Vale Ron Barassi AM

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is deeply saddened by the passing of Australian Football Legend Ron Barassi AM.

With a football career spanning over 50 years, Barassi was a formidable force across four Clubs - Carlton, Melbourne, North Melbourne and the Sydney Swans.

The 254-gamer, whose career began in 1953, played 204 games for the Demons – including six premierships in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1964. He led the Club to two of these during his time as captain between 1960 and 1964.

In 1965, Barassi moved across town to Carlton as a captain/ coach. Barassi played 50 games for the Blues – including the 1968 premiership – and stayed on as coach until 1971, delivering another premiership for the club in 1970.

Following a playing stint with Port Melbourne in the VFA in 1972, Barassi returned to the VFL in 1973 as coach of North Melbourne, taking the struggling club from last place in 1972 to five successive Grand Final appearances from 1974-78, including the Kangaroos’ first two premierships in 1975 and 1977.

In 1981, Barassi returned to the Demons as coach for five years from 1981 to 1985, before in 1993 taking over the coaching duties of the Sydney Swans until 1995.

Overall – combined across coaching and playing, Barassi was involved in 515 games for 275 wins, 236 losses and four draws. He was also named as a rover in the VFL/ AFL Team of the Century.

In 1996, Barassi was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and was elevated to Legend status – one of only 31 members in this prestigious category. In 1987, Barassi was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and elevated to Legend status in 2006. Both the Australian Football Hall of Fame and Sport Australia Hall of Fame can be found within the Australian Sports Museum, located inside Gate 3 of the MCG.

To honour his contribution to the game – a statue of the three-time All Australian was unveiled in September 2003 as part of the Tattersall’s Parade Champions.

The statue, located outside Gate 4 of the MCG shows Barassi in kicking action – a fitting depiction given his record as a goal kicker for the Demons, finishing as their leading scorer in 1958 (equal first), and 1959.

Inside the MCG, the Ron Barassi Café named in his honour is a fan-favourite in the AFL Reserve in the Shane Warne Stand.

Barassi passed away peacefully on Saturday September 16, aged 87.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time.

Vale Ron Barassi.