“N. Clark”. It’s the name gracing the top of Murphy’s No.3 locker and it’s a name which holds special place at Carlton . . . for Norman Clark was one of the truly great figures in the club’s fledgling days of the VFL.

Norman “Hackenschmidt” Clark, winner of the 1899 Stawell Gift, represented the old dark Navy Blues as a player in the Premiership hat trick seasons of 1906, ’07 and ’08 under Jack Worrall, and coached their teams to the next Grand Final triumphs of 1914 and ’15.

Clark also coached Richmond to its first VFL Grand Final of 1919, before plying his coaching craft at both St Kilda (1925/26) and North Melbourne (1931).

“But he always remained true to Carlton. Carlton was where his greatest successes came,” said Clark’s great grandson Jacob Clark.

Mindful of the fact that the club was celebrating the 150^th anniversary of its founding, Jacob took the liberty of contacting the club to share precious keepsakes of the great “Hackenschmidt”, who died on Boxing Day 1943.

Together with his father Ian, Jacob paid Visy Park a sentimental journey armed with a gold fob watch, still in excellent working order, which was presented to Clark for his famous Gift victory of 115 years ago.

The watch, upon which the initials “NCC” are engraved to the casing, also carries a gold chain fixed to a medallion.

That medallion was presented to Norman’s father, EJ Clark, “from his comrades, SA register” in 1891.

The exquisite item obviously meant a lot to Norman, who was often photographed in civilian dress sporting the fob watch chain and medallion in his vest pocket.

As fate would have it, Ian and Jacob paid the No.3 locker a visit just as its current keeper, Carlton Captain Marc Murphy, fronted up for training.

Murphy, who in his 170^th appearance recently surpassed Kevin Hall for most senior Carlton games in the No.3, was truly humbled to meet descendants of the great man, whose glorious athletic physique earned him the nickname after a famous Estonian bodybuilder of the day, George Julius Hackenschmidt.

“It’s terrific to learn a little more of the history of the guernsey, particularly the No.3. It’s fantastic to be up there, sharing space with Norman,” Murphy said.

“N. Clark . . . five flags . . . three as a player, two as coach . . . gee, I’d just love to be part of a winning one myself.”

Similarly, Ian and Jacob Clark appreciated the poignancy of the moment, in meeting Murphy by the no.3 locker.

“It’s wonderful to see my grandfather’s name up there,” Ian said. “It’s fantastic to see Marc carrying on the long line of history.”

The late Norman “Hackenschmidt” Clark. (Photo: Supplied)

At Carlton, players’ names are inscribed on their respective lockers once they complete 100 senior appearances in the corresponding guernsey numbers.

Though Norman managed only 12 senior appearances in the No.3 guernsey, he did however manage 114 matches in the days before guernsey numbers were displayed.

And his name is at 3 forevermore.