17 minute read
SYD AT THE 'G'
Above: Syd Coventry at the MCG on 15 March. AFL Photos
By Peter McCullough
The unfurling of the 2023 premiership flag before the Collingwood game against Sydney at the MCG on 15 March would not have been complete without the presence of a Coventry. The photograph above is of 92 year-old Syd Coventry Junior who participated in the event wearing his original Collingwood woollen jumper.
Collingwood Football Club is noted, among other things, for the number of brothers who have pulled on the Magpie jumper: the names Richardson, Rose, Twomey, Richards and Collier are significant in that club’s Hall of Fame.
However the two brothers who are held in the highest regard are the Coventrys: Syd and Gordon. At Collingwood they are football royalty. Two of Syd’s sons (Hugh and Syd Junior) also played with Collingwood and, although their contributions may have been minor, they are still part of the club’s most famous family.
Syd Junior has lived at Bittern for almost 40 years and was only too happy to allow Peninsula Essence to learn a little more about his family and his club. This is Syd’s story.
Where did the Coventrys come from?
Thomas, a coalminer and farmer from Gloucestershire, came to Australia in 1848 bringing his large family, one of whom was my grandfather (Henry) who subsequently settled at Diamond Creek as an orchardist.
Henry also had a large family of seven boys and two girls. Three of the boys went to the First World War and one (Hugh Norman), who was considered to be the best footballer of them all, was killed at Pozieres, France, in 1916. Another son was gassed and did not live beyond 60.
My grandmother apparently put her foot down and refused to allow any of the other boys to enlist, although my father and his younger brother (Gordon) were probably too young anyway. She thought that three was enough. As a result the family was sent a white feather, a symbol of cowardice!
All of the boys played football for Diamond Creek and at one point there were six Coventrys in the team. My father started when he was about 13 and he was later joined by Gordon who was 27 months his junior.
How did the Collingwood connection start?
My uncle Gordon was the first to go to Collingwood towards the end of the 1920 season. He was nicknamed ‘Nuts’ by the family at a young age, apparently because of his disproportionate-sized head as a child. When the Collingwood officials came to recruit him my grandfather shouted out “Hey Nuts, there’s a couple of blokes from Collingwood who want to see you.” The moniker stuck with him all his life; even his wife called him Nuts to his dying day.
Collingwood’s interest in Gordon led them to my father who had ventured down to Tasmania where he was working in the copper mine and playing for Queenstown. While there he was signed by St. Kilda but after a bit of a wrangle he decided it made more sense to join his younger brother. He started at Collingwood in 1922.
Dad never went to secondary school; not many did in those days. His father, my grandfather, was out cutting wood at 13; even later he carted wood from Diamond Creek to the suburbs. However, on his return from Tasmania, my father joined the Board of Works where he finished up as an Inspector. Much later, when he was President at Collingwood, he would arrive at training in his ute; a bit different to these days when they turn up in suits and flash cars.
Your father had a reputation as an enforcer?
Even though he was just six feet tall he was powerfully built. He was highly respected by his contemporaries. I remember Harry Collier saying to me one day: “Your Dad was a terrific captain; he would look after the little blokes.”
At the start of the 1927 season Collingwood sacked its captain (Charlie Tyson) following rumours that he had played dead in the grand final of 1926. Dad was appointed captain and held the position until he finished at the end of 1934. So he was captain of what they called ‘The Machine Team’ which won four consecutive premierships (1927-1930).
Probably his best season was 1927: he was the club’s first Brownlow Medallist, won the inaugural Copeland trophy, and was instrumental in the Grand Final. Not a bad effort seeing his pre-season consisted of just a few runs as he and Gordon were pre-occupied in helping Diamond Creek in the cricket finals.
Incidentally, the 1927 Grand Final was played in atrocious conditions with Collingwood scoring two goals (both by Gordon in the second quarter) to Richmond’s one goal scored in the last quarter. The final scores of 2.13 to 1.7 were the lowest ever recorded. Apparently a sodden bagpiper struck up when Nuts scored each of his goals and 21 speeches were made in the Collingwood rooms afterwards!
The following year presented Dad with a different problem: he had to convince the players not to strike when the club decided to cut their weekly wages from 3 pounds to 2 pounds and 10 shillings.
Sometimes referred to as ‘The Perfect Year’, the team won all 18 home-and-away matches in 1929. However Richmond gave them a ten goal thrashing in the semi-final and only some astute moves by coach Jock McHale enabled the Magpies to reverse the result in the Grand Final. In 1930 Jock McHale was ill in bed on Grand Final day and was probably the only coach to win a premiership while listening on the radio. An official (Bob Rush) addressed the players before the game and the captain no doubt gave plenty of instructions on the ground; the result was that Collingwood beat a highly fancied Geelong side.
What prompted your father to go to Footscray as coach in 1935?
Dad had been badly hurt when he was king-hit in the match against Carlton in 1934 and he probably thought that his playing days were at an end; even so, Collingwood would only release him if he signed an agreement stating that he would not play for Footscray! Jock McHale was so well entrenched at Collingwood that no one else could get a look in. In fact, he was there until 1950 when Phonse Kyne took over and a few who had coaching ambitions had to look elsewhere.
As far back as 1919 there had been ructions when Dan Minogue, a former captain, left to coach Richmond. It was of course the
Great Depression years when Dad was coaching Footscray (193536) and the money was very useful as they weren’t all that well paid at Collingwood. (Footnote: Jock McHale played 261 games for Collingwood 1903-18 and 1920. However his coaching career extended from 1912-1949 for 714 games and 8 premierships.)
What are your recollections of Uncle Gordon?
He was quiet with a dry humour. He had enormous hands; they reckon he could hold two dozen eggs in his two hands. His hands were like a vice when the ball hit them. He was strongly built and relied more on his strength than high marking to get his kicks.
Part of his ritual was to sit down to a roast dinner before a match. Even when I was playing my mother insisted on giving me a steak at 11 am; these days they load up on carbo hydrates. Although he was generally regarded as unflappable, Nuts is remembered for two famous incidents apart from his legendary goal-kicking.
The most famous was when he was rubbed out for eight weeks when he retaliated after Joe Murdoch, the Richmond full-back, kept punching some boils that Nuts had on the back of his neck. He missed the 1936 Grand Final as a result. Nuts retired but was coaxed back to play one more season.
Prior to that, in 1934, which was Dad’s last year at Collingwood, Nuts ran the length of the ground to flatten a Carlton player (Gordon Mackie) who had king-hit Dad. Dad was carried from the ground unconscious with a fractured skull and, when he came to in the rooms and they told him of Nuts’ reaction, he shook his head in disbelief and said: “I only wish I had been conscious to see it.” The upshot was that six Carlton players were reported after an all-in brawl developed; no Collingwood player was reported. Mackie and another Carlton player got six weeks. Nuts considered himself lucky to escape. When he was told after the game what he had done, he found it hard to believe himself.
Nuts did not take readily to the modern game. When interviewed by Herald columnist Alf Brown in 1968 he commented: “Full forwards miss too many goals. They all want to kick goals with that drop punt. What’s wrong with the old-fashioned flat punt or the drop kick?” and “Training starts too early now and players do too much training off the ground. It is not necessary.”
Could you tell us about your generation?
My mother was Gladys Trevaskis who lived in North Melbourne; her family had originally come from Cornwall. Apparently she met my father at a dance at Diamond Creek but I’m not sure how she happened to be up there. When the boys went to a dance at the local hall they took a short cut home to the orchard through the cemetery; probably not everyone’s cup of tea!
After my parents married they lived in Alphington. There were four boys in our family: Hughie, Jack, myself and Gordon. Hughie played eight games with Collingwood in 1941. I remember one day watching him kick four goals against Richmond from a halfforward flank; he was a beautiful kick.
Then he went off to the war. When he came back he played a bit in the seconds. I saw him one day in a final; he was kicking drop kicks from full-back and they were reaching the centre. However he could never recover the four years that he had missed. What’s more, he was a bit unsettled.
The next brother (Jack) also served in the RAAF. Before leaving he had a few games with Collingwood seconds and was a promising footballer; he kicked 16 goals one day playing for Parkside. Jack had some unpleasant experiences as he was shot down over Italy.
I was born in 1932 and Gordon, named after his uncle, was born five years later. He was more Dad’s build and played in the back pocket with Port Melbourne. In the mid-1940’s I joined a junior club (North Alphington), then Parkside Football Club before moving to Collingwood where I played in the thirds, seconds (50 games) and then seven games in the seniors in 1954.
I was a good seconds footballer but not strong enough for the seniors. I tried to mix it but Dad told me to take it a bit easier. He said: “If you hand out six bumps they get one each and you get six.
Who’s going to slow down?” These days they are told not to bump but to tackle; in fact you can get reported for a bump.
The best of my senior games was against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval when I played centre-half-back on a bloke from South Australia named Candles Thompson. He was 6 feet, 6 inches. Next week I was dropped to19th man against Footscray. I would have been on Ted Whitten which would have been an experience.
The Collingwood supporters were never kind. Even at training they would sing out: “You’ll never be as good as your father.” Dad was Chairman of Selectors and it was a bit awkward being there. I couldn’t see much future at Collingwood and after 1954 I thought it was time to move on. Besides, by this time I was married and had a career to look after.
After a season back with Parkside (1955) I bought a house in Cheltenham and had a season with Mordialloc (1956). They asked me where I played and I said “forward and ruck” as I was sick of playing on the backline. I enjoyed that and then I chipped a bone in my ankle and that was the end of football.
What about life away from football?
I did a course at Swinburne Senior Tech in chemistry in 1947-50. Many of my fellow students were rehab blokes who had been to the war and this had a maturing effect on me. Before Swinburne I went to primary school at Fairfield and then to Collingwood Tech. There were no secondary schools out towards Heidelberg and the choice was between Northcote High and Collingwood Tech.
Dad worked with engineers and encouraged me to go down the tech path. Because I was no good at maths I backed away from engineering and this led me to chemistry.
In 1953 I went to a dance at Heidelberg Town Hall where I met Edith Powell. Romance blossomed and we were married in 1954. Meanwhile I had started at the Gas & Fuel Corporation as an industrial chemist and stayed with them for about 20 years until they closed the gasworks when natural gas came in.
I then took up secondary teaching and did that for about 20 years. After a year of teacher training I started at Sandringham Tech teaching maths and science. I must admit that maths was always a struggle for me. After five years at Sandringham we decided that we would like a spell in the country so we bought a little farm at Arawatta near Korumburra. I taught at Wonthaggi for a year and then at Leongatha which was a fantastic school. After some years Edith was affected by the aerial spraying and we were forced to return to Cheltenham. I was posted to Monterey Tech which was a really tough school and I retired from there.
After a year back in Cheltenham we got a bit restless for the open spaces so we moved to Bittern. That was nearly 40 years ago. After a few years of retirement I decided to set up a little tourist business. I picked up people from hotels in the city and took them for day trips in the car, often to see the penguins on Phillip Island. I did that for about five years and then the driving started to get a bit hard.
Edith and I have six children: two boys and four girls. This has now extended to include 16 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Neither of our two boys (Peter and Andrew) did much football wise and the only Coventry pulling on a jumper at present is a granddaughter who plays in the midfield for Tyabb. We are, however, a tightknit family and get together regularly for Christmas and birthdays. Barracking for Collingwood is, of course, compulsory!
Any other interests?
When I gave up teaching I was at a bit of a loose end until I started playing social tennis at Balnarring on a Thursday morning. I played for many years and had a fantastic time; we would play from 10am to 2pm, getting in five sets of tennis, and then have lunch. I only gave it up as my knees were starting to play up and it was too tiring on a hot day. Meanwhile I had started bowling at Balnarring and it gradually replaced the tennis. I particularly enjoyed playing pennant on a Saturday; it was serious stuff! In 2023 I had to take a break for health reasons but I am planning to make a comeback this year. Incidentally, I was treasurer down there for several years which was hard work as I didn’t know much about bookkeeping.
Did you ever find that being a Coventry was a burden?
Never. When I first went to Collingwood Tech one of the teachers pointed at me and said: “This fellow down the front, Coventry, his father is the King of Collingwood. So that makes him the Prince of Collingwood.” All of my life I have been asked if I was related to the footballer. I always saw it as an advantage; in fact it has enabled me to meet a lot of famous people. This applies particularly to old footballers; although Dad would have clashed with them on the field, they were always good mates. I remember sitting next to Bert Chadwick one day; as well as being President at Melbourne he was also Chairman of the Gas & Fuel Corporation. I thought that I was the luckiest kid around as I was exposed to the Collingwood culture. When I went to the football with Dad I would sit beside the boundary line with the19th man and Jock McHale. I knew all the old players of Dad’s era.
For The Record
Gordon Coventry. 1920-37, 306 games and 1299 goals. Gordon held the record for the most career goals until surpassed by Tony Lockett. He was the first man to kick 100 goals in a season (124 goals in 1929), was the first VFL player to notch 300 games and kicked a record 50 goals or more in 13 consecutive seasons. He once kicked 17 goals in a match (against Fitzroy in 1930) which was a League record until 1947.He topped the club’s goalkicking every year from 1922-37 and was leading League goal kicker from 1926-30 and in 1937.He represented Victoria 25 times (100 goals) and played in five Collingwood premiership sides: 1927-30 and 1935, missing the 1936 grand final triumph because of suspension. He won Collingwood’s best-and-fairest in 1933, was selected in Collingwood’s ‘Team of the Century’ and is in that club’s ‘Hall of Fame.’ In the Australian Football Hall of Fame Gordon Coventry is listed as ‘Legend.’
Syd Coventry (Senior). 1922-34, 227 games and 62 goals. Syd was Collingwood captain 1927-34 during which time they won four successive premierships (1927-30). He won the Brownlow Medal in 1927 and Collingwood’s best-andfairest in 1927 and 1932. He represented Victoria 27 times before leaving Collingwood to coach Footscray (1935-37). He returned to Collingwood as Vice President in 1939 and was President 1950-62. Syd was selected as captain of Collingwood’s ‘Team of the Century.”
*Hugh Coventry. 1941, 8 games and 11 goals.
*Syd Coventry. 1954, 7 games and 0 goals.
* Both are sons of Syd Coventry Senior.
