The board of the Hamilton Kangaroos gives very careful consideration to the promotion of Club Legend, the recommendation and criteria are as follows:
1/ that the honorary category of Legend of the Hamilton Football/Netball Club be created. This does not necessitate any constitutional changes.
2/That there be no requirement that the Legend be still alive.
3/That the specific criteria for nominees be:
Length of Service to the Hamilton Football Netball Club.
....diversity of service
....success attributable to service
....ongoing good standing in the community
....the standards and examples set within the Club, by the nominee
As a summary way of capturing all the criteria, the subcommittee suggested the following:
“A person whose influence on the fortunes of the Hamilton Kangaroos Football Netball Club is or has been, so profound and positive that he or she embodies the Club in the minds of their contemporaries and persons interested in football/netball in Western Victoria.”
2012 - Bob Templeton
By SAM FLEMING
A LEGEND could be described as a ‘person or achievement worthy of inspiring such a story’.
Bob Templeton certainly fits that description.
On May 19 at the Hamilton Football Netball Club ‘Back in Black’ event this year, Templeton was the first person to ever receive ‘legendary’ status at the club.
When looking at his list of on and off field achievements, it was certainly evident why he was given such a title.
He was best known for his tireless work in football administration, serving the Hamilton Football Netball Club, the Western Border Football League and the Victorian Country Football League.
Before this, Templeton was a star player in his own right, representing Footscray on 22 occasions from 1947 to 1949 and again in 1953.
Templeton would have spent longer in the league, if it hadn’t been for a cruel run of injuries.
“In my first year I was lucky enough to make the senior side in the first game of the year,” he said.
“I played half a dozen or eight games and did my knee.
“In 1950 before the season I had a car accident and broke my femur, and most would think that would be pretty well it, but I came back in 1953 and played the first couple of games.
“Then a job came up here … so I applied and got it, and moved back here in 1953.”
The following years saw Templeton play for the Magpies, eventually taking over as playing-coach for the senior side in 1955.
That year Hamilton made the grand final, but eventually went down by 13 points.
Dogged by injury, Templeton was forced to coach from the sidelines in 1956, and never returned to the field as a player.
It was then that he was approached by the football club to become a part of their administration.
“They wanted me to be treasurer and thinking about the way they treated me – they paid me all the way through the year – I said ‘oh righto, I’ll take it on’,” Templeton said.
“I couldn’t knock them back after they’d treated me so well.”
Taking on the role was the start of almost half a century serving in football administration.
He remained treasurer of the football club until 1965, before he took over from Bruce Sherren as president.
In this time, he also took on a role as delegate to the WBFL, as well as becoming vice-president.
Templeton said his time as president of the club gave him some of his favourite memories during his time in football.
“I think my favourite personal enjoyment was winning the 1968 premiership when I was president,” he said.
“I’d never played in a premiership, but I was very close to them that year.
“I’d done a lot of work recruiting John Dowling and Geoff Cayzer to play with us, and I was pretty much wrapped up in the whole thing.”
His presidency at the football club ended in 1973, but it was not long before he took on a much bigger role as WBFL president the same year.
For five years he was president of the league, at a time which he considered the strongest of its history.
“The Western Border in those days was a very financially strong league,” Templeton said.
“Our gates were always terrific, much better than they are now.
“I think the standard has dropped of recent times and we now don’t seem to be able to attract the top line coaches.”
Templeton’s rise through the Victorian football ranks reached its highest point in 1981, when he was promoted to president of the VCFL.
Those who took over the presidency were in the role for a maximum of two years, which was enough time for Templeton to make significant changes throughout the leagues.
He and the board introduced the Winfield Championships which pitted leagues against each other in a knock-out competition.
Western Border made it through to the grand final of the championships in Templeton’s first year as president, and although they lost, he said the quality of football was some of the best he had ever seen.
“We played off in the grand final of the inter league competition against Ballarat, which we hosted at Coleraine,” he said.
“I was president of the VCFL at that time and I did a bit of negotiating to get the game in our end rather than in Ballarat.
“That period was the strongest I’d seen the Western Border League.”
By the time he retired from football administration in 2005, Templeton had served for an astonishing 48 years in football administration, 31 of those for the VCFL board.
He received a life membership to the Hamilton Football Netball Club in 1961, a WBFL life membership in 1971 and a VCFL life membership in 1985.
He was also the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2001 and in 2003 was presented with a centenary of federation medal.
It was announced in 2004 that the medal for the best player in a state district team would be named the John Robert “Bob” Templeton Medal.
After all these accolades, it was fitting that Templeton would receive ‘legend’ status to the football club earlier this year; an honour he said took him by complete surprise.
“They kept it quiet, I didn’t know about it,” he said.
“Geoff Cayzer rang me up and I said ‘I’m not really keen to go, I’m past the dancing stage’, but he put a bit of pressure on me to go.
“When Paul Block made the announcement that I was going to get the award, my family were all waiting outside … which was a great surprise.”
“It was a great night.”
