 |
| Image: Wikimedia commons |
Charlie Sutton, the only man to coach
the Western Bulldogs –
née
Footscray – to an AFL
Premiership,
has
died at the age of 88. A man whose life exemplified pride in
club and origin, he was born during the last of Footscray's
successful VFA years before entering the VFL. Recruited to the Dogs
from Spotswood Citizens, he embodied local and club spirit for seven
decades, captaining, coaching and leading the boardroom as the club
struggled first to emerge, and then to survive.
He earned renown as an uncompromising,
iron-fisted back pocket. In an era where almost everyone ran in
straight lines, regardless of human obstacle, Sutton's compact
stature and ruthless attitude made him feared. He was the epitome of
the back-pocket plumber, with no airs, graces or teeth.
Concentrating
solely on his powerlifter physique and inexorable approach is to see
only half the player. While his attitude and size defined his
playing style, it didn't dictate his skill, which was formidable;
when representing Victorian, he formed with Bernie Smith perhaps the
greatest back-pocket duo the game has seen.
It was
when he took over as coach that Footscray's story changed. His
leadership and a bright bunch of recruits – Jack Collins, Brownlow
medallist Peter Box and, crucially,
Ted
Whitten – brought the Dogs their
sole
Grand Final win of 1954. He taught toughness, responsibility and
vim – traits with which the fans could identify. In winning the
flag, the Dogs defeated powerhouses Geelong and the formidable
Norm
Smith-coached Melbourne, who were to win of 5 of the next 6
Premierships.
In a
familiar story, it's probable that Sutton was replaced as coach for
financial reasons. One of two transcendent stars in an amateur
league, Whitten would be offered more financial and career
opportunities outside Melbourne than the Bulldogs could provide for
him as just a player. Serving as captain-coach doubled a player's
match payment; the appeal to Whitten would have been obvious. No
matter: Charlie would later serve as club President,
omnipresent
and omniscient to all matters Footscray.
Sutton
coached the Dogs for three years after the flag to be succeeded by
his protégé,
the
player he thought the best ever. Whitten is popularly considered the
prototypical Bulldog, a boy who grew up in the shadows of the Western
Oval and joined, then led, the only club he ever could. In doing so,
he created a lineage that begat champions Doug Hawkins, Rohan Smith
and Brad Johnson. While it's most public face, Whitten wasn't the
progenitor of this dynasty, but Sutton.
Had it
not been for Charlie Sutton,
Whitten
may have retired at age 21; if not for Charlie Sutton, EJ almost
certainly wouldn't have grown into the man – the icon – he
became. Charlie was tough, but honest and caring. E.J. Whitten was
just a bigger, more athletic –
and
perhaps more eloquent – version.
Sutton
was amongst the first inductees to the AFL Hall of Fame; and when in
2010
the
Bulldogs created their own Asgaard, the first two honoured were
Whitten and Sutton, inseparable again. No consideration was given to
any others, nor should there have been. Their ground is named after
one, while their best player each year receives a medal named for the
other.
Charlie
and Ted, forever Footscray Bulldogs 1 and 1A.
Perhaps
Charlie Sutton is best defined by that 1954 Premiership cup. In
2008, the Bulldogs finished third on the back of great seasons from
Adam Cooney and Johnson. Before the finals began coach Rodney Eade
called a late-night team meeting in the depths of the MCG. When the
meeting concluded, the players were led onto the surface to see a
gnomelike figure in the centre, illuminated by the lights. It was
Sutton, holding the 1954 cup. At age 84,
he
inspired half a group of cynical footballers to tears.
Charlie
Sutton began the legacy of Bulldog champions who were
men
of the people. Players, and characters, to whom sons of the West
could relate. No-one had a bad word to say about Sutton; the same
applies to Whitten, Dempsey, Grant, Hawkins and Johnson. That in
itself is a remarkable achievement. He will be remembered; he will
be missed.
