Ron “Ranch” Scott
Many people go to make up a football club. Over more than 50 years involvement in footy, I have met the champs and the chumps, the grinners and the whingers.
Shepparton’s Ron “Ranch” Scott is one of the grinners and one of the most pleasant blokes you would like to meet. The 74-year-old drainage maintenance officer with the City of Greater Shepparton, Ranch has been involved with the Bears long before they had that moniker and were known as the Maroons.
He started out boundary umpiring in 1954 for the seconds while playing for City United thirds with John Hueston, Barry Guy and company. He graduated to the seniors before the legendary president, Jack Edwards, “sacked me because I was too slow.”
It wouldn’t have gone down too well with coach, Tommy Hafey, who is said to have declared Ranch the best boundary he ever had, mainly because Ranch had a look over his shoulder to see where his ruckmen, Brian “Redda” Noonan or John “Tally” Mullane were standing before he threw the ball back in. It just so happened the ball would “drift” the side of the contest the Shepparton ruckman was standing.
Ranch goal umpired, time kept and did any other jobs around the club before he went to Tallygaroopna to play seconds when Tally Mullane returned home to coach his home town side. One of his mates was Tallygaroopna “star centre half forward Rumba Wright,” who encouraged Ranch to “hook a bloke playing for Girgarre who had been acting up. Hook him skinny, Rumba said and I did.”
When the umpire told Ranch he was booked, he questioned the man in white because he couldn’t get the other players number due to him lying on his back. The story doesn’t end there and at the Kyabram Club the next week the boys adjourned to the bar before Ranch fronted the KDL tribunal.
Full of Dutch courage, Ranch thought he would tell the tribunal a thing or two about tribunals and footy and copped four weeks.
A great mate of Tommy and Maureen Hafey, Ranch was playing cricket for Old Students at the High School Oval bowing medium pace when Father Duffy came to the crease for St Brendan’s just about the same time Tommy had pulled up to his mate. “Father Duffy was a good cricketer and a big bloke who hit me over the railway line and we never found the ball. Every time Tommy came to see me when he was in town, he would say ‘Ranch have they found that ball yet’,” Ranch said with a chuckle.
Ranch when he was known as “Skinny” started out as an apprentice jockey to Frank Manning at Mentone but only lasted four weeks before he became home sick and quit.
He overcame stomach cancer last July and continues to work for the council “because I love my job and I think I’d died if I couldn’t go to work.”
His elder brother, Sam, played football at Shepparton and City United and was a member of Bert McHarry’s 1956 Shepparton side which were premiers and champions before going to Dookie and playing in a premiership side. Another brother John “Dicky” Harry played thirds at Shepparton before leaving to play with Lemnos and was a member of the 1970 premiership side coached by Rowland Crosby.
Dick had a chance to go to Melbourne with another Lemnos player, Glenn James, and further his umpiring career but stayed home and became one of the Goulburn Valley Football Umpires Association best ever whistle blowers while Glenn went on to umpire two VFL grand finals.
During his time, Ranch has mixed with the best sportsmen and characters in the Goulburn Valley and New Zealand where he toured with “Rumba” at one stage and said he could write a book on his experiences but at present is content to look after drinks for the players from thirds to seniors and work for the city council.
It’s been a pleasure to know you Ranch.
Publicity Officer Noel Hussey
Last Modified on 28/03/2015 18:40
