It was a merry sight as our Old Collegians enjoyed the festive spirit at our Old Boys’ Christmas Lunch at the Golden City Hotel recently.
Nearly 50 Old Boys from many different eras turned out for the hearty lunch and opportunity to meet new faces, old faces and simply enjoy the day out on Friday, 28 November.
Hosted by our Old Collegians’ Association, the crowd enjoyed guest speaker Old Collegian Ray Ball (SPC 1962-65), who spoke mostly about his wide-ranging connections with football in the VFL and AFL.
“Footy and the lessons of footy have played a pivotal place in my life and the flames of that fire were lit at St Pat’s,” he said.
Ray played 13 games with Richmond FC and 42 games with South Melbourne. He was coached by some of the most famous names of footy, including Tom Hafey, the great Norm Smith and Tony Jewell.
He reminisced about some of his experiences playing with the great Richmond players such as Royce Hart, Kevin Bartlett, Francis Bourke, Bob Skilton and Peter Bedford.
Ray’s love of football also interconnected with family.
Ray married Jennie (Russo) whose father Felix Russo played 14 games with St Kilda in the early 1950s.
Ray and Jennie’s two sons, Matthew and Luke also went onto play AFL footy; Matthew playing 17 games with Hawthorn and Luke playing 142 games with St Kilda and 81 games with Collingwood.
Ray and Jennie’s daughter Sophie also married into AFL, marrying Matt Maguire, who played 99 games with St Kilda and 71 games with Brisbane.
Jennie’s brother Peter (Russo) also played 162 games with Hawthorn and 33 games with St Kilda.
Jennie’s sister Bernadette married John Kennedy Jnr, who played 241 games with Hawthorn. Their son Josh played 13 games with Hawthorn and 277 games with the Sydney Swans.
We thank Ray for sharing his life with us on the day.
We also thank OCA executive officer Dean Hackwill for providing an update on the hard work of the SPC Old Collegians’ Association committee, while Deputy Principal – Community John Richards gave a detailed update on College news.
Thank you to MC Michael Kearney (SPC 1962-67) and Gerard Fitzgerald (SPC 1973, PY1975) for thanking Ray on behalf of the group.
Most importantly, a big thanks goes to the lunch planning committee members, Michael Kearney, Dennis Foley (SPC 1967-72) and John Moroney (SPC 1962-67), who are the brains behind each lunch.
The Old Boys’ Lunches are held twice a year, in June and December, as an opportunity for Old Collegians from any era to come together. The lunches are particularly popular with those Old Boys who have retired or enjoy the chance to get together socially.
A guest speaker is a new and popular feature of the lunches.
If you are interested in receiving direct communications about future Old Boy Lunches, please contact Alumni and Foundation Officer Lorrie Liston on 5322 4442 or via email at lliston@stpats.vic.edu.au
