Almanac Footy Life: The Russo Dynasty

 

 

Felix Russo

 

Sometime ago I wrote a story about ‘the forgotten mums of football’.  Three young woman who went to school together and their sons becoming top league footballers.

 

The announced  retirement of Sydney’s Josh Kennedy last week had me putting pen to paper on another story that I had been working on and the similarities to my original story. When you add together 1195 games  605 goals, 8 premierships, four best and fairest awards, all-Australian 4 times and 1 ‘Big Vee’ they are pretty spectacular figures in anyone’s language.

 

Would you believe that these figures belong to one particular football dynasty and it is not the one you are thinking of?

 

Throw in that dad had studied for the priesthood for 2 years before meeting his wife -to – be studying teaching at university.

 

Well they certainly do and that dynasty is  Felix and Joy (nee Johnston) Russo. A dynasty that spawned these figures less Felix’s 14 games and 1 goal for St. Kilda (1950-51).

 

 

This photograph from 1951 is a classic with Felix getting physio treatment.. The player keeping warm under the rug is a mystery. Speaking with the St.Kilda historian (Russell Holmesby) today he was unsure who he was.  Can anybody help us?

 

 

There are six Russo children Michael, Jenny, Terri, Kathy, Peter and Bernadette.  Nothing unusual for a good catholic family in the fifties and sixties.

 

Felix was a school teacher and moved around the state teaching at South Melbourne Tech followed by Neerim SS (1963) and Longwood SS (1964-66) before settling in Pakenham where he taught at many schools until his retirement in 1986.

 

Felix coached the Neerim team in his year at the local school. The team only lost one game for the season and the only game he played in.  Apparently they were bereft with injuries in the GF and he pulled on the boots.

 

The point of this family was that they were all good at sport. Taking after their parents with mum being an outstanding basketballer (netball), sprinter and diver representing Victoria at some stage and dad a good average VFL player.

 

‘Good at sport’ became bigger and better as the kids grew up.  Jenny and Terri representing Victoria at under age netball with Jenny making the All-Australian team.  Earmarked by the legendary Norma Plummer for bigger things a serious knee injury playing for her school finished her career playing high level sport. Jenny and Terri were also excellent athletes along with Bernadette who also played major netball in her day.

 

Michael was a ‘good-average footballer’ with speed to burn but was told by Hawthorn ‘to grow a bit’. He was a fleet-footed pedestrian par excellence.

 

Peter Russo became a fine player for Hawthorn (1978-88) (162 games, 102 goals and 2 premierships and for St Kilda 33 games and 20 goals between 1979-80 also one game in the ‘Big Vee’. His Hawthorn coach David Parkin once described him as “one of the first picked as he was always handing the umpire the ball from the bottom of the pack”.

 

Peter became an inaugural coach in the TAC Cup with Dandenong Stingrays and also had stints at Melbourne (Reserves premiership coach) and St.Kilda.

 

Jenny and Bernadette married men who were to become  VFL  players. Jenny married  Ray Ball  (Richmond 1969-70 12 games and South Melbourne 1971-74  43 games). Bernadette, no doubt introduced by brother Peter met and married John Kennedy Junior (Hawthorn 1979-91 241 games, 211 goals and 4 premierships). Terri married Greg ‘Grunter’ Atkins and Kathy (Kate) married Mark ‘Smelly’ Paynter both fine players for Pakenham in West Gippsland. ‘Grunter’ played in seven premierships and ‘Smelly’ 2.

 

And so the story continues. Jenny and Ray Ball had three children – Matthew, Luke and Sophie.

 

Matthew played 17 games for Hawthorn (2004-06) and kicked 2 goals but really lived the shadows of brother Luke.

 

Taken by St Kilda at number 2 in the  ‘most famous draft ever’  with  Luke Hodge and Chris Judd, he lived up to his top two pick in his time at St. Kilda and then Collingwood.

 

142 games, 58 goals and a best and fairest at St. Kilda before going to Collingwood in not-to-happy circumstances where he played 81 games, kicked 33 goals and ironically 1 premiership against his old side St. Kilda. All-Australian and St.Kilda captain as well. He is one of few players who played in four Grand Finals in a row.

 

Now, if there wasn’t enough football in the Ball household Sophie is married to former St. Kilda player Matt Maguire.  Maguire played 99 games for St Kilda and kicked 19 goals and then went to Brisbane where he notched up a further 71 games and 2 goals.

 

The baby of the Russo family Bernadette and her husband John Kennedy Jnr produced, in my humble opinion, the star of the ‘Russo Dynasty’ in Josh Kennedy.

 

After 13 games and 4 goals at Hawthorn (2007-09) limited opportunities  he accepted a three-year deal with fellow Hawk Ben McGlynn. In return hawthorn received picks 39, 46 and 70 in the national draft.

 

Kennedy went on to play 276 goals and kicked 153 goals for the Swans in an illustrious career. Three  Best & Fairest awards came his way as well as the 2012 premiership.  He was captain from 2016 to 2020 and was chosen as an ‘All-Australian’ 3 times.

 

He could have played anywhere on the field but as a ruck-rover cum centreman he excelled.  At 6ft 2ins (my language) he was the tallest of the Russo Dynasty.

 

 What of the generations coming up?

 

There are plenty of youngsters amongst the clan but it is still early days but I am sure that we will watch with interest the continuation of the Russo Dynasty.

 

Kate Paynter (Russo) who is obviously the dynasty historian wrote this about herself which says a lot about the Russo Dynasty

 

“As for me, I was the wind beneath the wings of my siblings and their no.1 fan!! I was a late bloomer, playing Mid-week social netball from age 22, took up running at age 50, running a half-marathon 5 years later, and now playing bit of social Mid-week tennis! My 3 boys were all very good local footballers and the youngest also made his name in local cricket.

 

So nothing too special about me, but so incredibly proud of my family”.

 

 

8 JULY 1950 ARGUSLEAGUE TEAMS OF 1950— ST. KILDA BACK: J. McDonald, A. Squire, T. Olle, B. Phillips, L. Sutherland, F. Sutherland, F. Pemberton, K. Mulhall, W. Cameron, J. Ross, A. Stevens. CENTRE: J. Coffey, D. Pickett, M. Langdon, D. Taplin, D. Chapman, K.Drinan (vice-capt) F.Green (capt), P.Bennett, D.Nisbet, A.Olle, J.Solomon, T.Meehan, FRONT: J.Meehan, G.Dean, B.Mee, D.Wicks, K.Rosewarne, M.Mitchinson, K.Cockfield, R.Wilkie, F.Russo. I am quietly confident that this was the year that the “Argus” had all the clubs in colour and you could purchase club colours from most teams in Victoria 

 

 

More from Citrus Bob can be read Here.

 

 

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