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AFL legend Ron Barassi, who won 10 premierships as a player and coach, has passed away aged 87.
Key points:
- Ron Barassi was part of the inaugural inductees into the AFL Hall of Fame
- Barassi won 10 premierships as a player and coach, for Melbourne, Carlton and North Melbourne
- His family said he died peacefully following a fall
His family announced his death on Saturday afternoon, saying Barassi had died after a fall.
"After a full and extraordinary life, Ronald Dale Barassi, aged 87, left us today due to complications from a fall," the statement said.
"He died peacefully, surrounded by loving family. We ask for privacy at this time."
Barassi played 254 senior VFL games in his career, including 204 for Melbourne and 50 for Carlton.
He was a star during the Melbourne Football Club's glory years, helping them to six premierships between 1955 and 1964.
A tall, fearless player, Barassi pioneered the position of ruck rover.
He then moved to Carlton in 1964 as a coach winning two premierships, the first as a player-coach.
He then coached North Melbourne to their first two flags in 1975 and 1977.
Barassi was one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
At the same time, he was named an AFL Legend, the first to be awarded that honour.
He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987 for his contribution to Australian rules football and was elevated in 2006 to a Legend of Australian Sport.
A revolutionary making the sport national
Barassi's accomplishments off the field were just as influential as on it.
AFL Commission Chairman Richard Goyder credited Barassi as a driving force for spreading the game across the continent.
"When our game was largely based in the south and west of Australia and revolved around the state leagues, Ron Barassi was constantly ahead of his time pushing for national development and a national league," Goyder said.
"A champion of Victoria who relished the battles against SA, WA and Tasmania at state level, Barassi saw the potential ahead if the game could unlock interest in New South Wales and Queensland and constantly pushed the game's administrators to dream big, plan bigger and be prepared to risk dramatic steps into the unknown.
"He revolutionised the game as a player – created the position of ruck rover – built premiership success at clubs as a coach and then was our first great evangelist to take the game north and grow it to become what we have today.
"He was known all across Australia when football wasn't always known."
Following in his father's footsteps
His father, Ron Barassi Sr, played 58 games for Melbourne as a rover.
His last game for the club was the 1940 VFL grand final where he was part of the Demons’ premiership win as the 19th man.
Barassi Sr then joined the army — he was killed in action at Tobruk in 1941 when his son was five years old.
Barassi was a talented young footballer, who wanted to follow his father in playing for Melbourne.
Under the old zoning rule, this would not have been possible, as Barassi would have been eligible to play for Collingwood or Carlton.
The VFL introduced the father-son rule in 1949, and four years later Barassi was cleared to play for the Demons.
He went on to play 12 seasons for Melbourne, as a protégé of legendary Demons coach Norm Smith.
Smith, who had played with Barassi's father at the Demons, offered the young player his backyard bungalow as a home when his mother returned to Tasmania when Barassi was 16.
Barassi became known for his fierce, physical play and his attacking ability.
He was made vice-captain of the Demons in 1957 at the age of 21, and three years later he was made captain — a role he would keep for five seasons.
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