Ron Bromley OAM, Carlton’s long-serving statistician and a Life Member of the football club, has died at the age of 85.

For many years, Bromley contributed to Carlton’s cause as a member of its army of statisticians – the likes of Paul Aarons, Brian and Lewis Bearman, Mark Borg, David Carr, Mike ‘The Sheriff’ Chennell, Paul Cotterill, James Koochew, Tony Kukuruzovic, Peter Owen, Mark Peterson, Peter Rex, Grant Salamon, George Tannourji and Ian Wotherspoon.

Koochew, Carlton’s chief statistician from 1994 through to 2002, recalled Bromley joining the club from Footscray, perhaps following the long-serving property steward the late Frank Finn across.

And he remembered Bromley with genuine affection.

“Ron was one of the most fantastic gentlemen you’d ever meet. A few were ‘gung-ho’ but never him – he was always a calm individual and a delight to work alongside,” Koochew said.

“I was a young bloke when I took over and Ron was one of the first to say ‘I’m right behind you’, even though he could have said ‘I have seniority’. He never questioned anything and if you asked him to do anything he’d do it.

“Ron was also meticulous in what he did. David Parkin trusted him enormously and would often ring Ron to ask him ‘Last time we played this team what did this guy have?’

“But above all, Ron was a true gentleman. You couldn’t mean a nice fellow and when he was awarded Life Membership I wrote him a letter to congratulate him.”

Bromley, a Charter Member of Vermont Lions Club and District Cabinet Chairman, was also honoured with an OAM for years of dedicated service. To the club he is revered as a quiet man committed to a successful outcome.

He is survived by his wife Pauline, children Kaylene, Warren and Rohan (who for a time assisted his father as a statistician and is himself a Carlton Football Club Life Member) and four grandchildren.

His funeral will be held in the Heritage Funeral Home in Wantirna next Tuesday at 1pm.

The Carlton footballers will wear black armbands for Ron Bromley and the long-serving director the late Lloyd Bendall, in Friday night’s Round 8 match against Geelong at the MCG.

Carlton also extends its deepest sympathies to long-serving director Malcolm Payne, whose partner Sharon died recently in Sanctuary Cove.