The footage, taken from behind the goals at the Ponsford Stand end of the ground, was captured by the late VFL Tribunal advocate Brian O’Shaughnessy, then the football club’s social secretary, just prior to the first bounce of the semi-final between Essendon and Geelong on Saturday, August 29 of that year – four days after Collis was formally declared the winner.
In the film, banner-waving children and former Brownlow Medallists can be seen entering the arena as a military band plays. Collis, complete with Carlton strip, then emerges from the race by the old Smoker’s Stand and is greeted with hearty handshakes from the competing Essendon and Geelong captains Jack Clarke and Fred Wooller.
The three players are then seen completing as lap of honour and Collis is presented with his medal by the VFL’s then President and former Carlton President Sir Kenneth Luke before vacating the arena.
Collis, Carlton’s 95-game centre half-back through seven seasons from 1961-’67, and one of only four defenders (preceding Ross Glendinning, Brad Hardie and Gavin Wanganeen) to have won the award in the past 50 years, was thrilled to view the film for the first time recently.
In doing so, Collis noted that O’Shaughnessy’s old home movie beautifully captured the nobility of the Brownlow Medal presentation before more than 92,000 people at the home of football.
“In those days the competing captains on the day ran a lap with the Brownlow Medallist – in this instance, Fred Wooller and Jack Clarke. The thrill of that day would, in my view, surpass the buzz that today’s current Brownlow Medallists would get with all the hoopla that goes on at Crown,” Collis said.
“Being in front of a crowd of that capacity, who are all avid football supporters, and they’re there live – to my way of thinking the atmosphere that creates would far exceed the atmosphere a national TV coverage engenders.
“I’d love to get hold of television footage [of the medal presentation] if it’s available, and I can’t understand why it wouldn’t be. I can recall trying to follow this up with Seven or Nine years ago and ended up running into a brick wall.
“For memory the sort of answer I was getting was that some of this stuff had been destroyed.”
Members of the O’Shaughnessy family graciously availed a copy of this precious film to the Carlton Football Club archive. More unique footage captured by O’Shaughnessy from the mid-1960s through to the Premiership year of 1970, will soon be released.
