‘The year Mr Football came to town…’ by KB Hill

Everyone with the remotest connection to the Wangaratta Rovers was abuzz with excitement as spring gave way to the summer of late-1955……..

Mr. Football had come to town.

This wasn’t a whistlestop promotional visit at the behest of the VFL……No, the man popularly acknowledged as the best footballer in Australia had arrived – with his wife Elsie and sons Robert and Peter – to assume his appointment as the playing-coach of the Wangaratta Rovers……..

…

The procurement of Bob Rose to take the reins of the battling club stunned not only local fans, but footy people around the nation.

After all, the Rovers had been in existence for 11 years, had only gained admittance to the Ovens and Murray League in 1950 and, since then, had won only 34 of the 108 games they’d played.

It seemed ludicrous that Collingwood would allow their champion player to be prised away by a bush club which appeared to have little or no credibility……..And secondly, that he didn’t take the offer presented by East Perth, who had promised to make him captain-coach – and the highest-paid player in Australia……..

Those were the unanswered questions……..But it was obvious that the Rovers had made a convincing presentation to the four-time Copeland Trophy winner.

The hunt for a top-line coach had begun months earlier, but once the Hawks got the inkling that Rose may become gettable, they made him their target.

In their favour was the fact that he had strong family ties in Victoria, which counted against a move to the west……..Also, as a lad brought up in Nyah West – a small Mallee township – he liked the prospect of moving back to the country.

When he began to warm to the Rovers’ approach they formulated a package which included a sports store proprietorship and a salary of 35 pounds per week to coach the club.

Many people warned that he would be foolish to forsake his future at Collingwood and also advised him of the numerous pitfalls of taking the job. …..

Included among these was the caution by a former team-mate to be aware that the Rovers were a ‘Catholic Club’…….He gave this little credence and decided that a trip to Wangaratta to give the town the ‘once-over’ would be a good idea.

Unfortunately, on his first attempt at the journey, he had to head home as he realised that his old Singer car wouldn’t handle the steep inclines of the Hume Highway’s ‘Pretty Sally’…….

He rang the Rovers to postpone the appointment and headed north the following week in a flasher vehicle, belonging to his brother Kevin .

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Manny Cochineas, a prominent Wangaratta businessman, who had become somewhat of a godfather-type figure at the Rovers (akin to Albury’s latter-day patriarch, Colin Joss) was the man who planted the idea among his fellow officials that they should aim high and go for the best.

‘Cochy’ was a dreamer and relished the prospect of snaring Mr.Football, despite the odds seeming almost insurmountable.

“It was a bit of a case of …’don’t tell the Arabs’……” ‘Demon’ recalled years later. “We weren’t told a thing……..The only inkling I had that things were going all right was when I overheard ‘Cochy’ whisper to a bloke: ‘I think we’ve got him”.

With his mind almost made up, Rose decided that he’d make one last approach to the Collingwood committee, advising them that he’d been considering his future, and asking if they could possibly increase his salary.

When the ‘Pies refused to budge, despite pleading with him to stay, he confirmed that he was, indeed, accepting the Rovers’ coaching offer…..

So, when they received confirmation of this, the Rovers’ preparations moved into full swing for the 1956 season……..Bob and his young family settled into a small Housing Commission residence in Lamont Street.

It was hardly salubrious, but the Rose’s were unfazed. The Rovers later took ownership of a house at 102 Swan Street, which became their abode for the rest of their time in Wangaratta.

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Tasked with setting up his new business and traversing the area on recruiting trips, life was pretty full-on for the new coach. But he was buoyed by the enthusiasm of the Rovers people.

The Sports-Store Proprietor

The ex-Festival Hall boxer

He had to sit through some drama at the Club’s Annual Meeting in late November, when President Harry Klemm faced a no-confidence motion, moved by his brother Tom……Harry was deposed from the position and was, indeed, voted off the 23-man committee.

But that was barely a ripple on the landscape, as new members clambered onto the Hawk bandwagon. The club’s first practice match attracted a crowd of 1,000 to watch Bob Rose and a new wave of recruits, show their stuff .

Unfortunately, in the lead-up to Rose’s much-awaited O & M debut at Benalla, he suffered a groin injury and had to watch from the sidelines, as his old Collingwood team-mate Len Fitzgerald led the Demons to victory.

A fortnight later he took to the field against Wangaratta and, in a day of triumph, led the Hawks to a nine-point win against their arch rival……… He was chaired from the field by delighted supporters, who loved the influence he had exerted over his new charges.

Bob Rose (second from left) with Stan Trebilcock, John Tanner and Alan Bell, at a Rovers Ball

Though beaten by Benalla in the first semi-final, Hawk supporters liked what they saw …….And they positively adored the coach…….Club membership had risen from 325 to 670 in 1956 and a new breed of supporter gained a fascination for the Brown and Gold.

He was dubbed ‘King Bobby’. …….Italian tobacco-growers, who had previously shown scant regard for footy, were introduced to the game via the exploits of Rose, and called him ‘Bobby Rossa’……..

They were generous and loyal and many became Hawks for life.

To young whippersnappers like yours truly, he was bigger than Ben Hur. It was an era of scant exposure of VFL players; you were just reliant on newspapers and footy cards to bring them to life.

To have a superstar in our midst was beyond belief. We couldn’t wait for training nights and would race down to the ground to see what Club, or Interstate Guernsey he was wearing, or try to attract his attention whilst having kick-to-kick on the sidelines.

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The Rovers doubled their profit in 1956 and well and truly covered the financial outlay .But more importantly, Rose developed a culture among the playing ranks which would set the standard for decades to come . He had lifted the profile of the club to unforeseen levels.

In time to come he was to achieve fabulous personal and club success with the Hawks. Within two years the first of 16 Senior flags was fluttering at the City Oval.

After losing a pulsating 1959 Grand Final to Yarrawonga, the Hawks were triumphant the following year – again over Wodonga.

A serious back injury hospitalized the champ after he had battled with it for a good portion of 1961.

It seemed to signal the end of his playing days, and he announced his retirement – much to the dismay of the football world – at season’s end.

The Rovers swung into action and found his surprise replacement – controversial South Melbourne ruckman Ken Boyd, who was in the midst of serving a hefty 12-week suspension for striking Carlton’s John Nicholls.

Attempts were made to overturn the ban, considering that he was taking up his new appointment in the bush…….But alas, this was unsuccessful, and ‘Big Bad Ken’ was disqualified from playing or coaching for the remaining 8 weeks of his sentence.

The Hawks were faced with a quandary, and Rose offered to resume the role in a non-playing capacity……..Within weeks he’d decided to again pull on the boots……

Such was the success of his come-back that he’d racked up 26 kicks in the first half of his 126th, and final game- the 1961 Premiership decider.

But there was to be no fairy-tale ending for the legend…….A brilliant Benalla side held on to clinch a 7.14 to 6.10 victory.

Rovers‘ Morris Medallist’s Bob Rose, Neville Hogan, Rob Walker and Andrew Scott

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He returned to Victoria Park as coach in 1964, to experience heart?-ache of the highest order……losing Grand Finals by a handful of points in 1964, ’66 and 1970, before switching to Footscray for four seasons, and completing his 282-game VFL coaching journey with another two-year spell at Collingwood.

The car accident that rendered his son Robert – a Sheffield Shield batsman and League footballer – a quadriplegic, changed the dynamic of the Rose family, and Bob, Elsie and son Peter devoted themselves to his welfare for the remainder of his life.

Robert and his father made several visits back to the Findlay Oval for social functions over the years, and Bob’s final appearance on its hallowed turf came in 1998.

He was 69, rising 70, and the plan was that he’d make a token on-field appearance in a Past Players match, then mingle with the crowd for the remainder of the day.

He enjoyed it so much that he remained on the ground for the entirety of the game.

Five years later, the old champ passed away, aged 74………….

This story appeared first on KB Hill’s website On Reflection and is used here with permission.
All photos sourced from KB Hill’s resources unless otherwise acknowledged.

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