North Melbourne has suffered another sad loss, with news of the sudden death of former player and administrator Barry Cheatley.
Earlier this week, the club was saddened by the passing of life member Marj Aylett.
Both were key figures at the club during its successful era in the 1970s.
Shinboner No.510, Cheatley played 81 games from 1959 to 1964 after being recruited from Ballarat Football League club Redan.
His North Melbourne career ended when he was just 25 years old, due to a serious ankle injury. He returned to the club in 1971 in an off-field capacity and assumed the role of director of marketing.
Cheatley was a member of the club’s Hall of Fame and was awarded life membership in 1977.
He was ahead of his time, and under his watch the Grand Final Breakfast, first instituted in the 1960s, was expanded to the point it became a mainstay on the AFL’s events calendar.
He was also the driving force behind a number of matchday initiatives that became must-see moments at North Melbourne home games.
Famously, the half-time entertainment at a North Melbourne-Collingwood match in 1979 featured a circus elephant, which briefly escaped from its handler.
The moment has become a colourful chapter in the club's folklore.
Cheatley was most recently invited to the club to present No.19 Griffin Logue with his first North Melbourne jumper in Round 1, 2023. Cheatley wore the No.19 in 79 of his 81 games for the Kangaroos.
North Melbourne President Dr Sonja Hood AM paid tribute to the passion Cheatley retained for the club, long after his time there.
“Barry was a key driver of the club’s pioneering spirit of the 1970s that became synonymous with North Melbourne and is still celebrated decades on,” Hood said.
“A former committee member and treasurer of the Past Players and Officials Association, Barry had a fierce love for the club. He was a connector, bringing North Melbourne people together right into his later years.
“We offer our sincere condolences to Barry’s wife Barbara and his children Simone and Guy and their families on the sudden passing of Barry. He will be greatly missed.”
The Cheatley family wrote the below words on their husband and father’s connection to the club:
“Barry had an unending passion for the North Melbourne Football Club, an organisation which provided him with a life full of opportunity and community.
“More than just a football club to Barry, Arden Street was the heart of his career, and laid the foundations for so many of his incredible lifelong friendships and relationships.
“Across his time with the club (both on and off the field) he was inspired and supported, and in return was a source of inspiration and support for his teammates and colleagues.
“Barry’s connection with the club was true, with that love and passion passed down to his family, who stand hearts to hearts remembering him today and always.”
- Barb, Simone, Guy, Lisa, Ebony, Will and Charlotte
