Hello Carlton people! (this sounds like a relatively cheerful greeting),

As some of you might know already, I have released a book on the champions of Carlton.......called Champions of Carlton.

The players chosen as feature chapters for the book go back to the 1930s/40s period and there are a few unusual selections (such as Fred Davies). The last feature chapter is on Anthony Koutoufides.

My aim here is to gain awareness of the book and to ensure some people consider it as a good option for a Christmas present (you won't find a better coffee table book for a Carlton fanatic!).
Anyway, I welcome feedback on the book. Maybe there is something you want to get off your chest....why wasn't there a chapter on Ken Hunter!! (for example).

Let's start with a competition (as I did one on the Big Footy site as well).

This picture hopefully has enough pixilation for it to be the starting point for this competition. The first person who can correctly identify at least one of the two players in the front of this picture will receive a free copy of the book. (You don't need to do Xmas shopping now!)


Cheers- Miles

Is that Ken Baxter? (on the left)

Mate , I have already read it from top to bottom . Once I started reading I couldn't put it down . Excellent book . Well done .
P S ..............my better half bought it for me and she's a Pie supporter . She actually buys anything to do with the Blues when she is out shopping just to keep me happy . She came across the book in a shop in Southland . We have clocked up over half a century so its workin"

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All my dangerous friends

Let me save a few megatons of AI data centre emissions by assuring everyone that Google Lens has NFI who those blokes are

Doc Sherrin the 3rd.... you are the first winner of the 2025 Talking Carlton comp. Well done!

Yes...a young Ken Baxter. One thing I wonder about with this moment is if there was more than just Coca-Cola in that bottle. Did the trainer put something extra in? Was there a "special ingredient"...maybe whisky?


Ken looks a bit fatigued/worried here as well. The player next to him appears to be Frank Anderson. His hand was heavily bandaged. I am guessing this moment comes from the 1938 finals vs Geelong, but I haven't verified that yet. Ken kicked eight on this day. Unfortunately this photo didn't make it into the final product as I thought the quality of it (in terms of pixilation) wasn't that great.

If you PM your mailing address Doc Sherrin the 3rd I will send you a book. I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers,

Miles

Can I add my own review of this book - the work Miles has put into it is outstanding the work with the photos of finding them and getting them enhanced is brilliant and the interviews with Brent Croswell are really illuminating.

I’ve already bought a few copies as Christmas presents- so if your struggling for ideas rather than socks and jocks get this book for any of your Carlton mad relos.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Mickstar....this is the sign of true love from your better half. She is obviously a very good woman as she hasn't tried to convert you to the black and white.

I have a question for you. As I was putting this book together, one thing that I knew I missed was not having a chapter on Ken Hunter. He is to this day one of the most popular Carlton players in the club's history and this universal love I think comes largely from seeing his daredevil courage. Garry Crane was of a similar makeup. Besides Bruce Doull, I think Hunter is one of the most popular Carlton identities because of his admirable qualities. So it is a bit of a shame I didn't get enough space to put something in the book on him. I am curious Mickstar (and anyone else) if there was one player you would have liked to have been highlighted in a history book on Carlton who would it have been?

Ken Hunter? or another player?

AI is having a meltdown as we speak trying to work out who they are. Perhaps I have caused some outage over in AI headquarters!! Apparently it is called Googleplex. I didn't know that until I just looked it up.

Agro!

You are a good man. Thanks for those kind words.

The idea behind it was to make it suitable as a coffee table book so that you can flick through it and get something new out of it each time.

I know for a fact that Wayne Harmes has purchased a few copies for his grandkids for Xmas...so it was nice to hear that he has enjoyed the book too.

Thanks Miles. PM sent. Really looking forward to opening it up on the hammock.



For me it's Horrie Clover. I don't think anyone has devoted more to the club, on-field and off-field for over 40 years. Every game he played he was risking serious injury. A champion footballer, a captain, coach, club secretary, vice-president and president. You could make a movie about Horrie. A truly remarkable man.

That is an interesting choice DocS.

Recruited from Maryborough, as with another slightly famous Blue — John Nicholls!

Whenever I think of players, my thoughts often go first to where that player was recruited from. On a slightly different tangent, Maryborough is a club that is in a bit of financial strife now, so if anyone has a couple of dollars to spare probably send it their way. Formed in 1872.

Yes, Horrie would be a good player to focus on. You are right. Have you got the book Carlton, The 100 Greatest? There is a reasonable amount on Horrie in that book and also Tony's book as well.

Fingers crossed there’s one in my stocking this year.

Can’t wait for the sequel http://www.talkingcarlton.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38432

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

For me , " Big Nick " is Carlton's greatest player . And Jezza is Carltons best player . And to my mind Kenny Hunter is right on Jezza's heels as the best Carlton player I have seen . And on his day Brent Crosswell was the most brilliant player I have seen play for Carlton .
So yeah Miles , if you get the chance a story about Kenny would be fantastic . Kenny was an unreal footballer . Incredible in the air .
On another note the best kick of a football for Carlton I ever watched was Geoff Southby . A monster boot of a football . Of course my late uncle who introduced me to the Blues always reckoned Ern Henfry was the best kick he had seen .

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All my dangerous friends

Love the book.
Bought a couple copies for my two sons.
Thanks for the nudge.
Great xmas pressie this year for my godsons.

I'm with Mickstar re greatest and best players: Nichols and Jezza.
I loved Phil Pinnell. An amazing athletic specimen and so versatile....and tough.

Speaking of wonderful athletic talents, I'd like to see a 100m path somewhere around or in Princes/Ikon park to reflect, remind and represent Southby's 100m torps.
Standing behind Southby's kick ins was pure power and pure beauty.

Doc I, II and III is a ripper with his knowledge and memory of all things Carlton.

Ken Hunter.

I was a huge fan of Vinnie Waite. As a kid, he looked so strong, and back in day, we needed players like Waite to stand up.
Having watched replays of the late 60's and 70's, Vinnie didnt seem as tough as I thought as a kid.

Another hero of mine was Trevor Keogh.

Thanks again Miles

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Of course I would like to see a bit of stuff about Bruce " Bugsy " Comben . Particularly his off field exploits where he ferociously defended all things Navy Blue .

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All my dangerous friends

By the way, there is a player who features in the book (a photo at least) who makes this above list of cauliflowers who left in a huff...

Sorry about that! Maybe just skip that page in the book.
At the time, I didn't know he would be leaving the club.

Mickstar, that is a great point about Geoff and his monster torpedoes. It is a shame that with the combination of the passing of time and the minimal amount of footage from the early 1970s that his great skillset isn't as widely recognised as what it should be. Nevertheless, the club did put together their top 12 players of all-time and he featured in that list.

Thanks Bondiblue for your endorsement of the book!

Phil Pinnell is a really interesting one as he went under the radar a bit. He seemed to really flourish in 1970 and got some big defensive jobs in that year. There is a good photo of him in the book as you've probably seen.

One of the first things I think about with Pinnell is how crazy it seems just in isolation that in the 1969 GF that he played on Richmond's captain Roger Dean. Pinnell was playing his 12th match, Dean was in his 176th match. Phil didn't get much time to build up a resume before that match.

With Waite....gotta love his straight ahead, get out of my way attack on the ball. Alf Brown once summarised his style when he stated, “Waite is strong, fast and goes through hard, but he is too ambitious. I am sure he wants to pass eight opponents, run the length of the ground and score a goal. Last week (round 13, 1970 vs Geelong) he cleared, evading four, but was freed for forgetting to bounce the ball.”

This is an interesting exercise for me as we all seem to have a wide range of favourites. For some reason I thought everyone would gravitate towards Ken Hunter and Bruce Doull.

I gravitate towards Nichols and Jezza because it really starts there for me, and they created results we all cherish the indelible highlights.

I'm older than Doc Sherrin, and I can't believe his time started around Clover. Old soul.

I'm sure you have a next book in the pipeline, for the love of it.
There's so much content to collate. Great stories. Growing fan base.
Can't go wrong, if you have tick toc tick toc spare time

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue