Australian Football

'Long John' Campbell remembered

One long-awaited Wednesday in 1919 a tall, hefty Digger stepped off a troopship onto Victoria Quay for his first look at Fremantle after more than 4 years away. Three days later South Fremantle handed him a pair of shorts which, pre-war, would have fitted him, but which he could hardly drag on because he carried more than 3 stone over weight. And South stationed him on no less a protagonist than Phil Matson.

That was indicative of the value South placed on 'Long John' Campbell throughout a sparkling football career. After years away from the game, with only 3 days to get the feel of a football again and weighing 15.2 as against his football weight of 12.0, South relied on Johnny to match it with the great Matson!

Trace right through Johnny's football career and you'll find he carried more on his slightly stooped shoulders than any other individual footballer in the game in WA. Because he carried the burden so brilliantly, the writer of this series claims that at his peak, in 1926/27, Johnny Campbell was the finest footballer he ever saw.

We class Johnny as a ruckman, but actually he can't even classify himself. He invariably started off in the ruck, then, while South had the wind, he was stationed at centre half-forward. When the wind was against South Johnny was stationed at centre half-back.

Great faith

You see what we mean when we say South had faith in Johnny Campbell. Nor was it only his club. WA took Johnny to the Hobart carnival in 1924 with 2 broken fingers. Naturally he couldn't play, but there must have been some forlorn hope that somehow he might have been patched up.

In case there's yet a doubt about Johnny's quality, let us quote these words from his fellow ruckman for a decade, Jerry Sunderland: "I'll say that without any doubt Johnny Campbell in 1926/27 was the greatest footballer who ever played the game in this State. He did some impossible filings. "I know because I captained the team in those years and I instructed South players to hold the game up if they marked or got a free kick within range of Johnny. They were to watch for his signal where he wanted it at centre half-forward then kick the ball straight up in the air in his direction. Nine times out of 10 Johnny marked the ball and kicked a goal.

'In other years Johnny was just a good footballer. Over a period I'd say Staunch Owens was the best I saw in Australia, but in those two years Johnny Campbell was phenomenal."

Brother of the more famous, ‘Bonny’ Campbell, Johnny Campbell began his league football for North Fremantle in 1914 on graduating from Kingston ex-scholars. When he returned from the war he didn't need any clearance because North disbanded in 1915. Younger brother "Bonny" was playing for South, so Johnny linked his destiny with the red and whites. Fingertip mark and great soaring torpedo punt kick were the features of his game. Whenever the ball went near Johnny in the air a great long pair of arms would shoot up over the pack and as safe a pair of hands as you've ever seen would clamp onto surely some of the most glorious aerial captures the game anywhere has provided.

Johnny had his off days, several of them, but usually they were brought about by sheer weight of numbers. South's opponents, realising Johnny's devastating possibilities, did all they knew to check him. When Johnny had a day out the manner in which he foiled even the most concerted efforts to dim his lustre was almost fantastic.

Nor do we forget that in those days South were anything but a power in the football land, which doubled the toil of their really great players. Lots of praise has been lavished on the freakish aerial deeds of Ted Fleming. Because he had to climb up a back to get height, Ted had to have a run before he took off.

"Autogiro"

Johnny, much taller at over 6.1, could take off like autogyro. He carries as a treasured souvenir, a faded Press picture, which would make some of the present day "highfliers" look as though they are underground.

Johnny had 11 years with South. In that time he was a regular member of State teams, although he refused to play one year because he was building a house and could not afford to go on tour on the allowance.

He claims that a Goldfields player named "Yank" Madden, who was killed in World War I, showed him the wrinkles about high marking. "It's only judgment after all," was how Johnny summed up this vital phase of the game. "A small player can often mark in a pack because his judgment is so much better than that of his rivals. I remember a classic instance of this when Jack Jones amazed highfliers of a visiting Port Adelaide team on Fremantle Oval."

Johnny claims the hardest man he found to beat was West Perth's Sandover medallist Jimmy Craig, an aerialist at centre half-back. Jerry Sunderland, he says, is the best ruckman he's ever worked with and one of the best ruckmen he's seen in action. Of more recent times be thinks South Fremantle's Don Wares was the star ruckman.

There were many who thought that in 1926 Johnny Campbell should gave won the Sandover Medal. He finished 2 votes behind the winner. After the award a prominent football man claimed it was about time a new system of voting was introduced because the competition was so close. However, Johnny finished third on the list.

Jet propulsion

When SA beat WA in Perth in 1925, The Mirror logged Johnny Campbell as the pick of the 36 and described his contribution in the following terms:

"Fine long kicking, spectacular high marking and clean battling mark the type of football that delights the heart of the fan."A player who can hand out these delights and who, in addition, displays sound judgment in his efforts, is hailed as a footballer of class. Such a one is Johnny Campbell. "All who saw the redoubtable Southerner against South Australia's elect must agree with that. A topnotcher all the way was Johnny, whether battling in the pack, flying for the lofty ones, or rattling the leather on to the forwards." Of a club match the following week we recorded: " 'Oh, gosh, he'll bring the rain!' an excited damsel was heard to shriek as high-flying Johnny Campbell was climbing the heavens in search of the leather at the Port on Saturday." Another report about the same time reads: "Uncanny! That's the only word that aptly describes the way in which Johnny Campbell handled the greasy ball at Lotons last Saturday. Chilly breezes and incessant showers that dampen the spirits and freeze the finger tips are not the conditions that make for clever exhibitions in the air. Despite that fact, however, the aerial antics of the tall Southerner often had the fans gasping."

When we went down to see Johnny we were advised to go down at a time he was off duty, for one of his workmates said: 'He's as busy as a billposter on a windy day." And that's about how we found Johnny in G shed down at the Port, rushing around supervising every little move. He is shed boss.

Other ruck legends

Champions come and the champions go, but it's our view that Johnny Campbell was perhaps the greatest footballer who ever laced on a boot in the West. But every individual is entitled to his viewpoint. South leaned heavily on Johnny Campbell, but they also relied on Jerry Sunderland, one of the greatest ruckmen WA has ever had.

Jerry, now living at Cottesloe, was one of the harder breed of footballers. He only knew one way to travel—straight down towards the goals. If anyone got in his way it was too bad. Jerry linked his destiny with South in 1918, when he came up to league from Leederville juniors. From the same side emerged Sandover medallists Harold Boyd and Jimmy Gosnells; from the same association came "Trotter" McGuinness, Larry Duffy, Bill Adams and lesser names.

Versatile Jerry was ruckman and half-forward except for one year, when South couldn’t find a centreman and played him at the pivot. First rival he jumped there was Snowy Hamilton. This was an important occasion, for Jerry claims that on that day he played his best game of football, although he is generally considered to have starred most in the 1926 Tuesday game against a very vigorous Victorian team.

At all events, Jerry says he was worried about being played in the centre because he thought it might have affected his chance of being chosen for the State team. He need not have worried for he was picked as a ruckman and half-forward.

Jerry played for the State from 1922-27, except for the 1924 Hobart carnival, when he was unavailable. He had been disqualified by his own club for 5 years, of, which term he served 12 months. Newspapers of the time praised the action of South in re-admitting this vigorous follower. It was openly admitted that he'd have been a certainty for the Hobart carnival, and it was conjectured that he may have swung the balance in favor of the West. Jerry, anyhow, only appeared for the West in one carnival — the 1927 effort in Melbourne. There are colorful stories linked with his name over that effort.

Jerry finished his football in 1930 with Claremont. He skippered the side for 2 pears after captaining South for some time. He rucked with Johnny Campbell for 10 years and had a very high opinion of "Long John." Jerry is probably best known for his exploits against a very talented Victorian team to visit Perth in 1926. Staunch Owens won the trophy for the Saturday game, but was injured and could not play on the Tuesday. Jerry took over and won the trophy for that game.

Last week we spoke of Cazaly, who was over for these games. Jerry told us he gave a hip and shoulder to Cazaly during the 1926 Tuesday game, which was as hard as he'd ever given a man. Cazaly, he pointed out, was coming from behind WA half-back Arthur Green. He did not see Jerry who, quite fairly, gave Roy everything he had.

His hardest knock

After the game, said Jerry, Cazaly told him it was the hardest knock he'd ever received in football. Jerry, 6ft. lin. and 14 stone, was tough! Very good judges of football have said that Jerry Sunderland's contribution that Tuesday was one of the best individual exhibitions of football they'd seen, but Jerry prefers his efforts against Snowy Hamilton first-up in the centre.

With the 'boom' on Leonard, Duffy and Marsh, it's interesting to see that Jerry Sunderland, who played interstate football with the first named duo, reckons Wally Steele the best rover he ever teamed with. "A gem of a rover who later played centre and wing," says Jerry. "He was something after the style of Marsh. As a matter of fact, I'd say Steele, Marsh and a Tasmanian called Gorringe were the best rovers I ever saw in action."

Asked to name the ruckmen he found hardest to beat, Jerry said there were several comparative nonentities who gave him more trouble than most of the recognized good ones. However, one good one he thought definitely tops in ruckmen was the late "Fat" Ion, from Old East. He is not the only one to pass on such a tribute to this incredible footballer who was so bulky and yet so nimble —a veritable freak amongst footballers and one we are definitely not overlooking.

Jerry Sunderland would probably rank with Nashy Brentnall as among the toughest WA footballers to ever tug on a jersey. Don't forget that, as with Johnny Campbell, he was battling in a losing cause all the time. To gain consistent State inclusion from a team good enough to help an individual is one thing. To do it when you are one of the few to show out in a team is another. Great ruckmen, including Staunch Owens, have paid tribute to Jerry Sunderland.

Jerry Dolan

We must not overlook master tactician Jerry Dolan, whose lollipop passes invariably hit a teammate on the chest. Jerry was a different type of ruckman from most. His long, gangly frame allowed for a smart bump out of the way, but his performances on the field and later as a coach made this East Fremantle stalwart one of the headiest players in the game. For many years Jerry was State coach; for many more years he steered Old East to premiership success. Jerry, footballer and coach, had the magic touch; he played a big part in Fremantle's good record in football. A story on ruckmen without mentioning Jerry Dolan would be sacrilege. To Jerry must go the distinction of a long playing career and a longer—and perhaps even more successful — coaching term.

When Claremont’s star was in the ascendant in the years 1938-9 and 40 they had a ruckman of real class in Jack Reeves, who was playing A Grade football on the Fields at the age of 15, having toured East with the WA schoolboys side in 1928. Jack played with Mines Rovers and later with Boulder City, and he linked up with Claremont in 1936. He was a strong link in the powerful Tiger team which won them their only 3 pennants, and he and Doug Oliphant became the regular State ruck stars until a bit of a bubble on tour in 1938.

Jack and Doug are well worthy of a mention in the story of famous ruckmen. Jack knew all the wrinkles about pack work, was a fine mark with a fine disposal and a lot of judgment. He won a goalkicking medal in Kalgoorlie and so was a dangerous man to the opposition when he collected the ball within range of the goals. He rested, as they say, on the half-forward line. His career virtually ended after the 1940 Grand Final, but he had a few games in 1946.