147-game triple Carlton premiership player and best-and-fairest Ken Hunter is to be afforded the rare honor of not only being inducted into his club’s Ring of Honour, but of ringing the historic old Blue bell prior to the first bounce of Sunday’s Round 2 twilight match against Sydney at Etihad Stadium.
The famed No.9 will strike the bell, which is thought to pre-date Princes Park itself and has for years been hidden away in a nook of the Carlton Heroes Stand.
Cast in iron by famed founders and engineers Thomsons of Castlemaine, the bell is thought to predate Princes Park itself.
The historic old Blue bell which will be brought back to life on Sunday. (Photo: Carlton Football Club)
Legend has it that the bell first rang out in Carlton matches through the 1880s, and from 1898 until 1950 at Princes Park when the VFL standardized its sirens.
Although some bells were heard only faintly above the roar of the crowd, the Carlton bell, rich and strident, never gave cause for complaint.
The Carlton Football Club has seen fit to incorporate the ringing of the bell into its standard home matchday experience. Accordingly, Hunter will ring the bell 15 minutes prior to the first bounce.
