A while ago we had the pleasure of going out to dinner with ex-Tiger Robert Lockhart and his family.
I intended to interview him for an article but the night was far too much fun and the stories far too interesting to bother taking notes.
I said to Bobby at the end that I'd struggle to remember what he'd said and his reply was not to worry, just make up what I can't remember. ;D
This is a little story about How Bobby became a Tiger.
ALMOST FOOTBALL LEGENDS
Early one morning in 1961 a family awoke filled with great excitement. Long before the sun rose they were outside performing chores on their farm at Bonnie Doon. Cows were hand milked and rabbiting dogs fed while most of Melbourne still slept.
Robert “Bobby” Lockhart was selected to play his first game for Richmond later that day and his brothers Ned and Jimmy were keen to hit the road early for their first visit to the big smoke. They wanted to make sure they got a good park for their car on the fence of Punt Road oval.
Arriving long before game time they were amazed to find things were done slightly differently in the city and, unlike the country football games they were used to, there was no access for cars at the ground and they had to park in the street.
Bobby started his football career for Bonnie Doon but soon became the black sheep of the town when he did the unthinkable and transferred to nearby Mansfield to play in a better league.
Word of his brilliant work around packs, ball handling and pace soon spread far and wide resulting in a visit from Jack Dyer and Des Rowe to sign the 173 cm, 67kg rover to play for the Tigers.
The deal was done in the Maindample Pub, which back then had a 6pm closing time. Word quickly spread that the great Captain Blood was in town with his famous brown paper bag and a crowd soon gathered like never seen before. Any closing restrictions were long forgotten as drinking continued long into the night.
Slightly worse for wear Jack and Des headed off on the long drive back to Melbourne around 1am. They’d received a broken windscreen on the trip up and faced a chilly drive home. Jack was huddled up in blankets to keep warm but he refused to give in to his tiredness. He didn’t trust Des’s driving.
City living didn’t appeal to Bobby. It was a shock to his system having to train for the first time in his life and, after playing 13 games for Richmond in 1961 and 62 and kicking seven goals, it didn’t take much convincing to lure him back to the bush. He left to play for Thornton Football Club; interestingly he received similar money there to what he was receiving at Richmond.
Robert Lockhart was named in the best players in Richmond’s 1962 Night Premiership victory over Hawthorn. Bobby still keeps in touch with the club attending reunions with his teammates.
I intended to interview him for an article but the night was far too much fun and the stories far too interesting to bother taking notes.
I said to Bobby at the end that I'd struggle to remember what he'd said and his reply was not to worry, just make up what I can't remember. ;D
This is a little story about How Bobby became a Tiger.
ALMOST FOOTBALL LEGENDS
Early one morning in 1961 a family awoke filled with great excitement. Long before the sun rose they were outside performing chores on their farm at Bonnie Doon. Cows were hand milked and rabbiting dogs fed while most of Melbourne still slept.
Robert “Bobby” Lockhart was selected to play his first game for Richmond later that day and his brothers Ned and Jimmy were keen to hit the road early for their first visit to the big smoke. They wanted to make sure they got a good park for their car on the fence of Punt Road oval.
Arriving long before game time they were amazed to find things were done slightly differently in the city and, unlike the country football games they were used to, there was no access for cars at the ground and they had to park in the street.
Bobby started his football career for Bonnie Doon but soon became the black sheep of the town when he did the unthinkable and transferred to nearby Mansfield to play in a better league.
Word of his brilliant work around packs, ball handling and pace soon spread far and wide resulting in a visit from Jack Dyer and Des Rowe to sign the 173 cm, 67kg rover to play for the Tigers.
The deal was done in the Maindample Pub, which back then had a 6pm closing time. Word quickly spread that the great Captain Blood was in town with his famous brown paper bag and a crowd soon gathered like never seen before. Any closing restrictions were long forgotten as drinking continued long into the night.
Slightly worse for wear Jack and Des headed off on the long drive back to Melbourne around 1am. They’d received a broken windscreen on the trip up and faced a chilly drive home. Jack was huddled up in blankets to keep warm but he refused to give in to his tiredness. He didn’t trust Des’s driving.
City living didn’t appeal to Bobby. It was a shock to his system having to train for the first time in his life and, after playing 13 games for Richmond in 1961 and 62 and kicking seven goals, it didn’t take much convincing to lure him back to the bush. He left to play for Thornton Football Club; interestingly he received similar money there to what he was receiving at Richmond.
Robert Lockhart was named in the best players in Richmond’s 1962 Night Premiership victory over Hawthorn. Bobby still keeps in touch with the club attending reunions with his teammates.
