The passing of Ted Schwarzman on January 18 at the age of 76 came as sad news to his many friends at the club who knew of his long battle against myeloma. He had attended the Past Players reunion at the club in November despite his illness.
Ted Schwarzman had only a brief career with the Saints, but on the club’s greatest day he was on the closest fringe of being included in the first ever premiership team.
Ted was one of three emergencies named for the 1966 Grand Final. In an unusual twist neither he nor a fellow emergency Jon Lilley had played a senior game that year.
Recruited in 1964 as a champion junior, who was noted for his courage at CBC St Kilda, Ted was promoted to the reserves after three games in the under-19 team.
He made his debut at senior level in the fourth round of 1965 and had three firsts appearances as a half-forward or half back flanker, which was a neat start for a 19 year-old in a team that would eventually make that year’s Grand Final against Essendon.
With competition for places so intense he trained strongly over the 1965-66 summer, but badly injured his thigh late in the pre-season and didn’t line up for the reserves until a month into the campaign. Solid form resulted in him being chosen on the bench for the ones for a mid-season game , but another thigh injury meant he was a late withdrawal.
He returned after a week’s absence, but there were no more opportunities for a senior promotion and he played out the year in the reserves.
St Kilda’s reserves were knocked out of the finals in the first semi, but the game proved to be crucial for the prospects for several players. Kevin Billing was the Saints best that day and would earn a spot on the bench for the senior Grand Final, while John Bingley was also among the best and was elevated to the seniors for the Preliminary Final and Grand Final. It is clear that Schwarzman and Lilley were right in the mix for consideration. In 1967 Ted played five senior games early in the season, but that would be the end at senior level, after eight games and five goals
He returned to CBC Old Collegians in 1969 then after two seasons was picked up by VFA club Sandringham where he had exactly 50 games from 1971 to 1975.
