As St Kilda gear up to celebrate their 150th anniversary in style on Saturday night, there is an elephant in the room that has never been completely resolved.
In 1984, with a debt of $1.45 million, the Saints were facing insolvency unless players and premiership coach Allan Jeans accepted just 22.5 cents of every dollar they were owed and other general creditors accepted 7.5 cents of every dollar.
After much consternation Jeans agreed to accept the offer in a meeting he attended alongside former players, Bruce Duperouzel, Gary Colling, Alex Jesaulenko, Barry Breen, Kevin Neale and Jeff Sarau.
St Kilda’s only premiership coach Allan Jeans celebrated the victory in 1966.
Those leaders of the club were collectively due about $180,000, with Breen the biggest loser in the deal. He had been owed just under $65,000 at the time, a significant amount in 1984. The club’s total debt by that time was $1.45 million and the football creditors, which included more than just the seven at the meeting, collectively sacrificed about $380,000.
Jeans explained to The Age at the time why the players agreed to the deal to save the club. “There are very strong feelings among the players not to accept the settlement, as they are concerned that they are creating a precedent which may be relied on by other clubs in the future,” Jeans said. “However the players are aware that if they pursue recovery of their money in full from the club, the conclusion would be the liquidation and destruction of the club, a body which is very dear to us. The players could not have such destruction on their conscience.”
However, it remains a source of disappointment among some former greats, 40 years after its occurrence.
Collingwood captain Des Tuddenham (left) and St Kilda skipper Darrel Baldock after swapping jumpers.Credit:The Age
To describe it as a disappointment is about right. There is little anger and certainly no personal animosity from those who agreed to accept less money – more like a wistful, ongoing question being raised by some about how the feelings of those who sacrificed financially to save the club can be assuaged.
It is a question successive administrations have been unable to answer and a challenge for the current regime, which appears to be doing so much right to set up an exciting future for the club after making tough decisions last year.
It is not just a question for St Kilda to contemplate but something the AFL should take responsibility for too as it remains, in reality, the game’s last unsettled debt.
Several former players affected by the scheme of arrangement will be in attendance at the clash against Essendon at the MCG, when the Saints will celebrate their 150th anniversary. The premiership hero from 1966, the year of the club’s only flag win, Breen will be an obvious star of the show as the Saints rightfully celebrate a club with a rich culture partly defined by the cowboy reputation established during that era – albeit one far from the professional environment in place now.
It’s credit to the club and the players affected that their connection and love for the club remains strong despite the effect the decision had on many lives, but it does not mean the question has gone away.
St Kilda came close to two premierships under Ross Lyon but could not seal the dealCredit:The Age
Those from the 1966 premiership will be recognised on the night, but the question as the year unfolds that needs to be deeply considered is – how can the sacrifice those players made be rewarded and acknowledged?
It is not a legal question, as the players, along with several clubs owed transfer fees, including Richmond and Port Adelaide, agreed to the deal. Of course, getting the money would be great, but whether that is possible remains unclear.
The board of former president Rod Butterss considered how a resolution might be found during his time at the helm of the club. The potential to repay the players what they were owed hit an obstacle, however, when the club realised it would be left open to claims from general creditors who had also agreed with the scheme of arrangement the administrators reached on behalf of the club.
At the time only Carlton – who were owed about $8000 – and a small furniture company refused to agree to the deal, which insolvency expert David Crawford brokered.
But whether there is anything that can be done to assuage their disappointment at what occurred in that different era remains an open question that might require creative thinking, rather than creative accounting, to solve.
According to a source, the Saints’ honours and awards committee considered the question during Peter Summers’ reign as president as they looked to create plaques for the rebuilt Moorabbin – where so many of the players toiled in the jumper – to honour the past. They decided eventually to focus on football moments.
It is not a situation the current administration created or have had any reason to contemplate as they go about restoring the Saints on and off the field with renewed energy under returned coach Ross Lyon, reinvigorated CEO Simon Lethlean and determined president Andrew Bassat.
The administration would also be disappointed to read of a historical stone in the shoe being raised in the week the club is rightfully celebrating all it has contributed to the game in 150 years.
Neither the Saints nor the players contacted by The Age wanted to talk about the issue on the record in the week of the celebrations. The club had hoped to reserve this week for the anniversary and the rest of the year for recognition.
But amid the celebrations, as the Saints’ faithful gather at what should be a huge occasion on Saturday night, it could be a good time to get the conversation going on what can be done to recognise those who represent the Saints’ spirit better than anyone. That should not overshadow celebrations, but put them into context.
Good people with the will can often reach a satisfactory solution for those who ensured the likes of Robert Harvey, Nick Riewoldt, Brendon Goddard, Tony Lockett, Stewart Loewe and Nick Dal Santo made this club such a source of joy for so many in the four decades that have passed since the club was saved.
Jeans, the Saints’ only premiership coach, knew in 1984 what lay ahead, and he laid it out in the plain-speaking manner for which he became famous.
“It is considered by the players that the present and any future administration owes a significant moral obligation to these players for the service rendered to the club,” Jeans said.
