Sporting Life
August 5 2003
Edited by Geoff McClure
Sound the siren - Tommy's 72
It's Tom Hafey's 72nd birthday today and as a special treat, instead of blowing out candles on a cake, we reckon some one should blow a siren. You see, not only are sirens back in the news, courtesy of the MCG's mechanism failure last Saturday, but the most famous league siren story of them all happened in 1966 which was historic for a more important reason - it was the Tiger legend's first game as coach. But today also presents an opportune time to dispel a myth about that momentous match, involving the mounted policeman who galloped on to Princes Park (now Optus Oval) after the siren had failed. Legend has it that the policeman was dispatched to tell umpire Don Blew to end the match but, according to former Richmond official Roy Watkins, that is not true. Watkins told us yesterday he was in a room below the timekeepers' booth in the ground's new scoreboard that day and, realising the last quarter had been going for an inordinately long time, he looked up to see the timekeeper trying to catch the umpire's attention to tell him the game was over. "Not only had the siren broken down but the emergency siren was in a wheelbarrow underneath the stand and the timekeepers couldn't get to it," said Watkins. "So I rushed on to the ground to tell the umpire. The reason the policeman galloped on was not to alert the umpire. He thought I was an intruder and he was going to arrest me."
Sounds of silence
"I remember it as if it were yesterday," said Hafey of the match that started a career that was to span 23 years and 522 games at four clubs and include four premierships. "In the end it was pretty obvious to everyone that the siren wasn't working. I had just finished coaching in Shepparton and I thought, gee, this is supposed to be the big league but this sort of thing didn't even happen in Shepparton. The trouble was we were two or three goals in front but Carlton were finishing well and got at least one goal, from Sergio Silvagni, after the siren should have sounded. In the end we won by a goal. I was glad when it was all over."
All in a day's work
All of which brings us back to "birthday boy" Hafey and exactly how he plans to celebrate his big day. On the agenda is a trip to Stawell to address a school group and then take training at the local footy club. But before that he has his daily workout routine to get through (one that has been well documented but one that we feel is worth recording again if only because it's his birthday). Upon rising at 5.30am he will run between eight and 10 kilometres, follow it by a 10-minute stretching routine, 200 push-ups, a quick swim in the Bay and 600 sit-ups. Not only does he do that every day of the year but has been doing so ever since he retired as a footballer in 1965. What's more, once the footy season is over and "I have more time on my hands" four days a week he will go to the gym for a 90-minute workout. Makes us feel exhausted just thinking about it.
August 5 2003
Edited by Geoff McClure
Sound the siren - Tommy's 72
It's Tom Hafey's 72nd birthday today and as a special treat, instead of blowing out candles on a cake, we reckon some one should blow a siren. You see, not only are sirens back in the news, courtesy of the MCG's mechanism failure last Saturday, but the most famous league siren story of them all happened in 1966 which was historic for a more important reason - it was the Tiger legend's first game as coach. But today also presents an opportune time to dispel a myth about that momentous match, involving the mounted policeman who galloped on to Princes Park (now Optus Oval) after the siren had failed. Legend has it that the policeman was dispatched to tell umpire Don Blew to end the match but, according to former Richmond official Roy Watkins, that is not true. Watkins told us yesterday he was in a room below the timekeepers' booth in the ground's new scoreboard that day and, realising the last quarter had been going for an inordinately long time, he looked up to see the timekeeper trying to catch the umpire's attention to tell him the game was over. "Not only had the siren broken down but the emergency siren was in a wheelbarrow underneath the stand and the timekeepers couldn't get to it," said Watkins. "So I rushed on to the ground to tell the umpire. The reason the policeman galloped on was not to alert the umpire. He thought I was an intruder and he was going to arrest me."
Sounds of silence
"I remember it as if it were yesterday," said Hafey of the match that started a career that was to span 23 years and 522 games at four clubs and include four premierships. "In the end it was pretty obvious to everyone that the siren wasn't working. I had just finished coaching in Shepparton and I thought, gee, this is supposed to be the big league but this sort of thing didn't even happen in Shepparton. The trouble was we were two or three goals in front but Carlton were finishing well and got at least one goal, from Sergio Silvagni, after the siren should have sounded. In the end we won by a goal. I was glad when it was all over."
All in a day's work
All of which brings us back to "birthday boy" Hafey and exactly how he plans to celebrate his big day. On the agenda is a trip to Stawell to address a school group and then take training at the local footy club. But before that he has his daily workout routine to get through (one that has been well documented but one that we feel is worth recording again if only because it's his birthday). Upon rising at 5.30am he will run between eight and 10 kilometres, follow it by a 10-minute stretching routine, 200 push-ups, a quick swim in the Bay and 600 sit-ups. Not only does he do that every day of the year but has been doing so ever since he retired as a footballer in 1965. What's more, once the footy season is over and "I have more time on my hands" four days a week he will go to the gym for a 90-minute workout. Makes us feel exhausted just thinking about it.
