No 1: Myer Brott: 83 years and counting
Myer Brott, at 94 the Carlton Football Club’s longest-serving member.
No 2: Dad’s seat is just what the doctor ordered
Dr Trevor Brott acknowledges his beloved father Myer’s deep power of persuasion as crucial to his on-going support for all things Carlton.
No 3: Ruby a fully-fledged 21st century Blue
Ruby Owen was a regular at Carlton games in Melbourne throughout 2009 alongside older brother Thomas and father Peter.
No 4: It’s The Bloodbath and beyond for true Blue Joan
A proud member of the club since the tender age of four, Joan’s earliest memories of Carlton involve the 1945 Grand Final
No 5: Shane embodies the Spirit of Carlton
Carlton has been a huge part of Shane Morris' life since he became a member on birth in 1950 and still recalls the all the player numbers of the 1950s and 1960s.
No 6: Blue is the colour for Renee and Scarlett
Three week old Scarlett Costa's great grandmother Ida continued a family tradition when she lodged the membership papers for her to become the club's latest member.
No 7: Blue Ben waiting for the next big thing
Ben Shepherd’s 18 years as a Carlton member has seen the best and worst
No 8: Betty Blue still true, 72 years on
Betty Herrick knows that she first became a member in 1938 and she’s still got her ’38 membership card to prove it.
No 9: From Jezza to Judd . . . Mary remains the Carlton constant
Mary Robertson's connection with Carlton has been territorial since she was a young girl in the 1960's.
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Betty Herrick knows that she first became a member in 1938 - after all, she’s still got her ’38 membership card to prove it, along with each of the 71 cards for the 71 years she’s dutifully renewed, including the 2009 season.
As sharp as an Eddie Betts snap she is too. “I remember Jack Carney on the wing, Harry Vallence at full-forward and the coach Brighton Diggins,” she explains, when asked to recount her memories of Carlton’s victory over Collingwood in the ’38 Grand Final. “I was 14 years old then, and I sat with a couple of my work friends in bay 12.”
Work friends at 14? “Oh yes,” came the reply. “By 1938 I’d left St Ambrose’s Primary School and had started work at Davies & Coop, a textile factory in Lygon Street. Davies & Coop made the first windcheaters and I used to pack them. They also made singlets and underwear for the soldiers during wartime.”
Betty is quick to remind that in the years since the 1938 triumph, Carlton has actually landed another ten premierships “and I’ve seen them all”.
“1970 remains the favourite and I saw Jezza’s lovely mark,” she says. “I’ve had a soft spot for all the Carlton players, but Mike Fitzpatrick was the player I’d most like to have met. I’ve always thought of him as a great player, a gentleman and a scholar.”
Betty says that her love for the old dark Navy Blues was territorially-driven. “I lived in Brunswick, at 49 Victoria Street, and most of the people who lived in Brunswick followed Carlton,” she said.
“Mind you, some other members of my family followed Fitzroy, because ‘Dinny’ Ryan was a friend of my sister and mother. In fact, Dinny was with us the night he won the Brownlow Medal in ’36. He heard his name declared on the radio then cycled over to the old Fitzroy ground in Brunswick Street. ‘Chicken’ Smallhorn was also another friend. I visited ‘Chicken’ when he broke his leg and I signed the plaster cast.”
Betty’s love for the only team old Carlton knows was a welcome distraction through the difficult wartime years, as she took her place in the Gardiner Stand and, later, the Heatley Stand. It is a passion that has rubbed off on her two daughters (the result of her marriage in 1948) and her three grandchildren, all Carlton devotees.
“I can’t get to the games much now because I’m 86, but I managed to get to three games this year and I still follow the Blues very closely,” says Betty, who will of course shortly renew for 2010 to add ticket number 73 to her ever-growing Carlton membership collection.
| Carlton Football Club membership breakdown | |
| years of membership | membership |
| 1-2 years | 13,670 |
| 3-10 years | 21,394 |
| 11-20 years | 5231 |
| 21-30 years | 949 |
| 31-40 years | 645 |
| 41-50 years | 305 |
| 51-60 years | 179 |
| 61+ years | 157 |
| unknown | 2208 |
| top ten longest serving Carlton members* | |
| name | member since |
| Myer Brott | 1927 |
| Jean Jaeger | 1928 |
| Peter Hearn | 1928 |
| Keith Brown | 1928 |
| Joseph Look | 1930 |
| Jack Gillies | 1930 |
| Myra Kawulak McKenzie | 1930 |
| Phyllis Marjorie Taig | 1930 |
| Christopher Warner | 1930 |
| James Russell | 1930 |
| * as far as can be ascertained from earliest surviving Carlton FC membership records | |
