Dianne Baxter remembers her late father as “a very protective dad who idolised his only child”. “I remember I had to pass his inspection to go to school,” she said recently of the early days. “I had to make sure I had my gloves on, my beret on, socks neatly tucked into my shoes, and my tie done correctly.”

Regrettably, Dianne has no recollection of seeing her father, the great Ken Baxter, turn out for his beloved Carlton - the club whose team he represented with great distinction in 153 matches (in a career interrupted by wartime) including the Grand Final triumphs of 1938, ’45 and ’47, finishing his career in 1950. Tragically, Ken collapsed and died of a brain aneurism at just 41 years age inside the Melbourne Magistrates Court after reporting for jury duty.

But Dianne is of the view that her ties with her beloved father are even greater now than they ever were. Which is why she wants to enlist the support of sons and daughters of former Carlton footballers to establish a new collective.

Dianne is seeking out the children of any former Carlton footballers from the 1940s and 1950s onwards to assist in her noble quest. For her, it’s a means of maintaining links first forged with the Blues way back in the late 1930s when her father and mother started their lengthy courtship which was also interrupted by the war.   It’s a little known fact that Dianne’s mother Maisie was [Carlton captain-coach] Brighton Diggins’ cousin “and as Mum once said to Dad, if you don’t join Carlton I won’t marry you”.

“I guess it’s because Dad died so young that I want to keep his memory alive,” Dianne said. “ I don’t recall seeing my father play, never even saw him in a moving film, and yet he was in the club’s book of the best 100 Carlton players.

“People have told me that Dad was a great full-forward and as I said to Mum many years after Dad died, ‘You never told me that he was Carlton’s leading goalkicker for five years in a row’.

“It’s part of the reason why I want to bring the sons and daughters of other former Carlton footballers together. It’s something meaningful and something tangible to remember our fathers by, because each one of them shed blood, sweat and tears for the club.”

Dianne said that the sons and daughters collective would not only serve to perpetuate the memory of the club’s servants of many generations, but also serve a philanthropic purpose.

As she said: “Perhaps the sons and daughters could assist with any disadvantaged boys or girls in the local Carlton community through a special program or the like. Such a concept needs the support of all adult children of past players, thereby giving a generational layer to ensure our fathers’ legacies live on forever”.

Sons and daughters of former Carlton footballers with an interest in supporting Dianne’s cause can contact her on 0409 411856.