Victoria Park - Your Stories?

[MagpieMad]

G'day Magpies, after the dissapointment of not being able to have some photo's of Vic Park taken for us that haven't had the honour to visit Vic Park, I was hoping some of you could tell us of your favorite memories and/or stories of your times at Vic Park.
thnx in advance for any replies.

[raymond35]

Crikey, i could write a book on this topic. I love Victoria Park.

Playing kick to kick with Tony Shaw and Mike Richardson before training one afternoon as a young guy is something i will never forget.

[molloymagic]

My only memorys r seeing the pies train there the past few yrs,i never saw them play but even tho its run down,looking tired etc i still felt 'ah so this is victoria park' when i saw it 4 the first time,in 2001.

[Magpie_Dan]

Best Memories- Being there at the last game with all the boys behind the goals at the standing end!!!! (and chanting red head to Lepitsch and him joining in with us)

Also going to games there back in the ealry 90's with my Dad and we always used to reserve seats and gee were they the best seats in the house!

Worst Memory- Being beat in the last game there!!!!

[Magpie_Dan]

Some more great memories I had was watching the Pies train for the qualifying final in 1992 against the Saints, the training for the final in Perth against the Eagles in 1994, and all the finals in 2002 and Grand Final and the finals in 2003 and the Grand Final training!

[Miss_Lisey_Molloy]

I remember going there and people were like taking stuff as souvenirs. So my brother got half a sign (its in his wardrobe) and a big thing of grass, complete with roots and stuff.

We only recently moved into our new home when he got the grass, so Brendan (my brother) planted the grass where the lawn was just growing. It is still their now as it is darker than our real lawn. It's still growing fantastically too!

Love always, Alyssa xoxo

[raymond35]

love it Lisey.
my chunk of victoria park is sealed in plastic in the cupboard.

Memory-Seeing Harry Collier there with his Brownlow Medal.

[LeonSkyDiamonds]

I have many memories of Vic Park.Who remembers when the Swans Barry Mitchell was awarded an iffy free kick within 30 metres of goal,straight in front at scoreboard end of the ground,kicked the goal to get the Swans home by a couple of points.The Vic Park crowd was at its most hostile as phlegm,half full cans,coins and an assortment of solids hailed down upon the cowering,now very hastily departing umpires.Those were the days when Vic Park was a fortress,giving us an automatic 5 goal advantage before a ball had been bounced.

I also remember big BT and Dakes kick many bags there.Saw Billy Picken take mark after mark after mark there.Saw Geoff Raines end Paul Salmon's incredible goalkicking spree there when he dived across his leg.And last but not least,i remember when Craig "knuckles"Kelly knocked several of Sydney's Ben Doolans teeth out.Gee there's some good memories.There are too many to type down.Will probably do a couple every few days aqs they come back to me.

[Joel]

If anyone wants to write a short story on Vic Park for Nick's Collingwood Page, go over to the NCP forum, and let us know.

http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/viewtopic.php?p=227654

[Johnson#26]

One of the best memorys for me was when I toured the memrobillia room near the Sherrin Stand. Some of the old photos and trophys in there were great!

[Magpie_Dan]

God there are so many memories inside of that ground its not funny! Ive got so many stories and so have everyone else! everyone keep telling them please they are so intersting! BUMP!!!!

[deck]

Always stood infront of the clock with my dad and his mates. Some of my memories are games where we climbed the clock so we could see the game. Constently getting told by the cops to get off the toilets roof where we were sitting and watching the game. The footballs me and my mates soverniered over the years, only got one myself but one mate has about 4. And the great games i witnessed there over years.

[Morrigu]

Ha Ha Leon Sky Diamonds - I remember that game vividly - the umpires couldn't get out the rooms for about an hour afterwards as the army was camped outside waiting for them - eventually they had to get half a dozen coppers to escort them out!

Mum used to take all of us five kids - we couldn't afford reserved seats so we used to get there at 7am so we could get one of those walkways in the Rush stand - so we could see! We came from Sydney - so week one Mum knitted with occassional glances - by week three the atmosphere of Vic Park got her and her and I still go every week some 30 odd years later!

My best memories are of the days when we slept out at Vic Park for finals tickets - thousands of magpies on our chairs or banana lounges for those more affluent, for a week before tickets went on sale. We had a family roster so there was always one of us there 24 hours a day (lucky we had a big family!) Wall to wall magpies - lots of chat and lots of singing - was bloody magnificent!!

I know the game had to go the professional path - but s*it I miss the old days and the old girl - nothing like it for atmosphere and the pure passion of the magpie fans was palpable!

[merolz]

Great thread, some unreal stories...

When I was about 12 in the late 70s / early 80s, I loved being able to jump the fence with my mate about an hour before the game and walk down the race and into the rooms as the lads were getting a rub down. My idols would sign my autograph book and be cool with about a dozen kids hanging about. Magro, Moore, Kink, Barham, Daiks, the Shaws, etc. Bloody awesome. Eventually someone would say it's time to go, and we'd be back again the next week. What fabulous days.

[Johnson#26]

I remember going there one day and taking photos of the ground, last year, so that I could remember the place after it got knocked down.