NO LIVING person would have a greater grasp of the Carlton Football Club’s storied past than its 1968 premiership player and former Chief Executive and President Ian Collins.

So it was with a genuine sense of appreciation of Carlton and its place in the history of the game that Collins recently made a generous donation to the Club’s archive – five volumes of the annual publication The Footballer, spanning the seasons 1875, ’76, ’78, ’79 and ’81 when Carlton fielded senior teams in the South Yarra Challenge Cup and VFA competitions.

Pictured holding the digests by the No.19 Hall of Fame Legends locker carrying his name at IKON Park, Collins, a 161-game Carlton senior player from 1961-’71, talked of his long interest in The Footballer and why he thought now was the time to donate them to the Club.

“I’ve always been very interested, not only in the history of the Carlton Football Club, but also in the history of the Association and the VFL (now AFL),” Collins said.

“When I was here as the CEO I had a huge memorabilia collection of past events and photographs of old players (but) when I  went to the League (as Director of Football Operations in 1993) it was devoid of any history.

“So in my rare spare time I used to get around looking for old stuff like the hand-drawn scrolled Brownlow Medal certificates which were recreated for presentation to future medallists … and I did engage a person who kept an eye out on historic items for me.

The editor of The Footballer Thomas Peter Power – a member of the inaugural Carlton Football Club committee of 1864, among its first group of players to take to the field, and later secretary, treasurer and president.

“But The Footballer always interested me because I knew its editor Tom Power was a Carlton Secretary at one stage and I found it important to read about when clubs were formed - not only the senior clubs in Melbourne, but also the country and junior clubs. Power put all that down in writing and it’s there for evermore.”

The Footballer – which was accompanied by the kicker headline “An Annual Record of Football in Victoria and the Australian Colonies” - was the first known publication dedicated to Australian football. It was edited by Power at that time he was Honorary Secretary to Carlton and (later) the Victorian Football Association.

The A5-sized tome, which exceeded more than 100 pages and sold for one shilling, was printed and published by RP Hurren  and carried the image of a footballer designed and engraved by the former Carlton footballer Angelo Azzopardi.

The Footballer carried details of football in Victoria, an analysis of club doings, rules, team lists, chief players and important matches of the season. The 1875 edition lists Carlton with a Membership of 200 and a group of players who turned out “Royal Park, near main entrance” wearing blue knickerbockers, guernsey and cap, with white and blue striped hose.

The Carlton players of 1878, the year after they earned Carlton the inaugural VFA pennent, as featured in The Footballer. (1)

Its worth as an early record of the great Australian game is immeasurable according to Collins “because we have a tendency to acknowledge 1897 as the starting point, which is not true”.

“It’s important that clubs like Carlton acknowledge their chronology,” Collins said. “Carlton was founded in 1864, which is a long time ago, and we can never forget what happened in the years 1864-1896.”

Of his decision to donate the five precious volumes of The Footballer to his beloved Blues – volumes which have been in his keep for the best part of 25 years - Collins said simply: “the best fit for these historical records, edited by one of Carlton’s very important people of the day, is here at Carlton”.

The Footballer ran between 1875 and 1881. The Carlton Football Club would welcome the donations of the 1877 and 1880 editions of The Footballer to complete the seven-volume set for its ever-expanding archive. If you can assist, please contact tony.debolfo@carltonfc.com.au