Not sure what year it was from however it did rekindle some childhood memories, especially with regards to Ed Blackaby who I can only vaguely recall. I was born in 1973 and only moved to the city in 1984 so didn’t get to see any live footy as a kid until after the hatrick (gutting I know). Anyway, this scoreline got me to thinking. What sort of footballer was Ed Blackaby. From the above scoreline I can only gather he wasn’t the best kick going around. 0 goals 5 behinds on a day it was raining goals…hmmmmmmm! Would love to hear from anyone out there who could shed a little more light on the footballer Ed Blackaby. How good was he???
That game was from Round 2 1981 DW my second ever game after being hooked the week before vs WP.
In regards Ed Blackaby he was a very good rover/forward pocket for Swans who came over from Canberra aged 27 in 1980 after a very distinguished career at Manuka and despite the 0.5 in that particular match he was very dangerous around the goals.
Unfortunately Ed suffered from both illness & injuries in his 5 years playing at Swans & missed all of our Premiership teams in the 80’s but he Coached our Colts, Reserves & then League team in 88/89 before John Todd came back from his stint in the AFL coaching the Weagles.
From memory he had a son Ben? that later played a few games at Subi.
That game was from Round 2 1981 DW my second ever game after being hooked the week before vs WP.
In regards Ed Blackaby he was a very good rover/forward pocket for Swans who came over from Canberra aged 27 in 1980 after a very distinguished career at Manuka and despite the 0.5 in that particular match he was very dangerous around the goals.
Unfortunately Ed suffered from both illness & injuries in his 5 years playing at Swans & missed all of our Premiership teams in the 80’s but he Coached our Colts, Reserves & then League team in 88/89 before John Todd came back from his stint in the AFL coaching the Weagles.
From memory he had a son Ben? that later played a few games at Subi.
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Appreciate your response Beasley…I’m new to this forum stuff and really enjoying seeing the passion of fellow footy nuts like myself, especially those that live and breath the ways of the black ducks…can tell u my grandfather looked after the grounds at basso for a period during the 50’s & 60’s…I’ve heard many a story from his mates and my dads recollections of how he used to sneak down to the oval in the dark of night before the big matches, turn the taps on and waterlog the oval in the days of the cricket pitch turning it into quagmire for some of those prettier teams from the western suburbs at the coaching staffs request of course…sure some of the stories have had a little spice thrown in over time but never the less they still put a smile on my face…thanks again for the Blackaby info…if u have any recollections of the player Mike Smith I’d love to hear em…remember trying to imitate his left foot kicking style as a kid but that’s all I can recall
Blackaby was a player who had a lot of bad luck during his time at Swans with injury and illness. It was said he looked a lot like Bill Walker when he got hold of the football. He was best on ground when Swans played Claremont in the 10 year match to honour Graham Moss and John Todd’s 10 years at the club and a lot of past players put on the club jumper one more time.
He took on the coaching role after John Todd went to West Coast and had the job for 2 years. The first year was a disaster was the club finished on the bottom of the ladder, but improved and missed out on the finals by 1 game in 1989. He was dumped from the position at the end of 1989 when Todd lost his job at the Eagles. Blackaby went to Osborne Park in the Sunday FL and coached them to a flag in 1990.
I saw him at the club for the first time since 1989 last year at the re union of the 1982 premiership team. It was fantastic to see him back at Swans. At least he has moved on and doesnt hold any grudges, unlike the 1982 premiership captain who hasnt been back to Swans since he got the flick in 1996.
Ed Blackaby was one of our best rovers ever who was unfortunately cut down by illness and injury.
DW where do you sit when you go to Basso? The Macca stand is not quite as noisy as the halcyon days of the 80s but it is well worthwhile to watch a game there and enjoy the experience.
That game was from Round 2 1981 DW my second ever game after being hooked the week before vs WP.
In regards Ed Blackaby he was a very good rover/forward pocket for Swans who came over from Canberra aged 27 in 1980 after a very distinguished career at Manuka and despite the 0.5 in that particular match he was very dangerous around the goals.
Unfortunately Ed suffered from both illness & injuries in his 5 years playing at Swans & missed all of our Premiership teams in the 80’s but he Coached our Colts, Reserves & then League team in 88/89 before John Todd came back from his stint in the AFL coaching the Weagles.
From memory he had a son Ben? that later played a few games at Subi.
[/quote]
Appreciate your response Beasley…I’m new to this forum stuff and really enjoying seeing the passion of fellow footy nuts like myself, especially those that live and breath the ways of the black ducks…can tell u my grandfather looked after the grounds at basso for a period during the 50’s & 60’s…I’ve heard many a story from his mates and my dads recollections of how he used to sneak down to the oval in the dark of night before the big matches, turn the taps on and waterlog the oval in the days of the cricket pitch turning it into quagmire for some of those prettier teams from the western suburbs at the coaching staffs request of course…sure some of the stories have had a little spice thrown in over time but never the less they still put a smile on my face…thanks again for the Blackaby info…if u have any recollections of the player Mike Smith I’d love to hear em…remember trying to imitate his left foot kicking style as a kid but that’s all I can recall
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Which Mike Smith are you enquiring about DW?
As we had 2 back in the 80’s.
I am assuming it was the left footed variety ..he was a classical smooth moving centreman who played State footy in the early 80’s & in our 83 Premiership team but was unfortunately crippled by a knee injury in 81 & missed a lot of football after that.
Went to Carlton for a few years after the 83 flag but the knee injury continued to hamper him before coming back to Swans in 87 before the knee injury forced him into permanent retirement.
Was an extremely good player back in the late 70’s, early 80’s before the knee injury.
he certainly could play.Was a very very good rover.
Don’t forget to make comment in the comments box at the bottom of the story when you read the article
That game was from Round 2 1981 DW my second ever game after being hooked the week before vs WP.
In regards Ed Blackaby he was a very good rover/forward pocket for Swans who came over from Canberra aged 27 in 1980 after a very distinguished career at Manuka and despite the 0.5 in that particular match he was very dangerous around the goals.
Unfortunately Ed suffered from both illness & injuries in his 5 years playing at Swans & missed all of our Premiership teams in the 80’s but he Coached our Colts, Reserves & then League team in 88/89 before John Todd came back from his stint in the AFL coaching the Weagles.
From memory he had a son Ben? that later played a few games at Subi.
[/quote]
Appreciate your response Beasley…I’m new to this forum stuff and really enjoying seeing the passion of fellow footy nuts like myself, especially those that live and breath the ways of the black ducks…can tell u my grandfather looked after the grounds at basso for a period during the 50’s & 60’s…I’ve heard many a story from his mates and my dads recollections of how he used to sneak down to the oval in the dark of night before the big matches, turn the taps on and waterlog the oval in the days of the cricket pitch turning it into quagmire for some of those prettier teams from the western suburbs at the coaching staffs request of course…sure some of the stories have had a little spice thrown in over time but never the less they still put a smile on my face…thanks again for the Blackaby info…if u have any recollections of the player Mike Smith I’d love to hear em…remember trying to imitate his left foot kicking style as a kid but that’s all I can recall
[/quote]
Which Mike Smith are you enquiring about DW?
As we had 2 back in the 80’s.
I am assuming it was the left footed variety ..he was a classical smooth moving centreman who played State footy in the early 80’s & in our 83 Premiership team but was unfortunately crippled by a knee injury in 81 & missed a lot of football after that.
Went to Carlton for a few years after the 83 flag but the knee injury continued to hamper him before coming back to Swans in 87 before the knee injury forced him into permanent retirement.
Was an extremely good player back in the late 70’s, early 80’s before the knee injury.
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Yeah…that’s the guy BH…silky smooth left footer…was always about Phil Narkle, Leon Baker & Mike Smith for me in the back yard…funny how your childhood heroes can affect how you play as throughout my amateur & country football years I always was kicking around corners, would run all day and for a natural right footer I always found myself goin left with confidence which i put down to imitating Mike Smith…remember watching the 1980 GF on tv as my earliest footy memory but it wasn’t til 1983 that I knew all the players by name & number…Baker was my number one hero and I’m an essendon fan til this day after sheeds swooped on him…all my earliest childhood memories are of footy so great to receive ur feedback and find myself back there for a moment…my folks always said we moved back to Perth for my education but I go with the story that I nagged them so much about wanting to watch swans they eventually gave in, not that the old boy needed much prodding, for a diehard like him it was the perfect excuse…look forward to the Blackaby story Oos, nice one!!!
Ed Blackaby was one of our best rovers ever who was unfortunately cut down by illness and injury.
DW where do you sit when you go to Basso? The Macca stand is not quite as noisy as the halcyon days of the 80s but it is well worthwhile to watch a game there and enjoy the experience.
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As a kid I always sat in the RHS of the Macca adjacent to the goal post line as part of the foot stomping brigade…don’t get down to see too much wafl unfortunately due to my commitments at amateur level…when I do generally watch from the members area nowadays…the macca is my fave location to really watch a game from thou…never could get in to the walker stand for some reason…probably didn’t like the thought of the opposition scum being seated underneath…did get down during bye week at waafl level last week to see the game against Perth…cracking game and a great result considering the only home game I’ve seen this year was the first round against the dees where we didn’t get the chocolates…this will be my last year involved at amateur level and I’ve made a pact with my old boy that we will make it a Saturday ritual to go watch the footy as of next season…will make sure to watch a few from the Macca and bring the noise…that’s a given
Not sure what year it was from however it did rekindle some childhood memories, especially with regards to Ed Blackaby who I can only vaguely recall. I was born in 1973 and only moved to the city in 1984 so didn’t get to see any live footy as a kid until after the hatrick (gutting I know). Anyway, this scoreline got me to thinking. What sort of footballer was Ed Blackaby. From the above scoreline I can only gather he wasn’t the best kick going around. 0 goals 5 behinds on a day it was raining goals…hmmmmmmm! Would love to hear from anyone out there who could shed a little more light on the footballer Ed Blackaby. How good was he???
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I was at this game and I drank in every moment of it. I had been supporting Swans since I was a little boy (1968) and I had witnessed Perth give us some horrible thumpings in the years leading to this game, as they were in the middle of a successful era. So it was like a mass repayment for all these humiliations. To me the 1981 team was one of the best (if not the best) team to represent the club, certainly since I had been supporting Swans. Yet Swans didn’t even make the grand final in 1981 as Claremont and South Fremantle were champion teams in this era too.
Also the top goal scorer for Perth was Barry Kimberley who ended up being a Swans premiership players a few years later! I think he may have also won a Simpson Medal but not 100% sure of that
Good to see that a couple of you have made a post in the comments box.Keep em coming.Be good to see those that look make comment in the comments box for a boost for Ron.
