Ron Barassi

Infobox afl player NEW
playername = Ron Barassi, Jr.
fullname = Ronald Dale Barassi, Jr.
image capt = Ron Barassi in 2008

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birthdate = birth date and age|1936|2|27|df=y
birthplace = Castlemaine, Victoria
originalteam = Preston Scouts
draftpick = Father-son selection, 1952
AFL Mel (Note: There was no draft until 1986)
heightweight = 179cm / 87kg
position = Midfielder
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
currentclub = Retired
guernsey = Retired
years = 1953-1964 1965-1971
clubs = flagicon|Victoria AFL Mel flagicon|Victoria AFL Car
games(goals) = 204 (295) 49 (35)
nationalyears =
nationalteams =
nationalgames(goals) =
coach = coach
coachyears = 1973-80 1964, 1981-85 1993-95
coachclubs = flagicon|Victoria AFL Nor flagicon|Victoria AFL Mel flagicon|New South Wales AFL Syd
coachgames(wins) = 147 (99-47-1) 198 (129-66-3) 59 (13-46)
statsend = 1995
careerhighlights =

*Melbourne premiership player 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964
*Melbourne leading goalkicker 1958 (eq), 1959
*Melbourne Captain 1960-1964
*Melbourne Best and Fairest 1961, 1964
*All Australian 1956, 1958, 1961
*Playing coach representing Australia in "The Galahs" Australian Football World Tour 1968
*Carlton premiership coach 1968, 1970
*North Melbourne premiership coach 1975, 1977
*Australian Football Hall of Fame
*Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2006)
* VFL-AFL Italian Team of the Century (coach) 2007

Ronald Dale Barassi, Jr (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. During a long and brilliant career, Barassi has been one of the most important figures in the history of Australian football. His father, Ron Barassi, Sr., was the first Australian footballer killed at Tobruk in World War II. The young Barassi spent his latter teenage years living with Norm Smith, coach of the Melbourne Football Club and a former teammate of his father.

Barassi's name is synonymous with Australian football for many reasons; incredible success as a player, as a revolutionary coach and an enduring media personality. For more than 50 years he has been one of the most influential people in the game, and the shadow he casts is matched by few, if any.

Early life

The only child of Ron Barassi Snr (whose Italian grandfather had emigrated from Switzerland in 1854) and his Irish-Welsh descended wife Elza (née Ray), Ron was born in the central Victorian town of Castlemaine in 1936. The following year, Barassi Snr moved to Melbourne to play VFL football with the Melbourne Football Club. A pugnacious rover, Barassi Snr was a reserve in the Demons' 1940 premiership team before leaving to serve with the army in North Africa.

The Father-Son Rule

Barassi unintentionally changed the game without taking to the field. After his father's death at Tobruk in 1941, a group of players and officials at the Melbourne Football Club pledged to support his widow, Elza, and her young son. As a teenager, Barassi was determined to follow in his father's footsteps at the Demons, but the zoning system of the day required him to play for either Collingwood or Carlton. To ensure he played with the Demons, Melbourne went to the VFL and successfully lobbied for the creation of a Father-Son rule. When the time came for Barassi to be signed up, Melbourne picked him up from Preston Scouts in 1952 and he became only the second player signed under the new rule. This rule, with some modifications and adapted to the drafting system created in 1986, endures to the present day in the AFL.

The club had gone to great lengths to recruit the young Barassi, and coach Norm Smith took him under his wing after his mother moved to Tasmania. Smith offered the sixteen year-old use of his backyard bungalow. Looking back on the experience, Barassi believes that living with the man who was voted as the coach of the AFL's team of the century had a profound impact on his development. On his website, Barassi had this to say:

"“Norm Smith loved his footy. That suited me fine. “His ability with young people, his strength of character, his ethics and values, came into my life at the right time.”"

Melbourne was the dominant team of the 1950’s, and Barassi developed quickly by harnessing his fierce desire and submitting to Smith's fierce discipline. Ron Barassi's first game started on the bench against Footscray in 1953. When he finally got onto the ground he was immediately flattened by Footscray's Charlie Sutton. [Graeme Atkinson: 'Everthing you ever wanted to know about Australian Rule Football, but could not be bothered:Five Mile Press, ISBN 0 86788 009 0:(1982.)] Initially unsure as to Barassi's best position, Smith played him as a second ruckman in 1954, despite his lack of inches for the position. Barassi played more as a second rover, and the term "ruck rover" entered the football lexicon. Within a few years, most teams imitated this structure which ultimately paved the way for a new-style of quicker on-ball play. Soon, Barassi was the key player in the team and a talisman for the club's performances, combining intense concentration with tremendous strength to break through packs and create scoring opportunities.

Barassi soon proved himself as an influential footballer, and was quickly handed leadership responsibilities. In 1957 he was appointed vice-captain, and as captain three years later. After losing the 1954 Grand Final to a more experienced Footscray football team, the Demons dominated the VFL by winning flags in 1955-56-57 with a team hailed as the best to play the game. Barassi was a dominant finals player and his performance in the 1957 Grand Final was sensational: he booted five goals and collected possessions at will. Every media commentator voted him as best man afield.

But a resurgent Carlton gave him a dilemma in 1964. New president George Harris was desperate to have Barassi at Princes Park, and was willing to offer a lucrative contract if Barassi would cross to Carlton as captain-coach.

Keen to test his skills as coach in a fresh environment, Barassi also knew that the new wage - unthinkably high in a time where amateurs were still common - could help with his children’s education. He subsequently joined the Blues in 1965, a decision which shocked the football world. While it might seem commonplace today, high-profile players leaving clubs for financial security was virtually unheard of at that time.

Barassi believes he made the right decision, though he was reluctant to leave a club for which he had so much feeling. “Inevitably with many decisions in life there will be a downside. It is regrettable but you have to get on with things,” he said. “You have to ensure, as much as possible, that the decision you’ve made turns out right. Fortunately it worked out, and I’ll be forever grateful to Carlton for the start they gave me in coaching.”

Although he was never the same player at Carlton as he was at Melbourne, his coaching at Carlton bought them from their lowest ever finish (at the time) to premiers only 4 years later.

Drawing from his own experience under Norm Smith, Barassi forced his squad to become more disciplined and committed to the club, and their career. He preached and played a tough brand of football, and asked his charges to play a selfless, team-oriented style.

In the twilight of his own playing days, Barassi oversaw the emergence of a new era of stars that included names such as Alex Jesaulenko and John Nicholls, marking his evolution from courageous and commanding footballer to clever and creative coach.

In 1968, he guided Carlton to its first premiership in 21 years, and in 1970, in front of the biggest ever VFL crowd, he conjured footy’s most famous comeback, as arch rivals Collingwood were run down after leading by 44 points at half-time.

After the 1971 season, Barassi left the Blues to focus on his business career. Only a year later, however, he was lured by the prospect of coaching another struggling team in blue and white.

Taking over for the 1973 season, Barassi found North Melbourne in much the same situation as Carlton had been eight years before. With a clear eye on success, administrators Allen Aylett and Ron Joseph had armed the Kangaroos with a new batch of stars through clever use of the short-lived ‘Ten-Year Rule’.

Proven champions from clubs throughout the country, including Malcolm Blight, Barry Cable, John Rantall, Barry Davis and Doug Wade were soon lured to Arden Street. However, it required a coach of Barassi’s quality to pull all the elements together into a winning formula.

The miracle worker didn’t disappoint, bringing a combination of tactical brilliance and ultra-disciplined coaching to the flagless Roos. Taking over the wooden spoon winners of 1972, he led North to their first VFL premiership just three years later.

The Kangaroos went on to win another premiership in 1977, but it very nearly wasn’t, as North Melbourne and gave up a late lead against Collingwood in the second ever drawn VFL grand final. Baraasi made major positional changes, placing David Dench into the forward line, which sparked off the club's comeback to get back in front, until Ross Dunne kicked a late goal to draw the game.Within a week, Barassi had picked his side up from this disappointment to lead North to a memorable triumph.

For Barassi, his premiership victories at North rank with the epic 1970 Grand Final as his finest coaching moments.

In 1981 Barassi returned to Melbourne, which had fallen on hard times. The football side of the club was in disarray, so with long-term under-19 coach Ray “Slug” Jordan, Barassi set about building morale from the junior ranks upwards.

The under-19’s made three straight grand finals and won premierships in 1981 and 1983, but the senior side couldn’t make the same impression.

However, Barassi clearly laid some foundations for what would become a revitalised Melbourne side. “In the five years we were there I think we raised the level of the club quite substantially. Melbourne reached the preliminary final two years after we left, and the grand final the year after that. I felt we did some of the ground work.”

He started the "Irish experiment" at Mebourne which started recruiting Gaelic footballers from Ireland and converting them to Aussie rules. He recruited the most famous of all, 1991 Brownelow medalist, Jim Stynes.

Barassi then turned his signature determination to new business interests and media commitments, all of which thrived. However, football’s lure proved too strong, and in 1993, he returned to coaching as he took over the rock-bottom Sydney Swans.

His status as an AFL legend, savvy media ability and irrepressible coaching record made him uniquely qualified to carve out a space in the rugby heartland. In his three seasons in Sydney, he helped put both AFL football and the Sydney Swans on the map in the Harbour City.

Barassi now occupies himself with a wide variety of business, media and personal interests, which includes a prolific public-speaking career and an on-air role at Fox Footy. Unsurprisingly, he’s still on the speed dial of every major football organization as his opinions and experience are highly valued and always in demand.

“My lifelong involvement in football continues,” he said. “I am passionate about the development and expansion of our great game, whether it be at junior, regional or international level.”

Footballers are often branded heroes or villains according to their team colours, but Ron Barassi is loved and respected by all. He has truly become the father of the modern game, and will always be remembered as one of the all-time greats.

Coaching career

He coached North Melbourne to their first premiership in 1975, and again in 1977.

He returned to Melbourne and coached the club through 1981-1985, and helped save the Sydney Swans from extinction while serving them as coach from Round 7, 1993 to 1995.

Personal life

On 4 March 1957, Barassi married Nancy Kellett, who he had met at work four years earlier. They settled in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, at Heathmont, and had three children: Susan (born 29 July 1960), Ron (born 23 June 1962) and Richard (born 13 February 1964). The couple separated in 1975, and Barassi married Cherryl Copeland in 1981. During his coaching career at North Melbourne he survived a car crash (causing life threatening injuries: e.g. Loss of his spleen being one factor.) His passenger ex-St.kilda and Brownlow medallist Neil Roberts was also hurt. Barassi was confined to a wheel chair for a short time. Despite this set back, he attended training nights at Arden Street and could be seen directing players with assistants.

Recent activities

Since retiring from football coaching, Barassi remains a prominent Australian rules football celebrity and a figure of popular culture.

In 1996, he became an inaugural inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, one of few former greats to be bestowed the honour of the "Legend" category.

He has also been involved in grassroots football development and has been an advocate for the development of the game internationally, particularly in South Africa. Reflecting this, Barassi has lent his name to the Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament.

Barassi recently celebrated his 70th birthday, which received prominent media coverage, especially due to his trek of the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea.

More recently, he was one of the last runners in the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, being held in Melbourne, Australia between March 15 and March 26. His section of the relay, run on March 15, involved taking the Baton from a series of pontoons in the middle of the Yarra River onto shore. It was handed to him by David Neitz, captain of the Melbourne Football Club (the team with which Barassi is long associated with). This was accomplished by having Barassi walk on a pontoon that was submerged just beneath the surface of the water, giving the impression that Barassi was 'walking on water'.

After the second week of the 2006 AFL Finals, with the four remaining teams all being non-Victorian, with Victorians reeling from their recent weakness, Barassi controversially called for an inquiry to unearth the reason Victoria was trailing in the AFL, despite the state giving birth to the national competition [ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20426265-661,00.html Barassi: It's not good for football | Herald Sun ] ] .

In late 2006, he became a Sport Australia Hall of Fame member [ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20560352-11088,00.html Ron Barassi the Great | Herald Sun ] ] .February, 28th, 2008: Ron Barassi launches and signs his book entitled "Barassi", (notable focussing on hispersonal life and scrapbook memoirs.)

Trivia

*Although his great-grandfather immigrated to Australia from Italy in 1854; Ron Barassi does not speak Italian.
*Ron Barassi appeared in the Specky Magee books.
* "'Practice makes perfect' is bullshit. Only perfect practice makes perfect." Ron Barassi's quote in John Powers book "The Coach" 1977, p. 23.

References

Quotes by Barassi can be found in the book by John Powers, entitled: "The Coach". The book covers the North Melbourne football club's 1977 year through its ups and downs from the coach and players experiences to achieve the goal: the Premiership.

External links

* [http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/profiles/Transcripts/s1069371.htm Interview] - An interview conducted by George Negus for the ABC-TV programme "George Negus Tonight"
* [http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=halloffame&spg=legends AFL legends page]
* [http://www.ronbarassi.com.au Ron Barassi's Personal Website]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/b.htm Ron Barassi Profile on Full Points Footy]
* http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/R/Ron_Barassi0.html Ron Barassi career stats]