Allan Jeans’ appointment as senior coach in 1961 brought sweeping changes to St Kilda, instigating the club’s most sacred era and putting an end to the longest Premiership drought in VFL/AFL history.
The 27-year-old “Yabby” drove the red, white and black to its first finals appearance since 1939 during his first season at the helm, inspiring the next generation of immortals who would go on to feature in the club’s treasured ’66 Premiership.
Famously, Jeans said the Saints “could have gone harder” after keeping Richmond goalless for the entire game – a feat which had last been achieved in 1921. It was the uncompromising standards, refusal to yield and insatiable hunger to succeed that would put the Saints on the road to Premiership glory over the next few years. Under Jeans’ tenure, Saints vied for September action in 1961 and 1963, but were eliminated in the semi-finals on both occasions.
It was during this time where some of the club’s greatest champions began to emerge, as excitement began to build around the new-look side who were on the cusp of unparalleled triumph. The 'blond bombshell' Carl Ditterich forged himself a reputation as one of the most intimidating players to ever grace the field, with his partnership with Alan Morrow and Brian Mynott in the ruck one of the best in the league.
Neil Roberts and Verdun Howell continued to shine down back, Brownlow medallists Ian Stewart (three) and Ross Smith (one) dominated through the centre, while legendary captain Darrel Baldock was in a league of his own. With a team of champions and all the ingredients to write themselves into legend, Jeans helped pave the next era of St Kilda’s history, furthering their ambitions to be there in that last week of September.
The Saints departed Junction Oval at the end of the 1964 season, seeking a relocation to Moorabbin for the opportunity to own its own ground and have full control over its facilities after ongoing disputes with the St Kilda Cricket Club.
Six months of direct involvement from the Saints’ stars in building their new footballing residency – right down to walking in lines to pick up stones from the newly-laid playing surface – were done in the hopes of ushering in an era of prosperity for the club. They were building – both literally and figuratively – a new home and a new beginning, as the bayside club entered a new and unknown frontier in the south-eastern suburbs.
The move caused widespread division internally and externally, but all was forgotten when a record crowd of 51,370 flocked to the Saints’ new home to witness a stunning triumph over Collingwood.
St Kilda rocketed to the top of the ladder in 1965 with 14 wins, securing its first minor premiership after 92 years in the VFL. 1965 also saw two young kids called Barry Breen and Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Neale join the Saints’ ranks, with the pair going on to champion to Crest and steer the Saints to its sole Premiership triumph.
But that wouldn’t come until the following year, with 1965 ending in heartbreak after St Kilda lost the Grand Final at the hands of Essendon. It may have prevented the fairy-tale move to Moorabbin from coming true in its first year, but it ultimately would sow the seeds for the mythical year that was 1966.
Knowing that they had exactly what it would take to become legends, the Saints stormed into the new season with eight consecutive wins to open the year. Under the fierce leadership of Jeans and Baldock, the mighty red, white and black finished in second place on the ladder with another 14-win season to their name.
A loss to Collingwood in the first semi-final had the Saints poised for another premature exit from September action, before rallying together in the preliminary final to inflict sweet revenge on the Bombers in front of over 94,000 spectators. Another opportunity to go down in history beckoned, but the Saints had their backs to the wall after Ditterich was ruled out of the Grand Final after being suspended the week prior.
St Kilda met Collingwood at a packed MCG, with the colossal affair one of the most epic encounters in the history of the game.
No more than four points separated the two warring sides at each change, with the dominance of Cowboy’s five goals and Ian Cooper’s best-on-ground display pushing the red, white and black closer and closer to the most incredible of triumphs.
Jeans’ rousing three-quarter time address rallied the Saints together for one last assault. They were prepared to pay the price. And they had 25 minutes to make a name for themselves.
Hearts were in mouths as hysterical panic and excitement coursed around the ground in the deadlocked final minute. All it would take was one point.
As the ball bobbled up in the Saints’ forward 50 and the crowd continued to scream their lungs out, an opportunistic Barry Breen found himself with just enough space to seize the Sherrin and fire towards goal. His tumbling kick sailed high for an agonising few seconds, crossing the line for the most famous minor score in the game’s history.
With the Saints’ up by a solitary point, Collingwood were presented with one final roll of the dice, advancing the footy through the centre and barrelling long to centre-half forward.
Bob Murray’s match-saving mark on the last line of defence all but confirmed the result, with his clearing kick to the boundary averting a crisis that would have shattered the hearts of the St Kilda faithful. As the Sherrin sailed into Alan Morrow’s outstretched hands, the siren sounded to end the longest Premiership drought in VFL/AFL history.
No words can do justice to describe the sheer emotion that followed. But the tears that flowed in pure happiness, the unbridled outpouring of joy and the historic celebrations that were 93 years in the making had finally blessed the red, white and black.
At long last, St Kilda had its first ever Premiership. And all those men were immortals.
The Saints made the finals in 1968, but nothing could ever come close to that legendary moment in ’66.
