In a week when St Kilda has appointed a former Carlton legend as coach, it is fitting we celebrate a famous Saints triumph coached by another former Blue.

The appointment of a former ‘Bagger as senior coach is not a new phenomenon, but we can seize on a big positive in the footballing tea-leaves.

In the club’s 146-year history, only eight men have coached us into finals.

Of those eight men, three were former Carlton players.

Ex-Blues Mick Grace and Ken Sheldon coached the Saints to finals in 1908 and 1991, breaking significant September droughts in the process.

ON THIS DAY: St Kilda Football Club is founded

But it was on this day in 1939 where the Saints – under Carlton legend Ansell Clarke – recorded one of their most emphatic finals victories, ousting Richmond to record its first finals win in a decade.

Like Brett Ratten, Clarke had represented Victoria and won a best and fairest for the Blues in his playing career at Princes Park.

Clarke was appointed as playing coach of the Saints in 1938, and guided the team into the finals series of 1939 after a 10-year absence. 

The Saints’ 1939 list was rated as one of the most talented in the club’s history, finishing fourth with a respectable 13-5 ledger, yet it entered the first semi against Richmond as the rank outsider.

The man of the moment, Ansell Clarke, silenced the Saints' doubters following their win over the Tigers.

The Tigers had been a powerhouse of the era and had been a finalist in 10 of the 12 previous seasons, winning two premierships and being runners-up five times.

By contrast, Clarke and ex-Geelong forward Clive ‘Pixie’ Coles were the only men with any finals experience.

Richmond’s side contained legendary names such as Jack Dyer, Percy Bentley and Jack Titus, but a faster St Kilda held the upper hand against the unusually sluggish Tigers to run out as 30-point winners.

"The win over Richmond was a triumph. It confounded the critics.  The win answered their detractors in no uncertain way.  Saints at the moment are triumphant . It is a good thing for football that they are." - The Sporting Globe, 13 September 1939. 

St Kilda’s Roy Fountain and Reg Garvin dominated the rucks, and although the Tigers made several positional changes for the final quarter, the Saints cruised home for their first finals win since 1913.

The Saints wouldn’t make it to September again until 1961 under the leadership of Allan Jeans.

And just a few short years later, the red, white and black would take home their one and only premiership.