Almanac Memoir: Ken Piesse’s first story

 

Ken Piesse will be our guest at The Footy Almanac Lunch at the All Nations Hotel in Richmond on November 15. Details to come. If you would like to book a spot at lunch, please email John Harms  HERE

 

 

 

 

St Kilda’s move from the Junction Oval to Moorabbin in the mid-‘60s created a rare tempest – but not with any of us living bay way. Suddenly we had a League footy team on our back step and one which included the magical names of Baldock, Stewart, Ditterich and Murray.

It was too late for me, a committed Hawthorn fan, to switch allegiances, but St Kilda became a ‘second’ team for most of us, and we’d jostle for the free junior admission tickets via our school footy coach Graham Steele.

This was 1966, the year of St Kilda’s only flag.

Doc Baldock was the biggest name in football, on a par with Ted Whitten, Polly and Barass. He was balding, bandy legged and just 5 ft 10, yet was a Colossus. Think of Curnow and Cripps combined and that was Doc. We called him ‘Mr Magic’, the outstanding player of all from Tassie. Better than Hart, Hudson, even Stewie.

This late August Saturday, he was just back from Sandown – he had a runner in the first – and was in grey suit and tie walking around the rooms, wishing everyone luck. His dodgy knee needed rest. But it was Round 18 and a crucial, must-win game against Hawthorn. Lose and the Saints could fall from the four.

Ian Drake, St Kilda’s secretary rushed over to coach Allan Jeans. ‘The Doc doesn’t look too bad,’ he said. ‘What about putting him in?

Jeans said it could ruin him for the finals.

‘Unless we win today, there’ll be no finals.’

‘Doc,’ said Jeans, to his star captain. ‘Whaddya think? Can you play?’

‘It’s still sore Yab.’

‘What about off the bench… and only if we need ya?’

Doc nodded and went back to his car for his gear.

The crowd was building, almost 25,000 in. Few of us had any idea what was brewing.

The Saints ran out with 19, the Doc donned a dressing gown and slipped quietly down the race and into the dug out in front of the Animal enclosure.

Hawthorn had come to play. And led at quarter time only to forfeit a narrow lead at half time. Midway through the third quarter they were again coming hard and had hit the front.

Jeans was all hyped up. ‘Doc,’ he said, ‘we need ya.’

‘It’s too early.’

‘Ok, why don’t you just do a slow jog around the boundary to see how it is.’

The roar from the crowd on seeing Baldock, the saviour, in his famous No.4 guernsey warming up inside the boundary all but lifted the grandstand roof.

Even the players stopped to see who the commotion was all about.

Within 30 seconds the Doc had his first kick and Hawthorn’s 19-point lead was soon reined in, St Kilda winning a stirring contest by a kick or two, the Doc, as always, the hero.

I wrote a story about St Kilda’s comeback for English, my mate Mark Stone doing the illustrations. I’ve still got the book somewhere among draws of memorabilia of a lifetime following cricket and footy.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a born storyteller and almost 60 years on, I’m still sharing stories, many of them in my autobiography, out now, entitled Living the Dream.

 

Should you want one of the signed limited-edition $50 hardbacks, do come to the special Almanac luncheon on November 15 – or just email me at cricketbooks.com.au and I’ll organise one post free.