfully still.
“I doubt if anybody actually saw the incident. But everybody knows who did it. We know who did it.
“There were some pretty jumpy players on that field after poor John was taken off on the stretcher, and it reflected in the standard of play, and the standard of the fighting.
“The big message cam from Neil Mann at quarter time. We were all still hopping mad. He said there will be no retaliation. We will get back at them where it hurts the most, on the scoreboard.”.
McKenna concluded his article by stating, “I’m sure most people will understand if in the circumstances, I don’t say too much about the opposition.”. No Peter , we didn’t.
The reports on Monday morning said John Greening was semi-conscious in the Alfred Hospital after being flattened in the first minute of the game at Moorabbin. A hospital spokesman said Greening was pretty much in the same condition he was when admitted on Saturday.
John’s then wife Ruth (John was 21 Ruth was 20) who was in Tasmania at the time rushed to be by John’s bedside.
Tom Sherrin the Collingwood president said the club was more concerned about Greening’s health rather than seeking to punish anyone.
Collingwood officials said Greening was struck from behind just below the ear and the blow occurred well behind the ball. Greening slumped to the ground face first, his fall unbroken as he was unconscious before he hit the ground. He lay motionless.
By the Tuesday following the game, Collingwood officials were saying justice must be done.
On that Tuesday, John was finally taken off the seriously ill list. Collingwood were calling for witnesses. General Manger of Collingwood Peter Lucas said the Premier should instigate a police investigation into the incident.
John drifted into and out of a coma for a fortnight after the incident. When eventually released he had to undergo extensive physical rehabilitation to learn how to walk and talk again as well as all the other things we all take for granted.
It was not until the start of 1974 that he was well enough to start football training again with his sole aim to prove that he was alright. He was affected by people saying he had brain damage (which he did suffer) and wanted to prove them wrong.
He played in a Reserves game at Victoria Park early in May 1974 against Geelong where he starred and where the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he left the ground.
The following week, with Neil Mann coaching Victoria, and the Magpie side due to play the reigning premiers Richmond at the MCG, Greening was selected for his comeback game.
What a game it was. He took a speccy mark, kicked two goals, gathered twenty odd kicks and was at the foot of the pack when Billy Picken took the winning mark of the year. Greening was arguably the best player on the ground.
Years later he said after that game where he had achieved what he wanted to (showing everyone one he was OK), he lost interest. He suffered soft tissue injuries, had problems with eye sight and his coordination and speed were never the same again.
He had played 98 out of a possible 99 after his debut for the Pies in Round 5 1968 to that fateful Saturday in 1972. He then played only 8 further games to 1976 the year in which he played in the Reserves Grand Final team which won the premiership.
In 1977 he left the VFL and played in a premiership with Port Melbourne. He then went on to play for Chelsea on the Peninsula, then back to Tasmania. He is now a bookmaker on the Gold Coast.
The perpetrator of the despicable act Jim O’Dea, was hauled before the tribunal and suspended for 10 games. But he came back and played until 1980, became Reserves coach for St. Kilda, a board member and was a nominee for the St. Kilda Hall of Fame in 2003.
If anyone ever feels any sympathy for St. Kilda then you don’t barrack for Collingwood.
For the record-
St. Kilda v Collingwood
Q1: 2.5.17 2.5.17
Q2: 3.8.26 3.8.26
Q3: 3.12.30 4.11.35
Q4: 4.13.37 9.13.67
Goalkickers: McKenna 7, Atkinson, Thompson.
Best players: Thompson, Britt, Potter, Dunne, Clifton, Wayne Richardson, Max Richardson, Atkinson, McKenna
To return to the www.footyalmanac.com.au home page click HERE
Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.
Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help keep things ticking over please consider making your own contribution.
Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE
One-off financial contribution – CLICK HERE
Regular financial contribution (monthly EFT) – CLICK HERE
John Greening was not the only player to be knocked out behind the play. Collingwood’s Duncan Wright felled Essendon’s John Somerville in the 1965 Preliminary Final. Collingwood cut Wright from its list and he never played for us again. If St Kilda had half the principles that the Magpies have Round 14 1972 would have been O’Dea’s last VFL match. Instead, as Magpie Greg wrote, he ended up being a candidate for St Kilda’s hall of Fame. I hope they continue to be the most unsuccessful team in the VFL/AFL.
There was some heavy crap going down at Collingwood in those days. First was the 1970 grand final, which blighted Collingwood for a generation. Then came the all in brawl between president Tom Sherrin and ex captain Des Tuddenham, which meant that our best player, one who could have protected Greening, departed for Essendon. Then came the Greening tragedy. Coach Bobby Rose departed for Footscray, where unbelievable tragedy happened on the field with the accident that disabled Neil Sachse, and the car crash which disabled the coaches own son Robert.
When we finally got rid of Sherrin, his replacement Ern Clarke had a messy stoush with coach Murray Weidemann which led to the wooden spoon. We finally got sensible and employed a professional proven coach, instead of the succession of “favorite sons” that Sherrin inflicted on us. Shades of last decade!
Then our best player Carman got himself suspended before the 1977 grand final, which was a draw instead of a win. Coach Hafey had a huge stoush with Carman the following year and Carman left for Melbourne. Four years later Hafey was gone…
We then stuffed around for 8 years, until the miracle of the 1990 premiership finally happened. But tragedy was just around the corner, when our best player, Darren Millane, was killed in a car crash. It set us back again, and it would be a long 12 years before we won another final.
We are the family club, an Irish family! We hate each other like poison and treat each other like garbage but still reconcile in the end, until the next crisis happens. Everyone comes back, except Warwick Irwin.
Memory is fading but I’m pretty sure I was at the comeback game. Greening was everywhere and brilliant. Even as a Richmond supporter I was excited to see such a talented player excel
Horrible episode Greg.
In those days there was no live TV coverage. The TV was still in black and white mode; re footy coverage there was only the replay to watch post match, except on channel 7’s match of the day where they’d cross to the ground at the end of each term for an update. That day I recall listening to Geelong V Essendon on 3GL but as a young tacker I was only too happy to look at the TV during the breaks in the match of the day. It was St Kilda Vs Collingwood. There was mention of the episode but the details were sparse. Over time more details came out of Greenings injuries.
I recall he’d blitzed Geelong a few weeks prior at Vic Park. Geelong started well, though Collingwood got on top in the 2nd term with Geelong missing easy shots, all the while the Collingwood runners fed the ball to Peter McKenna who had a day out. It wasn’t just Mckenna having a day out John Greening had the ball on a a string, all the while using it beautifully. After a tight start Collingwood won by 12 goals, in no more small manner to John Greening.
As Greg has mentioned John Greening was setting the VFL world on fire in early 1972. Who knows how well he, his team, would have fared in 1972 if not for this violent action. A great career tragically ended.
I recall the news of O’Dea’s sentence being recorded in the paper on the Saturday morning of R16. I don’t recall the actual hearing, it all seemed to happen behind closed door, under a ‘cone of silence’. There’s not much I recall re public discussion of the tribunal’s decision, what evidence was heard, how the sentence was determined.
The return of John Greening to the Collingwood team coincided with a shellacking of reigning premiers Richmond. Some slight revenge for the result of 1973’s preliminary final where Richmond over ran the ladder leaders Collingwood on the way to a premiership. The week before John Greening’s return Geelong had beaten Collingwood at Vic Park the first time since 1968:John Greening’s return saw a big rebound by Collingwood easily beating Richmond.
Unfortunately due the king-hit John Greening was never able to reach the heights he deserved. His return to senior VFL ranks was curtailed after a few broken seasons. He then came down to the ‘Burra’ where he put in some good football in his time there from 1977 until early 1979. This included being part of the 100 point victory in the 1977 centenary grand final.
When I hear mention of John Greening, all I can think is wonderful player, sad story.
Glen!
Thanks Glen!
I have written about the Geelong game you refer to here on The Almanac earlier this year. Here is the link.
https://www.footyalmanac.com.au/almanac-footy-history-round-9-1972-collingwood-v-geelong-one-of-john-greenings-greatest-games/
The Moorabbin game was on the replay that night on Channel 9 with Geoff Leek and Wes Lofts the commentators.
Ta Greg.
Yes I saw the link when you posted it. I recall listening to the match on the radio, as kids did back in 1972, with a good first term undone by some bad misses early in the 2nd term. I recall Bill Ryan, then the late Ian Hampshire missing from close in. From there; it was history.
I’d surmise the family watched the replay that night, though my primary memory is the end of term crosses to Moorabbin for updates. I have a similar recollection of the cross to Windy Hill two years later when Richmond and the home side punched on during the long break. My recollection of the latter is of no actual footage though commentators having a bit to say.
Memories Greg, they’re challenging things at our age(s).
Glen!
Glen!
In this clip of Collingwood marks at 0.11 (just after a Greening mark of a fortnight earlier) Alan Atkinson takes a mark. It is from the second quarter of the game at Moorabbin on July 8 1972.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEP9xt9WKpQ
This is the clip sorry
Very well told. I remember from a distance ( then living in South Australia), my father’s disgusted reaction to this incident.
John Greening was my 1st ever vfl hero when back in SA you got the winners on a Sunday night
A football tragedy a superstar cut down in his prime, yes I’m old fashioned but give me back that era with strong vibrant state leagues instead of now the expanded vfl
On that day 50 years later I asked my Collingwood work mate did he know what happened this day 50 years ago.
He knew straight away so it still doesn’t sit right all these years later, I remember sitting in my lounge room listening to the game, to this day it still haunts me as he was a wonderful player.
Finally, the eyewitness testimony of an impartial observer. Thank you.
The incident occurred well before my time (almost 3 years before I was born, to be exact), but I’ve heard a lot about it over the years. The photo of John Greening being carried off on a stretcher is actually quite horrible. The young star has (literally) been knocked into next week. The way his left arm and hand are positioned suggest his brain has been seriously impacted (as we now know it had been). What an absolute tragedy: not only for John Greening, his family and the Collingwood Football Club, but for the game itself. I liken it to a modern day player taking Nick Daicos out with a king hit behind play, and him never being the same again. Fortunately, the game has evolved and it won’t happen. (Well, one can only hope it won’t).
George Smith, you know little about Tom Sherrin reading your comments .
The fact I have a copy of the letter and have seen the original, Sherrin never wanted H. Mann as the coach, he, in fact, went to the committee with a letter of agreement from Ron Barassi’s manager to coach Collingwood after Bob Rose, the committee outvoted him and installed Mann, During Tom’s term as president there were only 2 coaches Bob and Mann, NOT the old favorites..Oh, and we all know how well the club went under Clarke. Another ill-informed supporter .
Tom left Collingwood a broken man ,64,66 and 70 played on him for years till his death .