A hessian bag found amongst Eileen Williams’ belongings in Essendon concealed a faded Sherrin football mounted on a base without any engraving or description. Despite its unusual appearance, Barry’s father Michael knew straight away what it was; the 1965 Golden Fleece Cup.
“Dad was amazed to find the cup, he had misplaced it and had no idea where it was since 1965,” Gaudion told kangaroos.com.au.
“He was the player representative at the time, so he was the last to look after the cup once all the other players had passed it around to each other.”
Gaudion explained the cup then took a long, unplanned detour.
“Unfortunately dad misplaced the cup when he moved house in 1966 and never saw it again, until we discovered it hidden at my grandmother’s house.”
Barry’s father, Michael played 152 games for North Melbourne between 1957-1967 and was a little embarrassed about losing such an important piece of football history.
“Dad felt bad about losing it and couldn’t believe his luck when it showed up so many years later.
“I took the kids down to Arden Street for family day this year and got talking to Mark Finnigan from the recruiting department who was nice enough to show us Brent Harvey’s locker, number 29, which has dad’s name on it.
“I mentioned to Mark about the cup and then we sorted out how to get it back to its rightful place, on display at North Melbourne.”
The Golden Fleece Cup was awarded to the North Melbourne Football Club when it beat Carlton by 40-points at Lake Oval in Albert Park in 1965. Run as a knock-out tournament, it was contested by the eight VFL teams that failed to make the 1965 VFL finals series.
Michael Guardion’s father Charlie was also an important player for North Melbourne with 77 games to his name and a regular in the Victorian side. He coached the club in 1956 and 1957, with other son Michael playing under him in 1957.
The Fleece Cup, now at its rightful resting place, will be handed over to the club’s archivist Barb Cullen and might even be put on display for all to finally see.
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| Michael Gaudion during his playing days |
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| The record |
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| The teams |
