James, the Blues’ much-revered 1961 Brownlow Medallist who died suddenly after suffering a stroke at the age of 76, was laid to rest at a private ceremony following the service at which the likes of Gordon Collis, Brian Dixon and Ian Law were conspicuous by their presence.
Frozen images of James in his famed No.10 guernsey, together with moving film of his Brownlow Medal presentation on the mighty MCG, were displayed on the big screen to the music of “True Blue” and “Man in the Picture”.
Later, James’ coffin was carried out by his loved ones to the strains of “lily of Laguna”, the Carlton Football Club’s enduring theme song.
As members of the congregation celebrated the life of a man who in the final days declared of his time “How lucky am I”, an impassioned eulogy was delivered by James’ sons Paul and Michael, and son-in-law Rod Leslie. Paul recalled that while his father quite often misplaced his coveted Brownlow Medal, he was more than happy to allow his grandchildren to parade the precious trophy at show-and-tell sessions at their school. James’ grandchildren also offered their cherished memories - “Pop had ‘crook’ knees’ . . . ‘We loved going to the Brownlow with Pop’ . . . ‘Pop was my hero’ - were amongst the touching observations published in the program of service.
The following recollection, in respect of John’s early years and his days at Princes Park, was delivered by Michael, himself a 12-game senior player for Carlton through 1991.
“When you say you’re from Robinvale, it’s not uncommon for people to say ‘Ah yes, that’s Johnny James country, the old Carlton footballer’. Today we celebrate the life of that famous footballer, who was in fact so much more than that. He was a fiercely loyal, proud and loving family man with strong family values, who had an enormous impact on the lives of do many people. He packed a lot into his 76 years.
John William James was born on the 18th of January 1934, in Melbourne, the only son of John and Amy James, and the younger brother of Mary. When John was eight years old his father was transferred in his employment as a railway worker to Ararat. In Ararat he attended primary school and his early secondary school years at Brigidine Convent. By the time he reached the age of 14 his parents decided to pack him off to St Patricks College, Ballarat, to smooth out a few rough edges.
John looked back on his time at St Pats with great fondness. His deep respect for the Christian Brothers and his strong Christian faith was to stay with him throughout his life, and his relationship with the school was maintained until the end.
In John’s early days in Ballarat he got very homesick and ran away on one occasion. However it did not take long for John to find his feet and begin to flourish in his new environment.
John committed to his studies and truly excelled in the sporting arena. He had the golden touch and was an outstanding rower, cricketer and athlete . . . but it was football that he loved. After kicking 35 goals in one game for St Pats, he gained the attention of the talent scouts of a number of VFL clubs. He followed Collingwood throughout his childhood, but the guarantee of three senior games with Carlton was enough for John. He said many times in his life that he would have been satisfied with just one game.
Upon completion of matriculation, John moved back into the family home in Thornbury with his parents who had returned from Ararat. He enrolled at Teachers College and began his playing career with the Carlton Football Club. He played those first three guaranteed football games and from thereon he never looked back. He was to play with Carlton for a total of eleven years and represent the club in 195 senior games.
John was awarded the Brownlow Medal in 1961 and incredibly finished third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh in other years. He was the first Carlton player to win three best and fairest awards, was honoured with life membership and more recently named on the half-back flank in the Carlton Team of the Century.
As a player, John will be remembered for his great courage and strength, uncanny judgement and sense of fair play. His ability to read the play and attack from the half-back line put him ahead of his time.”
