The best player afield in Carlton’s Under 19 Grand Final victory of 1963 is seeking to reunite Premiership players for the first time, as the 50^th anniversary of the triumph nears.

Peter Smith, the 17 year-old wingman adjudged best player of the ’63 finals series, is also calling on all squad members - including the three-time Carlton Premiership rover Adrian Gallagher and the club’s former Senior Coach Denis Pagan – to the gathering later this year.

“I may have left the run a bit late, but it was October not September 1963 that we actually won the flag, so there’s still time,” Smith said.

“We’ve never had a reunion, not even for the 25^th, and ‘Gags’ Gallagher aside I’ve had no contact with the boys at all.”

The Under 19s’ 38-point Grand Final victory over Essendon - 12.11 83 to 6.9 45 - was truly meritorious given that the Carlton team was anchored to the bottom of the ladder with only one win from the first seven matches that season - only to win the last 13 on the trot including the GF.

The revival just happened to coincide with Smith’s transfer from the Hawthorn thirds to Carlton with the assistance of his father Jimmy - a dual Carlton reserve grade Premiership player in 1927/’28 and a close friend of the then Under 19s coach the late Tom Brooker.

“I was at a bit of a loose end because I wasn’t getting a game at Hawthorn in those first six games,” Smith recalled, “so Dad got me a clearance to Carlton and I never played in a losing game”.

Bizarrely, the Carlton players had to wait three weeks to realize their dream, as Essendon and Richmond drew the Preliminary Final. The Bombers duly won the Prelim replay and earned the right to meet Carlton on Grand Final day, October 12, 1963 – at Bacchus Marsh’s Maddingley Oval of all places.

“The problem posed by the drawn game was that no grounds were available later on because of the cricket. You’ve got to remember there was no VFL Park in those days,” Smith said.

“The Preliminary Final was played on the day of the seniors’ Grand Final and we had to sit back and wait another week. To then be told we were playing at Bacchus Marsh . . . well . . . we had to get a bus up there.”

Fittingly enough, the post-match celebrations were equally unorthodox, with revelers frequenting a premises managed by the father of one of Smith’s teammates, Rod Holdsworth.

“I can remember that it was either on Grand Final night or a day or two later that we celebrated at Holdsworth Undertakers in Nicholson Street, in one of the back rooms of the parlor,” Smith said.

Smith, who succeeded John Morrison as Under 19s captain in ’64, later pursued his career at reserve grade level in Ron Barassi’s first year as Senior Coach in ’65 , but ultimately opted to pursue his playing career at The Basin.

In the years since, he’s continued to follow the fortunes of his beloved Blues. Now, some 50 years later, he’s figured it’s about time he renews acquaintance with those with whom he shared the ultimate in team success.

“Something’s got to happen for the 50^th anniversary of the Grand Final,” Smith said. “It’d be terrific to catch up with the boys again to rekindle memories because 50 years is a long time.”

Members of Carlton’s Under 19 Premiership team of 1963, together with those who made up the ’63 squad, are asked to contact Peter Smith on 03 5941 6087 or 0414 346427 or via pjsmith45@hotmail.com