"We went to Essendon with a view we were going to win at any cost" - Graeme Richmond
Not only will this weekend mark the 20th edition of the Dreamtime game, it'll mark 50 years since the most notorious Essendon-Richmond game in history...
On the day that the Whitlam Government retained power in the Federal Election (May 18, 1974), The Battle of Windy Hill entered footballing folklore, as a brawl so notorious there were more than just players involved.
As the half-time siren sounded at Windy Hill with reigning premiers Richmond leading Essendon by 10 points, Richmond's Mal 'Fatty' Brown and Essendon's Graeme 'Jerker' Jenkin had a clash (Allegedly as a result of Brown repeatedly going for Jerker's nether regions), resulting in Bombers runner Laurie Ashley abusing Brown...
Brown promptly landed one on Ashley's chin, sparking a 15-minute brawl that involved almost every player (Except Kevin Bartlett), officials, trainers & fans from both teams, and the mounted Victoria Police.
This is just a small list of the things that happened in the brawl:
- Essendon trainer Jim Bradley came out and whacked Brown, then Richmond's Steven Parsons (A 17-year-old in his 3rd game) king hit and KO'ed Bradley while Bradley was fighting fabled Richmond administrator Graeme Richmond, who landed a couple more blows on Bradley (Who suffered a broken jaw, loose teeth & concussion), and Parsons was later arrested for assault after being chased by Essendon's Barry Grinter, who was a serving Victoria Police officer.
Just before his death in 1991, Richmond stated he thought Bradley was a plain-clothed spectator that had jumped on the ground, not knowing he was an Essendon official.
- A fan that had come on the field also got knocked out and was stretchered off.
- Tigers ruck Brian 'Whale' Roberts had his nose broken by a king hit from notorious Essendon hardman 'Rotten' Ronnie Andrews, a hit so hard that Whale thought it was a kick from the police horse.
- Essendon's John Cassin came off the bench in a dressing gown and took Brown to the ground in a headlock (Ironically saving both of them from more harm), although the police horse then trod on Mal Brown's leg.
And while all this happened, Kevin Bartlett went straight up the race and drank orange juice on his own, and a six-year-old Tigers fan named James Ferguson was with a policeman trying to find his family... and suddenly found himself standing next to the strewn body of Bradley.
Thankfully, James was still around to tell his story on The Front Bar in 2018:
Another odd fact is that Grinter (Who would later play for Richmond) wasn't the only serving policeman that played in the game, because Rex Hunt (Who was later promoted to Sergeant) played in his last game for Richmond before moving to Geelong prior to Round 8 for work reasons.
As for the game, in a classic display of their kill or be killed mantra, Richmond survived the fight, then survived the action in the race & change rooms from the Essendon supporters (Kevin Morris threw a bucket of water at the fans in revenge) and maintained the half-time margin to win by 10 points thanks to 5 goals from Ian Stewart.
There were no reports or charges on the day, but after the VFL held an emergency meeting and an investigation was completed, this was the grand list of suspensions from the game:
Essendon runner Laurie Ashley was held responsible for starting the brawl and was suspended for 6 matches for abusive language and conduct unbecoming.
Essendon trainer Jim Bradley was suspended for 6 matches for charging and striking Brown.
Mal Brown was suspended for one match for striking Ashley.
Graeme Richmond was suspended until December 31 1974 and fined $2000 (The fine was later rescinded on appeal) for, among many things, hitting an Essendon official.
Richmond's Steven Parsons was suspended for 4 matches for striking Bradley.
Ronnie Andrews was suspended for 6 matches for striking Roberts.
And Essendon's John Cassin (Who was on the bench wearing a robe) was charged and cleared after the VFL tribunal determined he was trying to help break up the brawl.
Parsons and Graeme Richmond were also charged with assault by the police, however both would be cleared at the Magistrate's Court in September, by which point Parsons had played the last of his 5 senior games for the Tigers.
Some of the other noteworthy names that were involved in the chaos, or simply played that day:
Robbie 'Bones' McGhie, the subject of this photo:
Kevin Sheedy, still a back pocket plumber for Richmond, later coached Essendon for 27 seasons and won 4 premierships.
Ken Fletcher, best remembered as the father of 400 gamer Dustin Fletcher despite playing 264 games himself.
Merv Keane was still playing for Richmond that day, he would later work alongside Sheedy at Essendon as an assistant coach + recruiter for 30 years.
Paul Sproule, who played for Essendon between 1968-71 before moving to Richmond and winning 2 premierships, and later coached the Tigers.
Max Crow made his VFL debut that day for Essendon... his daughter Kim won an Olympic Gold Medal in sculling at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Bombers official Greg Sewell later became president of the Essendon Football Club.
And, somewhat appropriately, Richmond director Neil Bussee, who was busy pulling Graeme Richmond out of the fighting, later served on the VFL/AFL Tribunal for 18 years, 10 of them as chairman.
And finally, here's a photo of Mal Brown and Ken Fletcher marking the 30th anniversary of the brawl in 2004:
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