The Carlton Football Club’s 160th year has provided a moment in time to fittingly acknowledge those who made their indelible mark so long ago.
Accordingly, ten former Carlton greats, each of whom helped shape its identity through the pre-VFL years of the 19th century, have been inducted into the Club’s coveted Hall of Fame.
The ten Inductees have been identified from a broad list of more than 1000 players known to have represented Carlton teams/squads up to and including 1896.
They now join Carlton’s first bona fide champion George Coulthard in the Hall of Fame – Coulthard having been the Club’s only pre-VFL footballer so acknowledged since the Hall was established in the Premiership year of 1987.
The ten Inductees from Carlton’s Challenge Cup/VFA years are as follows:
Jack Baker
John (‘Jack’) Conway
John Donovan
John Gardiner
William (‘Billy’) Goer
Harry Guy
Robert Murray Heatley
Tommy Leydin
Orlando (‘Lanty’) O’Brien
George Robertson
The ten Inductees are the first in a total of 21 to be revealed in the coming months, after Jack Carney, the late Neil Chandler and Brendan Fevola were similarly recognized in March.
Collectively, they fall into one of the following three categories
Category 1: Challenge Cup/VFA years (1864-1896) - ten inductees;
Category 2: “Hat-Trick Heroes” (Premiership players 1906, ’07 and ’08) – eight inductees; and
Category 3: Premiership Coaches & Captains (post-1897) – three inductees.
The lofty contributions to Carlton of the ten Inductees can be found via the following link - Official AFL Website of the Carlton Football Club (carltonfc.com.au)
Carlton Chief Executive Officer Brian Cook said the Club can justifiably lay claim to a truly illustrious history, “and while the Carlton of today strives to build on that history, it’s important that those who came before are so recognized”.
“The legacies left by each of these Club pioneers serve as powerful reminders of the values that have always defined Carlton – resilience, dedication, and a deep connection with the community,” he said.
