This Saturday, the Southport Sharks will celebrate their third annual Heritage Round, when they take on the Giants in the VFL at 11:05am at Fankhauser Reserve.
As part of the celebrations, Southport will wear their special heritage jumpers, which pay tribute to the club’s 63-year history as both the Magpies and the Sharks.
Club 61—Southport’s Past Players and Officials Association will set up a designated function area for all past players and officials to watch the game on Saturday.
This year, a significant focus of the celebrations is on the 60-year anniversary of the 1964 Southport Magpies GCAFL Premiership team.
After the game, the Sharks best on ground will be awarded the Bill Rickard medal, named after Southport’s 1964 President and the club’s first ever life member Bill Rickard.
The medal will be presented by Bill’s sons, Brian and Alan Rickard, as well as 1964 Southport Best and Fairest winner Dave Burns.
In the lead-up to Heritage Round this Saturday, Burns said, “Bill was very dedicated and worked really hard for the club. We used to have a lot of functions at his place, which was fun.”
Burns was a midfielder who started playing seniors for Southport when he was 14 and won the 1964 Best and Fairest when he was just 17.
He won two more best and fairests in 1966 and 1969, played over 230 games for the Magpies, which is the club record, and was the club’s first player life member.
In the 1964 Grand Final against Surfers Paradise, Burns was named best on ground alongside fellow teammate and key defender Ken Rodger in his first year at the club, aged 16.
Rodger went on to win 1965 Best and Fairest and was an active member of the committee in the 1970s.
1964 was also the first year that the Magpies played at Owen Park, the club’s home ground until the move to Fankhauser Reserve in 1989.
During the week, Rodger said, “I used to do the gate before the game, charging all the cars that would park around the ground, I think about two shillings each. Then, about half an hour before the senior’s game, we’d race down, get changed, and play footy.”
“I am very proud of where we’ve come from to where the club is now. It’s mind-boggling.”
Both Burns and Rodger are in Southport’s Hall of Fame for their contributions to the club.
Playing coach Harold Peacock and Bob Manuel, are the other members from the 1964 Premiership team who are in the Southport Hall of Fame.
For more information about the 1964 premiership year click here.