Magpie Faithful Newsletter #1

Hi Magpie history fans – and welcome to the first of our occasional email newsletters focusing on the historical side of the Collingwood Football Club. We hope you find it interesting. This is our first Magpie Faithful newsletter, so feel free to get involved and give us your feedback. We're also looking to expand the group as far as possible, so if you know of anyone else who might want to be a part of it, please direct them here. See you at the footy in 2019. Carna Pies! Michael Roberts Collingwood Historian Archives volunteers wanted From time to time, we need extra volunteer help at the Collingwood Archives, in areas including:

• Web design/IT/computer/photo expertise;
• The physical handling and movement of items (so must be physically capable);
• General admin/record-keeping;
• Research.

If this is something that interests you, then let us know at [email protected] Engagement will depend partly on our workflow, and also on (a) your availability, and (b) your skill set. But register your interest and we'll take it from there. Hafey's Heroes Function This year's Forever function will be focused on Hafey's Heroes – those brave and unlucky teams, coached by Tom Hafey, that represented the Pies with such distinction between 1977 and 1981. We're likely aiming for around mid-July again, so keep an eye out for more details closer to the time. The Hafey's Heroes display in the foyer is now up and will remain open through the rest of 2019. If you have any memorabilia from that era – souvenirs, guernseys, supporter gear, duffle coats, anything! – that you'd like to loan us for the display, please contact me ASAP at [email protected] Five Round 1 oddities (thanks to Steve Rodgers)

• This will be the 16^th time we've faced off against Geelong in the opening round of a VFL/AFL season, and the first time since 1982 at Waverley.
• This will be the first time in 80 years we have done so at our home ground. The last time was the opening round of the 1939 season.
• This will be the sixth consecutive Magpie-Cat opening round match-up (1939, 1961, 1967, 1978, 1982, 2019) where the Pies are coming off a Grand Final loss!
• All 16 Magpies-Cats openers have come after the Pies had featured in finals the year before.
• Collingwood's last win over Geelong in a season-opener was back in 1978, at Kardinia Park. That win was soured when former President Tom Sherrin died in a car accident on the way back from the game.

Five things to look for in 2019

• Returning Magpies: We're excited to be welcoming Dayne Beams back to the nest again in 2019. He's just the ninth player to leave the Pies and come back again later. Can you name the others? (answer below)
• Father-sons: Will Kelly's drafting has given us another father-son on the list, alongside Darcy Moore, Josh Daicos and Callum and Tyler Brown. We've had 41 sons of Magpies fathers play senior footy for us going into the year. Can Tyler or Will add to that number?
• 2019 anniversaries: It is, of course, 100 years since our 1919 flag – the so-called 'Peace Premiership'. And 90 years since our famed 1929 team, The Machine, became the only side in VFL/AFL history to go through a home-and-away season undefeated.
• 2019 omen? In every decade bar one, at least one of the grand finalists from the year ending in 8 (eg, 1968, 1908 etc) has gone on to play in another grand final the next year (the exception was 1978-79). So history says either the Eagles or us will be back there this year! (thanks to Lloyd Fisk for this little gem)
• Pendles to join elite club? Scott Pendlebury sits on 277 games going into the 2019 season, in equal third place on our games record tally with Wayne Richardson. Can he make it to 300 in 2019? (we'll need to make finals for him to have a chance)

Donations We were fortunate to have been gifted some wonderful items at the club last year, chief among them Marcus Whelan’s 1936 Premiership medal, his Life Membership medallion and a silver coffee pot given to him by the club on the occasion of his wedding in 1939. The items were donated by one of his grandsons, Daniel Whelan. But there have been numerous other generous donations too. The daughter of Magpie ANZAC Ted Prendergast gave us a battered old silver cigarette case that had been struck by bullets in France in 1917, probably saving Ted's life. Magpie 1958 Premiership hero Brian Beers gifted a very special WEG poster that had been signed and noted by Ron Barassi. And Peggy Boyd presented us with a signed menu from the 1930 Premiership dinner, as well as two rare brooches from the period. Diana Johnstone, the daughter of the former Cheer Squad President, Kath Johnstone, donated several boxes of fan-related memorabilia, as did Nick Levy, the son of former Collingwood Archives chairman Wayne Levy. Former cheer squad members John Jackson, Robert Lonsdale, Wayne Moloney and Gary Rodwell also donated boxes of wonderful old photos and fan memorabilia, while Pat Keane donated a beautiful Olympic year stick pin from the 1956 Grand Final. Thanks also to Bill & Lorraine McWhinney, Mick Overend, Lenny Sheppard, Keith Burns, Geoff Milburn and Gary Diffen, all of whom added to our collection with wonderful items. Club historian Michael Roberts also donated his extensive collection of memorabilia. The club thanks everyonewho has donated items. If you’d like to follow suit and donate something to the Collingwood collection, contact our Archives team at [email protected] or Michael Roberts on [email protected] The Forever website If you haven't seen it yet, our history website Forever (https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au) is well worth a look. There's lots of great reading there on past players, matches, stats and the like. It's still a work in progress, but check it out. Spread the word We want more people to sign up to this group. So please, if you know anyonewith an interest in Magpie history, send them this link and get them to join: /join-the-black-white-club/ Feedback If there's anything you'd like to see more/less of in these newsletters, just let me know at [email protected]. Quiz Answer: The eight other Magpies to leave and come back are:  (Ted Baker, Ray Horwood, Ernie Lumsden, Ian McMullin, Mark Orchard, Bill Picken, Chris Tarrant, Des Tuddenham)